uebdd

Tag: Silk Woven Tie Raise your hand if you moved into your home months or even years ago,

yet you still have those paper Redi Shades on your windows.Dealing with window treatments —

or not — is a major design quandary for residents and designers alike. There are so many

options in window-treatment fabrics, colors and function that picking them can be

overwhelming. So do-it-yourselfers often install temporary paper shades for immediate

privacy and then don't give their windows a second thought.Or they do nothing at all because

they are totally lost."People see window treatments as an afterthought," says Jackie Von

Tobel, an interior designer and author of "The Design Directory of Window Treatments" ($60,

Gibbs Smith), a reference book she intended to serve as a window-coverings guide for

homeowners and interior designers. "But every single window in your house has a different

set of needs, depending on its size, location and function."Selecting window treatments is a

precise process that "deals with measuring and knowing how to hang rods and materials," says

Toni Palmer, who has been designing luxury homes in Cherry Creek for 37 years.Window

treatments also complete a room's look by adding color and movement to a space that might

otherwise feel static. They can soften hard edges, enhance architecture or detract from sore

spots."A lot of people have beautiful homes, but when they don't furnish them completely and

never get around to window treatments, they really cheat themselves," says Nora Stewart, a

20-year residential interior designer in Denver who specializes in custom window

treatments.Stewart and designer Toni Palmer used examples from Von Tobel's book to help do-

it-yourselfers dress up some of the most problematic windows. Their advice should help

everyday homeowners take down those Redi Shades once and for all.Bay windowsHighlands Ranch

designer Nora Stewart often confronts bay windows in high-end home construction,

particularly in breakfast nooks.To create a traditional look, she says, use a one piece

pull-up valance and extend it over all the windows in the bay. The pull-up valance has a

scalloped edge, making it appear to dance around the window and create visual movement, says

this owner of Nora Stewart Interiors Inc. The goal is to treat the windows as a whole unit

instead of working with them separately.If there is wall space between the windows and you

have enough space at each side of the outer windows, try hanging a stationary floor-length

panel between each window and on each side with a decorative rod. "It surprises people to

put the long curtain panels between windows, but it creates a really cozy nook," Stewart

says.Or cover the windows with a separate valance, or one long continuous valance with

longer sides to create a visual anchor."People make the mistake of putting treatments right

on top of the window," Stewart says. "Instead extend the treatments up to the ceiling."Toni

Palmer has a bay window in the master suite of her home. She says the key is to enhance the

window's architecture instead of masking it with fabric.She prefers to pair woven wood

blinds with four fixed drapery panels or blinds behind a cornice or valance. One of Palmer's

clients, on the other hand, wanted to soften the ceiling line near her bay window. So Palmer

created a contemporary look with a serpentine, zigzag cornice board.Stacked windowsIn

Colorado construction, it's common to see two or three sets of windows running the full

height of a two-story house in a living room or great room. Usually there is a set of

windows at floor level with another set stacked above them, Stewart says.In this case, she

recommends running very long curtain panels from the ceiling all the way down to the

floor.On each side of the row of windows, hang a curtain panel with a decorative rod and

nice-looking support brackets. Or try short curtain rods about 24 inches wide with a finial

on each end, hanging a panel from the rod with rings.For an old-world look, layer fabrics

with valances, a banner or flag treatment over the panels. Or sew panels with two or three

bands of complementary fabric or trim.Using panels will typically result in some empty wall

space in between the upper and lower windows. To solve this problem, Stewart uses

accessories such as scrolled metal brackets or oversized plates to embellish the

drywall.Arched windowsNewly built homes typically have a set of three windows with a large

single arched window over the top of the center window. That configuration is called a

Palladian window.In one Cherry Creek home, Palmer used an arched valance cornice board to

contend with a rectangular window that had a curved insert."I completed the niche instead of

fighting with it," she says, "by doing a cornice board valance with drapery gathered panels

that hit the floor."Simplicity is good, Palmer adds. A common mistake she sees in homes is

piling on fabrics. The result is a convoluted mess. She uses Roman shades and woven wood

blinds and draperies for a lighter, contemporary look and avoids heavy treatments.Stewart

also suggests having a carpenter come in and remove any sheet rock between the windows. Then

surround all of them with casing and put in one sill for uniformity.Allow the architecture

to shine by using a multitiered valance with a higher center-point rosette, a middle-point

and a lower point. Or leave the arch open.