A Q&A with Interior Designer Lisa DiAntonio

(ANDOVER, MA) – While renovating her 19th century colonial home in Andover, interior designer Lisa DiAntonio discovered a unique challenge that inspired her to create a new product that combines her mechanical engineering background and creative flair. 

DiAntonio selected unique wallpapers filled with history and was faced with the issue of needing to hang curtains, but wanting to avoid drilling to the wall. She’s developing a new curtain rod that would be adjustable and attached to the top of the window frame. DiAntonio is still in the design and research phase for this product, but keep an eye-out because this innovative tool may just change the way we hang our curtains in the future.

In this interview with The Click, DiAntonio of Green Park Studios, shares insight into her design process and original product.

The Click: You like antiques and hand-selecting every piece that you bring into the home. What was the decorating process like?

DiAntonio: For me, decorating takes longer than a renovation. If your style is thrifting, finding something old, finding something meaningful – slow decorating versus that quick stuff – it’s probably double the amount of time and you’re actually never done. It’s the adventure. Some people don’t like to decorate and they just want it over with. But I wanted it to be an experience. I love sourcing, I love going to Savors, I love going to thrift stores and yard sales, or picking up furniture on the side of the road.

The Click: Can you tell me more about this restroom? I’ve noticed that you mix prints and styles together in this home often. There’s an English dresser in this room with a Japanese inspired wallpaper, a gold French mirror, and a Mexican tapestry rug. But it works! How did you bring all these pieces together?

DiAntonio: I get excited about the bathroom! First of all, this wallpaper I have admired for years. It’s a Schumacher, Chiang Mai dragon. [For a long time] I said, ‘I love that paper. I love it, love it, love it, you know, someday I’m going to use it somewhere.’ So I knew I was using this paper. 

Chiang Mai Dragon Wallpaper and English dresser in the restroom [Credit: Lisa DiAntonio]

The Click: In the process, you came across a design challenge which inspired this new product you’re working on. Can you share more about how it came to be?

DiAntonio: In the process of everything, I was trying to think about hanging curtains and I do not want to put holes in my walls, especially my wallpaper. I thought, ‘are there curtain rod holders out there that don’t go into the wall that are still adjustable?’ I couldn’t find them anywhere, so I designed it up and had prototypes made, and I’m patent pending! 

The Click: If it doesn’t get attached into the wall, how does it work? 

DiAntonio: You drill into the top of the window frame– you don’t have to put a hole in the wall, you don’t need a tape measure, you just install it and it’s completely adjustable. Once the curtain rod has been placed, it can adjust up and down. You have the leeway, you don’t have to worry about perfectly hanging your curtain rod holder so that your drapes hit the floor in the right spot. You can play around with it once it’s installed.