A House Project with Tara, great ideas inside!

Tara first contacted me a little over a year ago to do some window treatments for her bedroom. We have since outfitted the rest of her home with custom window treatments. If you are having several custom window treatments made, it is best to have them done by the same person that they can all be uniform. Here are some things we did for her.

 

These curtains are made out of Les Touches Green Brunschwig & Fils.  We ordered it through Lynn Chalk. We lined them with a matching green liner. You can see how the light reflects the green against the lower wall and window ledge. A subtle and pleasant little surprise without affecting the true color of the main fabric.

Now this fabric was my favorite! These are roman shades, lined in blackout, made from Lotus Blossum in Spring Green.

 

These Hidden Tab Panels are also made out of Lotus Blossum in Spring Green. They are Hidden Tab Panels lined in blackout liner.

 

We also made the roman shades over the French doors. They are made from a basic ivory linen fabric and bordered in Leaf Green and Ivory greek key trim from M and J trimmings.

This is a ruffled rod pocket door curtains with a sash. It is made out of Pyne Hollyhock in Charcoal, which we were also able to purchase through Lynn Chalk at a very reasonable price.

This fabric is stunning, so Tara decided to use it in a few places in her home.

This is a set of Rod Pocket Curtains also made from Pyne Hollyhock in Charcoal. We lined it in a pink liner. It offers a subtle, feminine look when the light shines through. It is gorgeous! Tara had a wonderful idea here to line her curtains in a colored liner instead of our standard white. Turned out breathtakingly gorgeous!

You'll notice she also has an ottoman covers in the green Les Touches. We made the matching pillow covers with the leftover Les Touches and Hollyhock.

 

Of course, it was no surprise when Tara contacted me about her next set of treatments in this stunning fabric:

 

picture from Quadrille

The fabric is Quadrille's China Seas Lyford Pagoda in Orange tint. We were also able to order this through Lynn Chalk.

We will be making this into flat/classic roman shades. Stay tuned to see how they turn out!

 

Again, If you are going to go the custom route, it is best to have all the treatments made by the same person. At WTBM, I train all my seamstresses our own patterns, but even though we are all making the same product here, I still send returning customer orders back to the person that made their other window treatments to ensure that the treatments are all uniform and identical.

 

Contact me at windowsbymelissa at gmail dot com if you have any questions about anything you've seen here today and if you want to use any of the fabrics or ideas for your own custom treatments.



Ask Melissa: How to combine roman shades with curtains

I missed last weeks Ask Melissa because my children have been blessed with Fifth's Disease. Good times at my house this week. But now we're back in full swing.

 

Today's "Ask Melissa" is "How do you combine Roman Shades with Curtains?"

 

Image courtesy of Lynn Chalk

You should mount the shades inside the window frame if combining both shades and curtains. But this is not required. If you can't mount inside, you will need to make sure your curtain rod will provide enough depth so that the shade will not interfere with the functioning of the curtains. There should be some clearance in between the shade and the curtain.

 

 

Image courtesy or client Tara

I recommend mounting the curtain rod at least 5-8" higher than where the Roman will be placed and extend the curtain rod the same distance, or even as much as 10" to either side of the window so the curtains can gather beside the Roman Shades when opened.

 

Image courtesy of Lynn Chalk

If you can't mount higher than the shade you may mount the curtain rod at the same height as the shade, but, again, you need to be sure when selecting your curtain rod that it will allow for plenty of clearance between the curtain and the shade to operate correctly.

 

Image courtesy of Lynn Chalk

In the case of combining Roman Shades and Curtains, it is best to line the shades with standard drapery lining and the curtains with blackout liner. This way you are given options. If you want privacy, but still want light, you can just close your Roman Shades. If you want the room to be darkened, you may close your curtains.

Image courtesy of Lynn Chalk

When selecting fabrics for combination Roman Shade/Curtain window treatments, it is best to choose a solid color for the Romans and a coordinating patterned fabric for the curtains.

 

 

Leave your questions in a comment here or on our Facebook.

 

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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.

UPDATE Education: Blackout liner. Did you know. . . ?

**I wrote this blog post last year and I have yet another reason why I don't like blackout for roman shades.

Update at the end.

When I was a child and growing up in my parents home, I had to have all the lights off to sleep. Even lights outside my bedroom. If there was even the smallest amount of light to be seen from underneath the door, I just couldn't sleep. I'd go out in the hall and turn off the lights only to have my brother immediately turn them back on. He used to say, "Why don't you sleep with your eyes closed like the rest of the human race?" I am a huge fan of blackout lining.

We carry the ever popular blackout lining to line our curtains. First and foremost, let's clear up one misnomer. People think blackout lining is black. It is not. We carry both white and ivory/ecru blackout liner.

There are many great thing about blackout: It blocks light, it insulates, it is machine washable, it keeps the color from fading on your curtains as well as on other items in a room that may get a lot of direct sunlight. But, blackout may not be ideal for everyone. It has a few downsides too.

The following curtains are lined in regular drapery lining, not blackout.

The following sets of curtains are lined in blackout liner.

It is clear that blackout makes a tremendous difference. I definitely recommend on curtains! However, roman shades are a different story.

In constructiong a roman shade we must sew dowel rod cases through the front and back of the shade at about every ten inches down the shade. When the needle goes through the blackout it removes it from the lining and you can see each and every needle hole. And guess what else? We're human! Surprise! This means that sometimes we do not get the dowel rod casing line completely straight all the way across. We do notice this sometimes, but the alternative is to take out the stitching and make it straight. If it does not interfere with the over all quality of the shade we will usually leave an uneven line since removing the stitching makes it so you can see both the straight line and the mistake.

If using white fabric, the blackout material comes through the holes and makes little black marks on the shade around the outside of these holes.

Notice the needle pin holes and uneven lines. If you are one that is easily bothered by details, being able to see the light through these pin holes may become quite bothersome to you over time. If you are one of these people, I would recommend drapery lining.

Drapery lining will also block light and keep the furniture in your room from fading, however it will not block it out completely and it will not keep the fabric on the window treatment itself drom fading.

Over all, I recommend using blackout on curtains and not roman shades. But I do have babies and know the sun is their alarm clock. So if you don't think the pin holes will be a bother to you, then the blackout is great for the romans too.

Feel free to ask me any questions you may have about blackout or drapery lining.

UPDATE:

When sewing roman shades we have to sew the dowel rod cases, or ribbing, to the main fabric and the lining in order for the shade to roll up correctly. The shade is mounted on a mounting block with Velcro. We also have to sew that Velcro to the top of the shade. When we sew with blackout the blackout comes up with the sewing needle and completely damages the fabric. Long story short, blackout isn't all its cracked up to be.