Flat Panel with Pleated Top

Add interest to flat-panel drapes by attaching a contrasting fabric folded into three tailored pleats. This type of detail could also be used to update traditional pinch-pleat draperies.

More Information: Single Window Treatments

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Flat Panel with Folded Cuff

Flat panels can also be lined with a coordinating lining fabric that is exposed when folded over at the top edges between drapery rings. Notice too the short “return” of fabric that spans the area between the rod and the wall.

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Flat Panels on Pegs

One width of fabric can be hemmed and hung from any type of hook or peg. It’s an inexpensive look that doesn’t require complicated pleating.

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Swagged

These pencil-pleated panels have been draped with a swag of fabric edged with silky tassels.

More Ideas: Super Simple Valances

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Box Pleated

Box pleats are another beautifully tailored treatment for stationary panels. Here the pleats have been detailed with a fabric-covered button. Link

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Pencil Pleats

This look is tailored and feminine. Pencil-pleating tapes are sewn to the back with strings that cinch up the fabric into elongated pleats. Use this treatment for stationary panels only.

More Information: Draperies and Curtains

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Goblet Pleats

Tiny pleats are caught with a stitch about four inches down from the top of the drape, creating a cup-shaped fabric poof that can be left empty or filled with tissue or batting. link

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Pinch Pleats

Traditional pinch pleats take three folds of fabric sewn together for a pleat that fans out on the top and bottom. This drape gets extra interest from a sewn-in valance header with tassel fringe.

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I held a large sample panel in white in the window, and asked the clients to step outside and take a look; they were horrified! Installing any shade or shutter that showed white to the exterior would ruin the affect they worked so hard to create in building this home. So we began to look at the window treatments as not just a functional necessity, but an addition to the overall appearance of the home that needed to work in harmony with the rest of the construction materials.

Shutters were still desired for their inherent beauty and function. We reviewed the readily available materials, but decided that any other wood grain would contrast too much with the grain of the Fir. The answer was to match not just the color of the surrounding trim and moldings, but to match the wood as well.

The result was astounding. It appeared that the shutters were made in the same mill as the moldings, and had been installed by the same finish carpenter.

When selecting all window treatments, but especially plantation shutters, be sure to think out of the box. Consider the appearance from within and from outside. Make sure you are working with a designer or shutter specialist that truly knows the product and is able to offer more than just the usual fare. To our knowledge this was the first time Fir was used as a shutter material for a home in New England. After seeing the beauty of this home, I am sure it will not be the last.

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We just completed work on a beautiful custom home in Gilford, NH on beautiful Governor’s Island in the middle of Lake Winnipesaukee. This architect designed home is nestled within the trees along the waterfront giving the impression that it has always been right where it is. The main design theme of the home is Craftsman style, where the wood used in construction is the main design element.

The primary wood used for moldings and detail is straight grained Fir. A wood commonly used throughout vacation homes in Northern New England. This wood has a distinctive grain pattern and natural color that is right at home in the woodsy waterfront setting.

When we first met the clients, it was immediately decided that shutters would be used only in the bedrooms and bathrooms for privacy and light control. Other shadings would be used in the main rooms. The clients had assumed that a painted shutter would be most appropriate. But I was concerned about the appearance of a white shutter from the exterior. As described above, the home is constructed of all natural materials on the exterior. The Cedar shakes and beams that surround the windows are fully natural in appearance. I was concerned that a ‘wall of white’ showing through the window would ruin the affect.

To be continued

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