Client Appreciation: See the window treatments in action!

See some of our window treatments in action and get ideas for our own space.

 

These hidden tab panels were a project I did with JSW Interiors. The fabric they are made from is called Green Bean Beads.

These Flat or Classic style Roman Shades were made for a client of ours out of Richloom Evelynne, colorway is Graphite. These shades are a good representation of how we make each shade identical so that when they are being hung next to each other or in the same room the pattern starts in the same place on each window treatment.

This is a  French door curtain that was custom made for a client with a ruffled rod pocket at the top and bottom of he curtain. It also has a 3" wide sash in the middle with Velcro attachment that can be adjusted so the gathering can be as much or little as you like. The fabric tis curtain is made out of is called Hollyhock by Shumacher. We ordered it through Lynn Chalk's discount designer fabrics.

And finally, a blackout lined flat roman shade,

 

to match these rod pocket valances,

 

and matching pillow covers and baby blanket (blanket was not created by WTbM).

Making your window treatments last: Preserving Textiles

Let's face it: There is something about textiles that makes us want to touch them. How many of you have had to shop for your fabric in store instead of line because you have to touch it and feel it?

 

Today we are going to talk about what you can do to preserve your fabrics and make them last as long as possible.

 

There are things we can't avoid. We have to open and close the curtains,



Shumacher Imperial Trellis in Madarin



Straighten the pillows,

 

Amsterdam pillow cover from Rainey Creek Home

Situate the pouf. . .

 

Waverly Bluebell pouf from Rainey Creek Home

We naturally have oils in our skin, but additionally, we touch things throughout the day and get more oils and dirt on our fingers. Then we close, straighten and situate our the items in our home transferring the dirt and oils to our textiles.

 

We also can't avoid the sun, using lights in our homes and the occasional little person who likes to leave love notes to mommy on her couch, pillows, curtains, walls, whatever surface is nearest the crayon.

 

Let's take care of the easiest one first: sunlight. The best way to preserve your fabrics from the sun is to line your curtains. 

 

Hidden Tab Panels from Window Treatments by Melissa

Lining your curtains will not only preserve the fabric used for your curtains, or other window treatments, but it acts as an additional filter that will catch any UV rays from the sun that the window didn't already filter.

 

And I'll bet you wouldn't have guessed that the light bulbs in your lamps and light fixtures will make your fabrics fade, too. If preserving the life of your textiles is important to you I recommend getting the lowest wattage possible on the light bulbs. The worst indoor light for fabrics is fluorescent lighting, commonly used in dark shadowy areas of the home like basements. Keep this in mind when selecting a window treatment or other décor fabric going in a basement and consider using a less expensive option that can be replaced often, if necessary.  

 

Cotton fabrics, like the ones below from Bobbie Lou's Fabric Factory, are good to consider for a situation where you may be replacing items often. Stylish and affordable.



Blue Herringbone from Bobbie Lou's Fabric Factory

 

Maritime Chevron Wave from Bobbie Lou's Fabric Factory

 

Poufs and pillows in high traffic areas are also best in inexpensive cottons that are easy to wash and easy to replace, if necessary. Consider these options from Rainey Creek Home.

 

 

Chartreuse zig zag pouf from Rainey Creek Home

Utah Grommet in Spa

 

Aruba pillow cover from Rainey Creek Home

 

Now, onto the oils and dirt. Textiles are made from natural fibers. Cotton and linen are plant fibers and silks are made of protein fibers and contain salt. The best way to clean your textiles is simply to vaccume them. If a "love note" from your child finds itself on your textiles, or dirt or oil come in contact with your textiles, there are products out there that not only claim to, but do in fact remove stains and love notes from your textiles. :) But one thing you need to know is that the textiles your home décor items are made from are natural fibers and, therefore, are already undergoing their own chemical changes and natural breakdown processes. When you introduce a harsh chemical to an something that is already undergoing chemical change, you are speeding up the deterioration process.

 

Schumacher Bleecker in Spark from Lynn Chalk

Schumacher Kiribati Ikat from Lynn Chalk

  

If you use designer fabrics such as the ones above or below, you should consider the stain. Is it significant enough that you want to introduce the textile to harsh chemicals? Small dirt spots or smudges should first be cleaned by vacuum before you attempt to introduce chemicals, or even water.

 

Sheer Linen Casual Shade from Lynn Chalk

Consider the use of water on natural fibers. Cotton and linens can stand up to water. It should be distilled water as other water sources contain dirt and other elements.

 

But think twice before using it on silk. Remember that silk is a plant fiber and contains salt. Water on silk will cause it to break down and deteriorate quickly. With silks you should consider either living with the stain or replacing the item before introducing it to water, let alone harsh cleaning chemicals.

 

Schumacher Manor Gate from Lynn Chalk

If children's love notes are not a concern in your home and you generally keep a clean house, then the best thing you can do to keep your textiles for as long as possible is to purchase the most expensive fabric you can within your budget. It's true that you get what you pay for. The more expensive fabrics are higher quality and will last a long time.

 

Sinclair Grommet Panels from Swags Galore

If you have young children, and dirt and oils coming in contact with your textiles is a concern, I recommend going with affordable textiles that can be replaced often.

 

LONG STORY SHORT:

*Line your window treatments.

*If you MUST, use only distilled water, but never use any water or chemical on silks.

