TAKING SHAPE
Finalist: Best Workmanship/Execution Designer: Bonnie Haugh
Owner, Designing Windows
Pittsford, NY
Workroom: Peggy Morgans
Owner, Parkway Window Works
Pittsford, NY
The primary challenges for this project were the specialty shapes of the treatment and the use of a stripe silk fabric. The bay window and two side windows feature a modified pagoda shape, making the swag fabrication very unusual. The client had also requested the stripes be set vertically, which meant the fabric could not be cut on the bias.
Additionally, the curves of the cornice meant that the stripe fabric would appear distorted if not positioned precisely. Correct proportions were critical to the end result. Pattern repeat and alignment of the swags, jabots and panels also were an important consideration.
Bonnie Haugh had worked closely with this client in several rooms of her home. This particular homeowner had very specific ideas of how she wanted to finish this last room. She loved the idea of a shape for the window treatments. She also wanted something very elegant and sophisticated. To Haugh, the use of designer fabrics with interlining and lots of trim seemed obvious. The addition of a shape to the traditional swag and panel format added the flare the client called out for.
Haugh is both a designer and workroom, but knew she needed special expertise to help complete this job. Enter Peggy Morgans. Working together, the two collaborated and discussed the best options available to meet the client’s needs.
Haugh fabricated the swags, patterning each one individually, using instructions from Ann K. Johnson’s “The Professional Workroom Handbook of Swags.” Chain weights were used to ensure perfect alignment of repeats and swag placement. While she worked on the swags, Morgans prepared the shaped cornices, including a dry fit to ensure perfect installation. Two widths of fabric were used to gather the opulent panels, which were lined and interlined. The placement of the stripes for the jabots were carefully pleated and finished by Morgans. Finally, the addition of fifty-four yards of hand-sewn tassel fringe provided the icing on the cake!
Sources:
Fabrics: Kravet Couture, #24367, Color 716 (Silk Stripe); Fabricut Majesty Silk, Spun Gold (jabot and pelmet lining)
Angels: Ruby Plus Sateen, Putty (panel lining), Angels, Interlining, Natural 3.
Trim: Stout Brothers, Monti 3, Springtime
CURTAIN CALL
Finalist: Technology Innovation/
Motorization
Designer: Steve Albertson
Aero Drapery & Blind
Little Canada, MN
Workroom: Warren Steven Window
Fashions Drapery Workroom
Minneapolis, MN.
To create a theater-like atmosphere, the client needed a solution for blocking off a sunken living area, keeping bright outdoor light and sound from interrupting the theater room. Another conflict was the shape of the room itself. The sheetrock cutout has many angles, requiring any room dividing drapery hardware to be custom bent.
Not only would the hardware need to be custom-made, but it also would need the strength and durability to hold up the heavy, 102 yards of velvet and chenille fabric. These fabrics were selected because they would be heavy enough to block outside noise and light.
The client also wanted the fabric to coordinate with both the interior and exterior of the theater room. Rich fabrics in warm tones were chosen to provide a cozy mood for movie screenings. Lush, chocolate brown, velvet ripple-fold draperies cover the walls while caramel chenille ripple-fold draperies face the bar area outside the theater room. Red self-lined chenille side-panels with a bullion fringe trim accent the draperies for the ambiance of a traditional movie theater.
To tie-in the colors of the decorative panels, custom accent pillows from the same fabrics and cording were fabricated for the chairs.
The wiring for the television screen, acoustics and lighting had already been done, so in order to avoid cutting any wires accidentally, the furniture couldn’t be moved during installation.
Motorized draperies make the best movie-watching experience possible with the click of a button. After creating a custom template, Warren Steven Window Fashions was able to assemble a custom motorized drapery rod. The final product was a custom curved rod; bent in two places to match the angles of the room.
The heavy draperies were motorized for ease of opening and closing with the touch of a button. Due to the extreme weight of the draperies, twin motors were used; one on each end. The draperies can be closed and opened with a remote control using an infrared eye.
Each side of the drapery treatment is two separate draperies. The ripple-fold draperies were both hung on a double pendant carrier, allowing both sides of the draperies to have coordinating colors. The edges were hand-sewn along the lead edge at the time of the install to appear as one drapery.
The installation required a team of three people. They worked around the furniture while lifting the heavy draperies up in order to snap each side into the double-pendant carrier.
The designer and client thought the final product was perfect. The family loves the motorized draperies and their new home theater.
Sources:
Fabrics: RM COCO: Weiss, Peppercorn Weiss, Claret; Westco: Stylistic, Cashew.
Trim: Fabricut: Cozy, Autumn
Hardware: BTX Motorized Rod; The Finial Co. decorative rods; Graber Ripplefold tape
Installation: Dave Quimby, Rick Mysliwiec and Jon Hoglund, Warren Steven Window Fashions, Minneapolis, MN.
Photography: Mark Ehlen, Ehlen Creative Communications, Champlin, MN.
THE PERFECT FIT
Honorable Mention
Designer: Melissa Rodgers
Owner, Melissa B. Rodgers Interiors
Mechanicsburg, PA
Workroom: Deborah Hather
Owner, Deborah Anne
Custom Window Treatments
Carlisle, PA
The first challenge facing Melissa Rodgers was very little wall space between the three sets of doors. Second was that the doorframes created a problem for the cornice boards—they needed to be cut out in the back so the boards would fit flush with the wall.
The customer wanted some color and softness added to the airy, light space, but didn’t want to cover the doors. Rodgers and Hather decided a floor-to-ceiling window treatment would provide the most impact.
Because there wasn’t much space between the doors, one-width stationary panels seemed to be a good solution. Rodgers and Hather wanted to add something more than just panels, though, so they added cornice boards which were enhanced with decorative scalloped beaded trim. To add even more interest, they used two complimentary fabrics: a floral for the panels and a stripe for the cornices.
The panels were fabricated using one width of pinch pleat, lined and interlined drapery fabric. The cornice boards were constructed out of plywood. They each then had to be cut out in the back to accommodate the shape of the door trim to fit flush against the wall. To complete the boards, padding was applied then covered with fabric, which also wrapped to the inside of the board. Decorative scalloped beaded trim was added to the top face of the board. Straight cut self-welt was added to the tops and bottoms of the boards to be sure the striped pattern line up across the cornice board. To finish it off, fabric was added to the top of the board.
Screw eyes were drilled into the inside of the top of the board to accommodate hanging the drapery panels. This provided easier installation and prevented additional holes in the walls that would be necessary if using a rod. Also, using drapery rods would mean each rod would have to be cut down to fit.
Sources:
Drapery Panels: Carole Fabrics, pattern Sequential, color Peridot
Cornice boards: Deborah Anne Custom Window Treatments; Carole fabrics pattern Wendover, color Piazza Green
Decorative trim: D'Kei: B1334DN
Screw eyes: Rowley Co.
