It Will Be Here

As I write this blog on April 4th, it has been snowing, hailing, raining, and believe it or not, thunder and lightning. I know we are all wondering if Spring will ever arrive, and it’s even harder to wrap our heads around the prospect of Summer, but it will be here before you know it (and just in case let's all say that three times aloud: it will be here, It Will Be Here, IT WILL BE HERE).

So with memories of shoveling still fresh in our heads, let’s make a collective agreement to be ready to enjoy and appreciate every second of outdoor living this year. While the rain splashes down, and the sleet knocks against the window let's take a little escape, take a visual ride with me, as we envision cocktails on the deck, parties by the poolside, grilling with our family and just relaxing in the shade with a glass of iced tea and a good book.

Paul Rich has “the goods” to make your outdoor spaces beautiful and comfortable, and don’t we all deserve that? Check out the latest styles from Brown Jordan, Woodard, Barlow Tyrie, and Lane Venture, plus umbrellas, accent pillows and accessories to complete the look. Order now through May 15th and save up to 45%! Make the best of this coming season, take a leap of faith and stop in soon to check out the 2011 collection of summer furniture. If you believe, it will happen!

Tales from the Inside: "A Rug Revelation"

I don’t claim to be an interior designer, but having worked behind the scenes in the home furnishings industry for close to twenty years I’ve picked up a few tricks and I’ve seen enough furniture to know what I like and what works for my lifestyle (three boys, lots of moving balls and large cereal bowls full of milk). We moved into our home over fifteen years ago, and have slowly been renovating and decorating rooms. I’ve mostly made good design decisions with the exceptions of a few missteps like the apricot colored walls in my living room, (ouch) and a series of reds on accent walls, (dark times, and lots of primer) but no permanent damage was done. I’m often asked if I use the design services at the store, and I can say that I’ve enjoyed punishing myself and muddling through on my own. It wasn’t until my “rug crisis” that I realized the importance of using a design professional.

Seven years ago we took on a large renovation, adding a badly needed entrance and a sitting room that serves as a lovely relaxing and reading area for the whole family. Furnishing the room was relatively easy, walls and fabrics mostly in neutral tones. It wasn’t until I began looking for a rug that my problems started. I felt confident that I knew what I was doing, I watched HGTV and I knew my stuff. I gravitated towards monochromatic rugs in an attempt to keep the room quiet, but what I learned, after spending years, and I mean YEARS, hauling rugs on approval and spending money on an array of bad accent pillows, was that I needed the help of a real designer to help me pull it all together. I turned to my friends and coworkers, the design staff at Paul Rich. With their expert guidance I quickly learned that the room was screaming for a rug with some personality, color and an interesting design. My fear of going bold was so wrong, and on their advice, I gathered all of my fabrics, natural muslin, chocolate mohair, brown leather and sea green chenille plus the drapery fabric, a red toned paisley and headed back to the store.

The rest of my house had Oushak rugs, which have an older feel, well suited to an old farmhouse. I went directly to that pile, and in my habitual way started looking at the patterns that had underwhelmed me in the past. I took a leap of faith and had them pull a rug of their choice one that I might add would have never been a contender. It seemed too loud and conspicuous, but I was desperate, and had been wrong so many times, that I decided to go with it. I placed the sea of neutrals on the rug, and it all made sense. Who knew? Excited about the prospect of finally having a rug in my room I took it home, “on approval,” and it was fantastic. The moral of the story is that a beautiful rug can make the room, and sometimes it takes the help of a talented designer to help you find it!

Stop by the Oriental Rug Sale March 24-27th to find your perfect rug (bring your fabrics and an open mind).

Pam Rich is the Marketing and Advertising Director at Paul Rich & Sons. She is the wife of owner, Tom Rich and mother to 3 beautful boys. She lives in a 1890's farmhouse in Pittsfield.

Through a Winter’s Window

It's a scientific fact that heat is attracted to cold. If so, I should be a magnet for every radiator I walk past, a bulls-eye for every sunbeam that breaks through the heavy white clouds, and warm fires would leap from their cages just to toast my cold toes. I am cold all winter long. Unfortunately I am oblivious to any heat that my frozen core might naturally attract. I spend the fall preparing for an onslaught I know I can not escape, and I spend the winter clutched in an embrace I neither care for nor enjoy.

Fortunately I am well suited for hibernation. My home is my sanctum. I look forward to the days where the snow comes down with such haste and fury that work is called off, and we are forced to stay home and settle in. There is always a new page to turn as I recline on my Stressless recliner, or a new ball yarn for me to knit propped up on my Lee Sofa. Hours pass easily with warm casseroles in the oven and savory soup on the stove.

Once in my home I am reminded of the cruel fates of winter only when I pause near the window to watch the cardinals fetch their meager rations from the feeder stationed on my back porch. A cold draft seeps in. No matter how new your windows, how high your R value, Drafts Happen.
Without energy-efficient window treatments, as much as 50% of a home's heating and cooling energy can be lost through its windows.

So back to the sofa I go, but this time armed with my Hunter and Douglas Catalog, and a book fabric swatches in hand. It’s a new year, I need a new perspective, a new view, or maybe just a new set of window treatments from my designer at Paul Rich and Sons.


Here’s how window treatments can help save energy in your home:

Insulation: Many window treatments can significantly increase your R value, measure of a product's ability to resist heat flow—helping reduce energy consumption.

Solar Heat Control: The warmth provided by the sun may be desirable during the winter to help heat your home, yet it can make a room overly hot and uncomfortable while driving up air conditioning costs in the summer.

Daylighting: Daylighting is the practice of lighting rooms with natural light rather than generating illumination from electricity. Sheers and other styles diffuse light as it enters and help to draw it deeper into the room. You can also direct incoming light where it's needed most by titling the louvers, slats, vanes, blinds and panels.