Our clients are faced with some wacky challenges at times, and we absolutely love the CHF Forum because it is a fantastic way to identify them and (hopefully) lend a hand. It’s there that we discovered a designer in (mild) distress.
This designer needs to install rod-pocket panels which extend 12″ into the bay window and 24″ out to either side. That is not something that we would consider a challenge under normal circumstances, but as you can see the crown molding is consuming most of the wall-space above the opening.
With only an inch of wall for the mounting of her bracket, she realized that she was going to need some custom ideas…..
My first thought was that since there will be 24″ of rod on the outside of the opening she could just use a wooden rod mounted to the top of angle brackets, mounted 24″ apart, and secured with screws. The only drawback to that plan is that the installer would have to cut holes in the fabric where the bracket met the rod in order to install the screw. It would be unseen, but would make removal for cleaning difficult.
I had our crack team of metal workers make a couple of bracket prototypes because a picture is worth a thousand words….aaaaaand I am a very slow typist.
This offset corner-mounted bracket would reach behind the panel and allow for horizontal and vertical screws which should provide plenty of strength. The “business end” of the bracket would be concealed by the fabric as there would be a left and right “pair”. (notice how the screw holes are staggered to prevent them from hitting each other…..clever huh?) My only reservation with this design is that it looks like the corners are “bullnosed” which might make it tough to hit wood with the screws.
Idea number three is similar to the one above, but instead of mounting on the corner, the “business end” of the bracket is a basic plate for ceiling mounting. This design would also provide plenty of strength and would be concealed by the panel.
If we were to trim the size of the backplate down it is likely to be strong enough also which may be another option to consider.
Well, I know this is not likely to go down as one of the most fun posts in whyhelser history, but it definitely does illustrate the type of problems that we are most proficient at solving.
We had our collective breath taken away this week by Mark and Catherine Schultz of Silk Mountain Creations in Indianapolis. The road from “Before” to “After” was paved with all of the elements of terrific design. A great concept, accurate measurements, a perfect template and beautiful craftsmanship (ours and theirs…) all combined to make this treatment drop dead gorgeous! 
Most of you know that we love to do ride-alongs. They are an invaluable way to gather information and keep a “finger on the pulse.” We were recently invited to the installation of an “Evita” treatment at a salon in Scottsdale…
