Your windows are dynamic features in your home. Although their surface is a solid clear face that never changes, the images that shine upon that face are ever shifting with the changing nature of the world outdoors. What’s more, windows are also the pathway taken by natural sunlight into the home, making any decorative treatments which you endeavor inherently dynamic. It’s important to understand these factors when designing and dressing curtains to enhance such effects.
Lighter, translucent curtains are going to interact more directly with sunlight. Thin gauzy material may actually seem to glow when the light of the sun hits it in the right manner. This can be enhanced by adding a variety of decorative trinkets to the material. Tiny mirrored pieces can be glued to the edges of a light colored curtain to collect and reflect light throughout the room. Crystals can also be easily affixed, allowing the tiny stones to collect the illumination, glittering with the merry glow.
Curtains themselves are relatively simple to fashion. Any square piece of hemmed fabric, or sarong, can be affixed with special curtain clips and then hung from a pole. This gives you a relatively endless number of options, and choosing new curtains can be as easy as going to the fabric store with some sizes in hand, and traveling along the aisles enjoying the selection.
A way to add whimsy and fun to a plain muslin curtain is to line it with tiny pompoms. These can be purchased in a wide variety of contrasting or complimentary colors, as well as a number of different sizes. Attach them to fabric tape, and then stitch them along the edge of a plain muslin curtain to give it a frivolous, entertaining energy.
A more classic look would involve stitching lengths of ribbon or braid along the edge of the curtain. Alternatively you can have strips of cloth or ribbon stretch across the middle of the curtain in order to create an attractive striped effect. Space them out evenly, or have them cut to random lengths to create unique patterns.
Another clever curtain treatment is to sow tiny pockets of matched colored fabric across the face of the curtain. All you need are tiny squares of cloth, with the bottom two corners folded over. Stitch the entire piece into the actual curtain, leaving the top opening undone. Then you can hang tiny ornaments from the pockets, or fill them with fragrant floral displays that will entice the eye and enchant the nose.
If you have a light, floaty voile curtain, you can weigh them down by affixing tiny decorative items to the bottom edge. Stitching shells or mosaic tiles, or bits of stone to the bottom of the piece creates a unique fringe which also serves to hold the curtain more firmly in place.
Windows are doorways to the visual outdoors. They let in the light, the breeze, and the sights and sounds of the world beyond. The way you dress them is therefore very important, as any treatment has to be able to accommodate the dynamic nature of these elements. Creativity may abound however, with customized curtains giving you control over the look and feel of your windows.
The Author:
This article sponsored by PebbleZ’s line of decorative marble vases which are crafted from real mountain born pieces of polished natural stone. The article itself was written by decorative mason and stone expert Joey Pebble.