Glamour in the Dining Room

If you are lucky enough to have a beautiful, 10 ft window in your dining room, and a lovely glass chandelier, then you know the window treatment will have to match the quality of the room.  That was actually an easy decision:  silk cream drapery panels.  Not just plain, but with an embroidered leading edge, lined and interlined with flannel, and hand-tacked goblet pleats.  The results were just as wonderful as they sounded:

 Notice the embroidery on the leading edge of the panels.  We could have had this continue across the bottom of the panels, but the arrangement of the table hides the bottom of the drapery.  The silk fabric is embroidered after the order is placed.  Each panel is over 120" in length, and a double width (meaning the inside width has the embroidery and the outside width is left plain).  The company, Catania Silks, had these widths sewn together then we had them sent to one of our trusted workrooms, Cord n Pleat.  We didn't want to worry about the shipping of interlined silk panels, so being able to pick them up and "drive" them to our client's house was important.  Also, being able to visit with Marilie, the owner, was fun and I got to watch her put the finial touches on these monster sized drapery panels! 

 

I wish we had a close-up of the hardware we used from the Finial Company.  The rod was a custom color to match the light fixture, and the heavy crystal finial was just the right touch of sparkle to add the final piece of glam to this room.  Keeping  this home classy, simple, but glamorous was our goal. 

Our thoughts:  This dining room is completely open to the foyer and living room.  The layout of this total area demanded that all rooms look harmonious and not one area take away from the other. 

Crystal finial from The Finial Company

Close-up of the embroidered leading edge of the silk panels from Catania Silk

We still have some extras to find to finish the decor in this client's home.  The dining room still needs some art to hang on the wall to the left of the window.  The backdrop is in place for a variety of wonderful table settings and every reason to bring out any variety of tabletop pieces---they'll all look wonderful in this room, no matter what the occasion! 

Keep in mind the way you entertain when you decide to decorate your dining room.  Too much pattern could definitely take away from your Holiday and entertaining decor, or could also be just what it needs---that's what we are here to help you decide!  Everyone's needs are different. 

Dining Room Draperies provide added elegance

Our latest before and after has all the offerings of a classic dining room: a classic dark stained table and hutch, tone-on-tone upholstered dining chairs, a tone-on-tone wallpaper, great moldings, and a perfect traditional brass chandelier. The previous window treatment was a huge, white swag which had seen better days. After it's removal, the client called us to see if we could replace it with something similar. Our idea was much different than the swagged treatment (sorry, no pic). The addition of panels for a nice vertical line on each side of the window seemed to be just what the room needed. Here's the rendering we sent the client to explain what we were talking about:


The wide window and the pale walls really needed something to anchor the treatments and tie in the dark furnishings. We suggested a walnut color hardware with gold highlights. It would also blend the brass chandelier into the color scheme. This sounded good to the client, and now we were down to choosing a fabric. We suggested a pale fabric, but something with a vine type of pattern. We ordered three swatches to be sent to the client. Because of the strong sun, it was suggested to not use a silk fabric, but to use polyester (or a faux silk as they like to call them). This window does not have blinds, and looks out into a beautiful flower garden.

Here's the before picture on the day of installation:

Now you still notice the lovely furnishings and the beautiful view, but the hard edges of the dining room have been softened with the addition of the window treatment. Also, the vertical line obtained by adding panels helps balance the hutch on the adjacent wall.
The client chose the more colorful embroidered faux silk: the gold and red small floral buds and the green vines were just enough color to blend in the adjoining living room and add a little extra that can really be accented throughout the different seasons.

Here's the result:

We opted for two smaller rods and four finials for a little more punch and a little less rod! Another thing we did was to mix the wood hardware with iron hardware. We wanted the pale drapes to be the focal point, so we ordered the brackets and rings in iron. This made for smaller, skinnier rings, and lower profile brackets. This room just didn't need the heft of the wooden rings and brackets, and the panels were able to take center stage.

Here's a close-up of the hardware and pleats:

We do want to give credit to The Finial Company for the hardware, and Kasmir for the fabric and the great work from their workroom. We like to upgrade the lining to a premium quality for added fullness and structure. Note the nice rounded pleats it gives to these panels. As we tell our customers: the undergarments can really make a difference! If you need the support, you need to order the proper lining. Of course, the exceptions are for a lighter weight style of drapery---then it may be appropriate to use a less "weighty" lining. Yes, there is more to learn about window treatments than you thought!

Whether you need a bold focal point or just something to add to the elegance of your dining room, let MLI help you make your decision.