*Buy the most expensive fabric in your budget

*Always vacuum first before attempting to treat stains. See what the vacuum will get out first.

 

--If you see a fabric you like, click on the image to find its source.

The Most Effective Positioning For Your Window Treatments

Effective Placement of Window Treatments

Narrow a wide window

To narrow the width of a window reduce the curtain track or curtain rod so that more of the window is covered when the curtain are opened. This is a reasonable option for blocking out light.

Widening a Window

To widen a window extend the curtain track or curtain rod so that the curtains will only cover the very edge of the window when opened. The curtain will be mostly be covering wall in this instance.

Lowering the Height of a Tall Window

Install either a valance or pelmet box so that the bottom of the valance or box will cover up some of the glass of the window.

Heightening a Low Window

Place a valance or pelmet box high above the window so that the bottom of the valance covers just the very top of the window as demonstrated in the picture below.

Horizontal stripe fabric NOW IN!

We got our horizontal stripe fabric in yesterday! I was so excited I immediately made a curtain out of it!

It was hard to get a good picture mostly because my house is full of vertical stripes :) The contrast is awkward. But hopefully this give you an idea of the look and how it lays in its different functions.

Fabric details:

•  Medium weight 54" wide drapery fabric.
• Cotton/linen blend
• Stripes are each eight inches wide.
• Colors currently available: Gray/White, Black/White, Navy/White. We can produce any color variety you would like. You can contact us for a special order.
• Fabric is currently $38/yard.

Click here to see the other color combinations we have ready to print.

Do you like it?! What color combos would you like to see? Currently all our options or paired with white, but it certainly doesn't have to be. I'd love to hear your input on color combos. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Pin it!!!

Treatments for Slanting Windows

 Okay, readers. I can't believe I am doing this and my roommates will very likely kill me. BUT, I am posting pictures from college. I promise it relates to slanting windows. But, I couldn't put my collge pictures up without taking a little stroll down memory lane. After all, the most significant parts of my life happened here.

I met my husband in college.

Me and my husband, BC=before children :)

The hubbins and I on homeymoon

And I had my first baby, Joshua. His due date was the week after final exams of my final semester of college. But the little stinker didn't want to be an afterthought. So he came two weeks early! I gave my senior presentation three days after a C-section in sweat pants and high on Percoset. Good times.

I went to Southern Virginia University for my undergraduate degree. The campus has the most beautiful buildings you'll ever see! Most built during the victorian era.

I lived in the turit room right in the center of the picture. As you can tell from the picture the room had two floors.

To give you an idea of the lay out, I took this picture
and the one to the left standing in the same place. So
the stair case is directly to the right of the left
picture.

 

This was our bedroom in the lower part of the round turrit
 that you see in the picture of the front of the building.



The picture above and below are the main part of the dorm room. To give you an idea of the lay out the picture of the stairas and the bedroom was taken from that doorway in the back of the room to the left of the mirror and dresser in the above photo. And both of these pictures were taken from the same place in the room, the front doorway.

Love the James Dean posters and calender. Oh, James Dean. . .

As we were on the top floor, our ceilings were slanted.

The building was very old and terribly drafty. The round room in the front was always so hot because it had windows all around it. We had two dormer windows in the room in the part with the slanted ceilings.

To provide privacy in a room with a dormer window, put a curtain rod both where you will hang the curtain and then another where the slanted ceiling meets the wall.

Obviously, I don't recommend a roman shade on this type of window, but these curtains look fabulous! You can see from the photos that they look like they slide back and forth easily and appear to be very functional. I got the idea of a window treatments book called Quick and Easy Window Treatments by Gail Abbott and Cate Burren.

 

Window Treatments for a sliding glass door

Sliding glass doors can be awkward. The one size fits all drapes you find at the store come in 84" length or 96". One is usually too short and the other is too long. And with a standard 50" width you aren't left with much fullness.

The first thing to consider when deciding on treatments for a sliding glass door is their function: Do you want them for decoration or to block out light?

Next you will need to consider any potential damage that might be done by pets or children going in an out of the door. My first thought was my children coming in from the backyard after eating popsicles and grabbing the door frame where curtains might hang. Yikes!

If the latter is a concern for you then you may want to consider top traetments only: a valance or a cornice board. Here are some ideas:

Cornice Board

A penant valance above the door would add a niced finished touch.

A flat panel or clip ring valance would dress it up quite well.

If children grabbing at door frames and curtains with messy hands or dogs coming in from out of the rain and getting mud on curtain panels is not a concern for you then you can consider drapery panels. I have found two ideal situations for sliding glass doors in my few years experience. 90" seams to be the ideal length for a sliding glass door. But in some cases there isn't room between the window and the ceiling, or some sliding glass doors have a transom above the door that won't all you to hang a curtain rod. In these cases I have found that hanging a track panel from your ceiling works nicely to hang flat panels from.

Here are some ideas:

Mount the track on the ceiling and attach th curtain with ring clips.

And of course, if space allows, hang a curtain rod.

And if blocking light is your primary concern, add blackout to your panels.

If you want both privacy and light blocking but not necessarily at the same, consider hanging a first layer of sheers and a second of panels with blackout liner.

We can do any of the above! Just send us an email to windowsbymelissa@gmail.com to get your custom order started or contact us through our etsy shop.

As always, we look forward to hearing from you.