Art of the Drapery

Drapery fabrics are used to soften big windows in monochromatic spaces.

Some designers have a knack for creating interesting and beautifully crafted drapery treatments that add ideas to a room. Then there are rare occasions when fabrics take on a life of their own as interior art forms. For me, this Long Island house by Jose Solis Betancourt, who practices in Washington, D.C., falls into the latter category. I discovered this while clearing out some old magazines and was struck by the monochrome scheme and the way fabrics were lavishly used to soften up the spaces. Here, the yardage really does walk away with the look.

Take the French doors in the living room. It seems a bit daring to use a large roman shade for doors.  But because it’s mounted just under the beam, so it clears the top of the frame, the doors can function effortlessly.  It also keeps the focus on the soaring ceiling.

The adjacent double-height window (a problem in many spaces) is seamlessly integrated and also enhanced. Double-height, French-pleat draperies [to the right of the door] are hung high enough to essentially appear as extensions of the walls while still doing their window-dressing job. These can be surprisingly heavy but the proportions and style somehow keep them looking elegant and diaphanous.

The two-tone, bordered fabric hung like a tapestry panel on the opposite wall [in back] is most interesting of all to me. Clearly, it’s a soft frame for the antique mirror suspended in front. What I find intriguing is the abstraction from a historical room with upholstered walls that have paintings hung from picture rails.

The idea of an old-fashioned bed niche is applied in this bathroom. Instead of tying the draperies back, they simply are hung from a rod that spans the width of the tub enclosure allowing them to be drawn for Zen like privacy.

The guest cottage, with its antique florist table and French ladder-back chairs, also has rustic curtains. The Lee Jofa fabric hangs perfectly because the draperies are expertly made, yet they work like the most elemental curtains imaginable: hung on a pair of pegs by a loop at each end. When open, both ends hang from a single peg, one over the other. To close, they are simply stretched between the pegs. This might sound odd to say but anyone who is looking for a simple DIY window treatment for a child’s room, a kitchen or even a bathroom need look no further.

(Source: Hamptons Cottages & Gardens)

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