More Spotlight Articles

Spotlight

by Howard Shingle
Photography by Donna Reimer

Donna Reimer, Donna Reimer's Custom Workroom, New Holland, PA.

Taking the personal taste of a client into consideration is a constant challenge for a designer. Adding a classic, historic style to a newly constructed residence complicates the process, and more often than not the burden is shared with the workroom that actually fabricates the treatments. Donna Reimer, Donna Reimer's Custom Workroom, New Holland, PA, worked very closely with Gretchen Abbott Designs, Cortland, NY, to fabricate window treatments for a 17,000-square-foot newly constructed Georgian Colonial home. Each of the treatments designed for the home shown in these photographs was lined and interlined. "The fabric and the style of the window treatments had to be carefully selected in order to be consistent with the period of the home while considering the personal taste of the client," Reimer says. "I worked closely with Gretchen Abbott Designs from start to finish fabricating each piece personally and relying on the talents of my husband, Tom, to construct the hidden wooden framework and to assist in the installation," she adds. Eye On the Details Reimer's background has followed what many would consider a natural progression from bridal gowns, dressmaking and quilting to window treatments. It includes several blue ribbons awarded at local and state fairs. "It has provided me with a strong foundation on which to build my eight-year-old wholesale workroom business," Reimer says. "These early projects trained me to be detailed oriented and quality conscious," she adds. Reimer's Custom Workroom today is associated with four designers who work with her as a team "to create the loveliest treatments possible for our clients," she says. Those clients can be found throughout the northeast-in Pennsylvania, New York, Maine and Massachusetts-but also in Florida and California. Reimer even has worked on treatments for a well-known, but necessarily unnamed, recording artist who has homes in New York City and Beverly Hills, CA.

Master bedroom: This drapery and top treatment, made using Brunschwig & Fils silk fabric, is mounted on a specially designed and custom-made wood frame. To achieve the finished products, a prototype was made and custom-fitted on the frame to ensure a perfect fit. Polyester sheer fabric from Schumacher and silk trim from Scalamandre complete the treatment.