Me and my sorority sisters, Karyn and Sara, and the rendering of the house on Founder’s Day 2009.

I’m a sorority girl.  I happily admit it.  Even in my late 40′s, I’m still a sorority girl.  I’ve been involved with my home chapter since my college graduation.  I was co-advisor for recruitment, with my friend Sara, from 2000-2005.  Absent from volunteering very much for the first few years of owning The Fabric Market (beginning 2006), I was tickled to be included in the interior decor aspect of the brand new Alpha Delta Pi house in the brand new Sorority Village at the entrance to my alma mater, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  Whew, that’s a mouth full.

I wanted to take this opportunity to give a shout-out to all of the alumni who worked tirelessly to bring this enormous project to the conclusion that my highly inadequate photos below have captured.  Thank you to sister Cheryl Kizer-Sharpe, who thought about and administrated  EVERYTHING, from fund-raising to completion, from architectural renderings to the house that stands today.  Thank you to sister Janet Curry, who volunteered for a two year stint in a position that lasted MANY years beyond her commitment.  Thank you to sister Ann Baker Furrow, co-chair of fundraising, namesake of the boulevard that runs through the Village, and a shining example of giving back to your community.  Thank you to ALL the women of the House Corporation of Alpha Kappa Chapter for your tireless commitment.  Thank you to all my sisters who pledged their financial support, and thank you to those that pledged their time; cooking, cleaning, advising, chaperoning, praying, supporting, mothering, mentoring, planning, recruiting, etc, etc, etc.

I’m so grateful to have gotten to work with and get to know Linda Warner, who signed on years ago as the project’s interior designer.   Making a 17,500 square foot building feel like home is daunting.  I don’t think she thought the project would be so seemingly never-ending!  But, today, it is complete.  And it is a thing of beauty.  A home is a living, breathing  entity, always evolving and changing, and this home will change and evolve too, over the years.  But for now, it is complete and it is a HOME.  It’s a residence for close to 50 beautiful college women and one spectacular house mother.  It serves, accommodates and/or feeds around 170 active chapter members, especially on Monday meeting days.  It is warm, inviting and gracious as well as functional and state of the art.  And we will celebrate it’s “completeness” in April with a dedication and ribbon cutting which will follow the University’s celebration of Ann Furrow and the street named for her.  You bet I will be there to honor the people and acknowledge the event with my sisters.

Thank you for letting me ramble and gush.  I’m just so darned proud.

Chalk board in the upstairs TV room.

Front of the house. Construction on other houses still in progress.

The grand foyer.

We provided the fabric for the benches under the windows in the foyer.

Donor plaque in the foyer.

Entrance to main meeting, dining, television room from the foyer.

TV side of main meeting room.

Opposite of TV, baby grand sitting area in main meeting room. Ottoman fabric under piano, drapery fabric and hardware for meeting room provided by TFM!  I love the photos of girls currently in the chapter hanging on the walls and sitting on the shelves!

Conference room drapery and upholstery for side chairs from TFM.

Trophy shelves in elevator alcove.

In the foyer, outside of the parlor.  A peek of pillows in the parlor.  Original art by sister Carol Quinn.

The parlor. Pillows from TFM.  Original art by sister Carol Quinn

Second floor TV room.

Second floor TV room.

TV and piano area in main meeting room.

View toward dining area of main meeting room.

Drapery in Momma K’s room provided by TFM.

Decorative pillow on Mamma K’s bed provided by TFM.

ADPi girls at lunch.

Today, the house is full of laughter, light and love.

“We live for each other, an ADPi promise, we made when we first pledged the oldest and best.”

A Robert Allen image borrowed from Urban ID’s blog on trimmings.   Absolutely fabulous use of decorative tape.

What’s that, you ask?  It’s the French word for “trimmings.”  In home decor and design, it means any decorative or ornamental fringe, tassel, bead, gimp, cord or tape.  It’s the jewelry of your room.  It’s often the finishing touch.  It’s what makes custom, custom.   More often than not, anything you buy “ready made” will not have this special feature.  It’s the detail that catches our eye.  It’s the brilliant application (dreamed up by you or your designer) that brings distinct and separate elements together in a room.

At TFM, we have always advocated trimming out your project.  Sometimes, “more is more!”  But lately, we have been noticing a trend toward simpler trimmings, like tapes or cords, in favor of tassels, beads and bullions.  Brush fringe continues to be a favorite choice, adding texture and depth, especially when mixing groups of pillows.   The arrival of an extensive new tape gallery, available in cut to order (small yardage amounts) and in bolt (20 yards and up) actually prompted me to write this post.  There are endless creative uses for these beauties!  Tapes are fab on furniture, table skirts, drapery and pillows.  They are beautiful on bedding, dust skirts, shams and spectacular on upholstered walls!

Our new tape gallery. Tons of colors and patterns, especially in the very popular Greek key design. Ask us about them!

These pictures are from our front window.  Ribbon tape and tonal banding on linen panels are tied back with jute.  The pictures don’t do justice.  So much prettier in person.

All of this being said, as always, design and decorate to suit YOU.  After all, it’s your home.

Click here to read a blog from Urban ID that explains passementerie perfectly in my opinion.  Enjoy and let the seeds of creativity grow!

Think of the ways you are blessed and then be grateful and thankful for them!

New burlap pillows if you need a daily reminder!

Last summer's set up on a full size twin bed.

This summer's set up on a smaller display bed.

The pillows are adorable!

Hit us up if you want your own burlap Vol pillow!  This is the only one we have in stock but we’ll start taking orders now.  Ready, set, go.

In an earlier post, I listed the top 10 things you can do with remnants.  Click here to re-read that little item.  Spoiler alert!  I’m going to tell you the #1 most wonderful thing you can do with remnants of 2 yards and under……..wrap and staple 4 chair bottoms.  So, there’s a lot of change for very little change!  And here’s where the DIY part comes in.  If you do it yourself you save even more!  Most local upholsterer’s charges begin around $35-$40 per chair bottom.  I found this DIY tutorial when I was fooling around, um, researching stuff on Pinterest.

www.familyhandyman.com

Click here for a very detailed, step by step tutorial on upholstery.  It’s perfect for the super detailed DIY-er.  If you just want to slap some fabric on top of the fabric that’s already there, well, that’s okay too, if you do it right.  Who’ll know?  Nobody but you.  In that case, skip to the stapling instructions.

So, summer is a great time to try a DIY project.  But keep in mind, if you don’t want to DIY, we do have a list of local upholstery referrals and once we help you choose your fabric, we’ll gladly give you a name.

Practicing with Instagram!

It’s time for a little sale.  It’s short and sweet and runs through this Saturday.  All short ends, 8 yards and under are reduced 30%.  Other in-stock fabs are reduced 10% and if you finish off a bolt, take another 5% off!  Most everything else is 10% off too.  Lamps, pillows, accessories.  Sweet discounts so don’t dilly-dally if you’ve got a design project!  Sale ends Saturday, June 16th at 3:00 p.m.

We are "lake people" here in East Tennessee.

Nothing better than an evening drink on the dock!

A Southern rule to live by.

These are all available now and if they sell out and you would like one, we can surely accommodate you!

Click below.
A CHAIR IS BORN

can be this!  Or this

 can be this!

This

can be this!  Or…..

this!

This

can be this!

This

can be this!

This

can be this!

Su Casa Designs

Pictures from google images.