Windows Dressing (Up)

For years interior designers have acknowledged the connection between home fashion and clothing.  Bustles, pleats and ruffles on women's clothing of the Victorian era translated to the swags, cascades and jabots of the same period's window treatments.  The slinky, bias cut gowns of the '30's were echoed in the soft, puddling draperies of the time.  And during World War II  short skirts and tailored jackets translated into the streamlined furniture and short, flirty curtains that glamorized rationing.
When drapery designers get together we often talk about dressmaker details on our treatments or soft furnishings.  We know that linings and interlinings improve the drape of a window treatment.  We often hand stitch hems, especially in silks and delicate fabrics. We seek out the special pleat or tuck to create a window treatment that's exactly right for our client.  Just as the couture fashion designer creates a unique look for her custom client by manipulating fabrics, so do professional drapery designers create unique treatments for our custom client's home using the same couture skills.
Professional drapery designers have developed specific technical skills that permit them to work their magic.  But one skill that anyone can improve is observation.  One designer I know calls it "research"  every time she visits Anthropologie.  She's looking for a pleat, a trimming, a special fabric embellishment that she can add to  draperies, valances and furnishings.  I was recently delighted when I found several embellishments in the catalog from usually-quite-conservative Talbots.  Fabric roses, ruffles in wool, even pleats on leather ballet slippers could all be transfered to use in home dec.-

Can't you envision these soft chiffon roses strewn across a throw?  They could be lined up in rows on a square pillow or sewn at random to the face of a silk or sheer drapery.

And what about this girlie treat - a silk charmeuse collar.  This would be a perfect drapery tieback in a boudoir. (Sorry fellas, even my he-man hubby might take exception to all this frou-frou in the master bedroom!)  And with the growing idea of woman caves - we really need a better name for these rooms! - how about decidedly old-fashioned criss-crossed priscilla curtains on the window with a collection of roses trimming the leading edge.
Next time you're out do some research of your own to discover the interconnectivity of fashion, fabrics and home dec.  Happy looking!

Drapery Design Books for a Lazy Day

The laws of physics may require that window treatments hang down, and not fly off at odd angles to the walls.  And because of that, some might think that all window treatments are essentially large pieces of fabric hanging on the window.  These books show that the physics of window treatments are more like quarks.  We see their flavors -up, down, and mostly charmed, - in unique and highly artistic designs.

Brian Coleman is editor-at-large at Arts&Crafts Homes magazine.  He is also a licensed, practicing psychologist.  And he has written a whole bookshelf full of books on window treatments, gardens, Aesthetic art tiles, and great homes of the British Isles.  Three are suggested here.

Window Dressings is full of close-up shots of draperies and soft furnishings in homes around the country. Drapery fabricators and drapery designers especially love this book as our talents are displayed on every page.

The Scalamandre family has been fabricating silks and  hand-crafting extraordinary trims for over a century.  Their fabrics have been used in the US Capitol, the White House, the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, CA, as well as numerous governors' mansions and prestigious homes.  Coleman offers a peek into the history of the family-owned company - and lavish photos of Scalamadre fabrics and trims gracing the interiors of some very fortunate homes.  Scalamandre is a visual feast!






Coleman's third book on my personal hit parade features the work of a favorite designer - Barry Dixon.  Dixon's designs are restrained, warm, and incredibly personalized.  This book features several homes he has designed and each is unique.

Drapery Design Books I LOVE, Not Just for Valentine's Day

I'm a reader of books.  Regardless of the success of Kindles and Nooks and iPads, there is something most sensual about the heft and feel of a design book.  The pages are crisp, the photos are clear; I can almost touch the textures in the photos just looking at them.

Several years ago Stephanie Hoppen came out with a delightful book called The New Curtain Book.  This book features the work of numerous designers including daughter Kelly and Vicente Wolf.  Even though it's subtitle is "Master Classes" this is not a fabrication or how-to book.  What it is, is a visual romp through some incredibly outrageous draperies tempered with beautiful, crisply understated designs by interior designers on both sides of the Atlantic.  Hoppen gets an "A" for this master class!








Jackie vonTobel has written 2 books to date on window treatments and bedding.  She is a designer in Las Vegas, and after years of drawing out designs for her customers, she decided to publish them.  These design directories are encyclopedia idea books for drapery workrooms and homeowners alike.  Jackie's pen and ink drawings are subtlety colored to encourage the viewer to visualize the treatment in her own home.  And now Jackie had embarked on a line of custom designed fabrics.  You can see her fabrics and follow her blog at www.jackievontobel.com .



Indulge in these visual treats this Valentine's Day.  They will expand your design options, not your waistline.