The Key to Designer-Look Window Treatments
When I look at a window treatment and know in my gut that it’s wrong, it’s almost always an issue of proportion.
Proportion is simply about relationships; in this case how each component of a window treatment relates to the other components, to the other windows and to the room. Here are some tips to make sure your proportions are always appropriate.
Fullness. Even the simplest treatment needs the correct proportions. Panels like these would go from lovely to skimpy if their fullness were not right.
Most fabrics come in 54-inch widths. Once that fabric is hemmed and shirred or pleated, you end up with about 18 inches of width, which is just not enough fullness for any but the smallest window. Penny-pinching DIYers like myself would love to make one width of fabric work, but at least one and a half widths are necessary for the proportions to be right.
I know, I know, that means more sewing. But I am reminded of my dad, who always said, “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well.” In other words, “Better no window treatment at all than a skimpy one.”
Length. And then there is panel length. If you want to see me instantly transmogrify from nice, polite, graceful Becky to a belligerent, raging maniac, put me in front of a window treatment where the panels are too short. Can you say, “High-water pants”?
Unless you are trying to show off a really trim little ankle, your pants will just graze your shoes, and the same is true of panels, which should just graze the floor. Stationary panels can be much longer, falling into a puddle. But remember, too much puddle can throw the treatment out of proportion.
Speaking of high-water pants, whatever you do, do not wash your curtains! Only the cheapest of ready-mades can be washed, and they won’t look good afterward. Most decorator fabrics are dry clean only, and even then you must be very careful, as the linings might disintegrate from sun exposure. Unless your home is inhabited by smokers, there is really no reason to clean your drapes. Frequent, careful vacuuming is all they need, unless you have pets or children that are allowed to gambol around them, in which case drapes are probably not a great idea.
Tiebacks. Getting tieback placement right is also a matter of proportion, as is the size of the tieback itself. An oft-repeated rule is that the tieback should not be placed in the middle of the panel, because it cuts the panel in half. Rather, the tieback should be placed at either the one-third or two-third point on the panel (somewhat above or below center). But look at this stunning treatment with its tiebacks just about at the midpoint. You guessed it: The rules do not guarantee that proportion will be right; they are simply guidelines.
Continue reading The Key to Designer-Look Window Treatments
The Key to Designer-Look Window Treatments
