It’s been a year since I wrote the last post on choosing curtains, and this still remains one of the most asked questions to me. And so I am back with a roundup of all our window treatments over the last year.
Window Treatments 2021
Like with any form of art, I don’t think there is any clear cut way of ‘teaching’ how to select window treatments. And again, just as with any art forms, I strongly believe there are no rights and wrongs. Different people like and dislike different things, and just because I don’t like the way a particular thing is done, doesn’t make it wrong.
So for all of you who do like the way we do our window treatments in our projects, I’m going to walk you through the thought process that runs in my head while I make selections. I think that should give you an idea of some ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of our process.
Little Girl’s Room
We took the drapes of this pretty room all the way up to the ceiling. I love how it makes the ceiling look so much higher and the room more spacious.
Though this room is bright and colourful, we also wanted it to look pretty, dainty and all things little girly. The broad stripes on the heavy drapes look more delicate because they are embroidered with a cross stitch pattern. These embroidered bands brought in all the different colours of this room together while the cream base toned down all the colours.
Similarly, the embroidered flowers and leaves on the sheer curtains are light, delicate, and in just the colours we wanted.
Finally, I love the contrast of the bold, broad stripes, with the delicate floral embroidery. All of this ties in with each other perfectly in terms of colours and is starkly different in terms of style. Don’t you love a mix like that?
Almost Blue Living Room
We selected similar contrasts for this living room. Since we had a bold colours on the rug and artwork here, we decided to go monochromatic on the curtains. So both the curtains you see are only in shades of grey.
We’ve used bolder patterns so you don’t miss the colour, and yet the patterns are contrasting too. We have a simpler diamond pattern embroidered in a light grey for the heavy drapes. As opposed to this, the sheer curtains have an intricate and more prominent floral embroidery on them.
One of my favourite things to do with beautiful sheers, is to watch the sunlight cast dazzling shadows and make interesting silhouettes through the embroidery!
Lavender Guest Room
One of my favourite window treatments from this home are these lovely curtains we selected for the guest room.
Working with lavender is a little difficult, mainly because there aren’t too many home furnishings available in this colour. The ones available are mostly only lavender. So when I first laid my eyes on this fabric, my heart sang a little song. Though lavender pops out as a predominant colour here, it has gentle blues and yellows that blend with it so well.
In addition to that, the Indian print went perfectly with the tree motif on our wallpaper. And finally, the embroidered diamonds on the sheer curtains reflected the diamond pattern on the curtains. Even though the two fabrics aren’t ‘matchy-matchy’, they look like they belong together.
Gorgeous Green Master Bedroom
Though the master bedroom is the softest of all the rooms in this vibrant home, the client was very sure that they wanted that vibrancy along with the calming vibes. So though we went with more subtle, greyish-green tones in terms of colour, we stuck to bold patterns in keeping with the vibe of the rest of the home.
I think the patterns also play up well against the almost all white finish of this room.
Shades Of Grey Living Room
Can you see the beautiful view from this living room balcony? The most amazing part is that you are not looking into another window. (I think you might have to be a Mumbaikar to understand the true joy of this!) So we didn’t need to cover the windows for privacy.
We also don’t have a television in this living room. Which means glare coming in from the windows on to the screen was not an issue either.
We decided to go in for only a single layer of sheer curtains here. They are a soft grey colour with the tiniest sequins embroidered all over them, which makes them gently shimmer in the light.
They add a softness to the space without really being a visual barrier between the living room and balcony, making the entire space look larger.
Cozy Family Room
We have three of these alcoves in this home, each of which we have used very differently. But in terms of window treatments, they are pretty much the same.
In this family room, the alcove makes a cozy seating area. Putting in two layers of drapes all the way to the floor would have taken up a lot more of the floor space, leaving little for the seating. So we combined sheer curtains with blinds.
The muted stripes make the perfect backdrop for the heavily embroidered sheers.
Teenage Boy’s Room
This alcove made a study for our teen boy. For the same reason as above, we couldn’t do two hanging drapes here. So we went for a layer of blinds and sheers again.
This time though, since we have brighter and bolder stripes on the blinds, we went for very simple, lightly embroidered sheers.
Sunshine Master Bedroom
The third of our alcoves made a home for this bed. Once again, we couldn’t have curtains falling all over the bed and getting in the way. We made a slot for one layer of curtains behind the headboard, so that they don’t fall over. A layer of blinds takes care of the privacy.
This entire room is more warm and traditional in terms of design and we carried that look over to the window treatments too. A cheerful Indian motif on the blinds is balanced by heavily embroidered sheer curtains. Together, they add a rich, lush vibe to this master bedroom.
Mid Century Modern Living Room
As you can see from this pelmet, we couldn’t take the curtains all the way up to the ceiling here. The AC unit was placed above the window here and we couldn’t change its position.
This living room is all about subtle colours and patterns. The same holds true for the window treatment too. With white marble flooring and white walls, we wanted to carry on with the whites all over.
And so we have white sheers with white lace stitched on to it in a geometric pattern. This is teamed up with soft, grey embroidered scallops on white curtains.
Mint Green Master Bedroom
The all white look and feel of this home carries into its master bedroom too. And so here too, we have curtains in the lightest possible mint green, embellished with embroidery in white threadwork and sequins.
These are paired with white sheers embroidered in white for an understated, stylish vibe.
Wood & White Bedroom
This boy’s bedroom is resplendent in rich wood tones made more luxurious with gold and black highlights. We were lucky to find this lovely fabric in the exact same colour tones. I love the way the curtains play up these colours without drawing attention away from the bold headboard and artwork above it.
They are paired with white sheers with pinstripes in the same colour tones. (I don’t know how we missed a photograph of those!)
Blue Bedroom
I don’t know what it is about blue, that any which way you use it, it is always pleasing to the eye. However much I love the rest of the rooms of this home, I always find the pics of this bedroom the most soothing.
Though it was completely unintentional when we selected it, I think the abstract blue ‘smudge’ on the curtains now looks to me like cloudy skies against that large window. The pretty, embroidered sheers partner the curtains perfectly.
Home Office Cum Family Room
With all the carving on the coffee table and pattern on the wallpaper, we thought we would keep the window treatments very light in terms of pattern but richer in terms of texture.
The curtains here are an off white cotton with an almost self-colour embroidered pattern. They are paired with linen sheers with self stripes.
Soothing Guest Room
And here we are with another pleasing blue bedroom. Though the furniture is contemporary, we went with traditional motifs in the furnishings. In keeping with that, we used a light blue floral print for the curtains, teamed with a white sheer with woven blue stripes.
Home Gym
You don’t usually need complete privacy in a gym. What’s nicer is a feeling of openness with lots of natural light flowing in. So we used blinds in here which can be folded away and kept out of sight. The beige, grey and black stripes go with the monochromatic colour scheme of this room.
We paired these with extremely light sheer curtains with barely there beige and black pin stripes on them. They help block the glare of direct sunlight and a direct view into the gym, yet giving a feeling of openness and plenty of light.
And that’s a wrap for this post. From bold and bright to subtle and light, you’ve seen quite a range of selections here. But whatever the look might be, I think one thing is certain. That though window treatments are a necessity, we treat them as much more than just needs.
We indulge in them, like we would with our wants. And that slight difference of putting a bit of thought into them makes a huge difference to the look and feel of any space.
Since you are going to use window treatments anyway, why not make them work for you in the best possible way?
Yes?
Until next time,
