Distinctive beauty with Granata Design

An article first published in Beaconsfield Life Magazine

Granata Design is a local interior design company specializing in custom-made draperies. The business has been operating since 1990 and is still owned and run by Janet Granata who returned to the U.K. in 1988 after spending seven years in the U.S.A. Whilst there she gained a diploma for studying interior design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, augmented by a distinction for Outstanding Achievement in her field.

Many of the technicians have worked with the company since it's inception, constructing and manufacturing beautiful products by hand using traditional methods that, by their unique nature, can only be passed on and learnt with patience and practice.

Unfortunately, there is no formal education for these trades and with the advent of cheap, foreign processing methods degrading the general perception of what constitutes a beautiful window treatment, the cost for the intense labour and artistry required to achieve perfection determines many purchasing decisions.

A piece of cloth clipped to a pole can be a curtain but experiencing the pleasure of owning poles specially made for you; painted or stained or gilded or waxed, held in place with beautifully wrought brackets and adorned with rings in any material you choose: from Perspex to chrome or iron or brass, with finials to reflect your style; from Rococo to Starck, in any size; perhaps made with crystal or maybe leather, all transcends the dull monotony of picking out a pack that someone else has matched to boredom for the mass market.

Then, fabric choices are endless; the weight, fineness, thickness, drape, pile, shine, weave, fibre, texture and structure come in exciting array - it is almost impossible not to find what you have in mind - but as the pictures show - we can have it woven! The skill and experience of the curtain makers who work for Granata Design is unsurpassed, with all the sewing, except the seams joining the widths of fabric, made by hand, stitch by stitch. Recognising the perfect drape, functioning in its place, con be a breathtaking sensation compared to the experience of opening a packet of creased, nearly the right colour, nearly the right size, possibly the right heading, fabric, called 'ready-made' curtains, combined with the depressing outlook on what to hang it on, where should it go and what tools are needed.

The fitting team know about drilling into lintels or worse - drilling into nothing and still managing to make the fitting stay up! They know how to hang fabric and drape it, they have the right clips, hooks, pins, screws and fixings to hand, the right tools and equipment for the job. They fix blinds to roof windows five metres off the ground, or wonderful windows that light up the hall and landing which have to be half way up the stairs. Have you got the ladder or the nerve for that?

The upholsterer knows how to return the beautiful sofa you owned before the children and pets existed, back to its former glory with new cushions and upholstery on the bits that went flat; it may cost the same as the one on the TV but no one else will have one quite like it. If it sounds like you have to live in a mansion to enjoy the pleasure of having beautifully dressed windows and furniture customised to your needs but the fact is that most purchases are made by perfectly ordinary people in ordinary homes that hove been transformed into perfect living spaces by carefully considering the use and requirements of the people that live there. Cheap alternatives turn into expensive mistakes when they don't quite work for you.

The furniture, flooring, walls and lighting as well as artworks and accessories are taken into consideration or purchased to enhance factors that give you pleasure and comfort.

Pride in the welcoming elegance that makes your dining room a place to entertain your friends, the knowledge that it's function is to enjoy the company of your family for everyday meals and the fact that it sometimes doubles as a workroom, for works of art constructed by your children or grand children on rainy days, makes the room housing the table and chairs a special place to be. The utter relaxation a sitting room can bestow when taking into account the availability, or not, of a family room; will it be calm and luxurious or should you consider versatility, with allowances for playdoh, playskool and playstations?

Ambience is an underlying design principle for any room but bedrooms are private spaces that only need to suit one or two people as a rule and this private world can be the embodiment of your personality - are you purple satin, pink teddies or football teams and bikes? The possibilities are intriguing . . .

Drawing on the roots of her transatlantic studies, to the many years spent in the design industry here in the UK gives Janet a special and unique outlook in her field. If you feel a design service with a different point of view will benefit your lifestyle, please phone to organise a personal consultation - professional management and perfect completion by professionals will follow, with Granata Design.

For more information on Granata Design, Contact Us

9 Farndale Gardens, Hazlemere, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HPJ5 7HE, Telephone/Fax, 01494 716728