I have always said that my home just doesn’t feel complete without some window treatments on the windows. I know the trend can be to just leave the windows alone and do shades or blinds. Fortunately the windows already had blinds on them but it lacked the warmth that I was craving.

This little room is just off the kitchen and dinette where we eat most of our meals. It is where we spend a good hour every morning in our chairs drinking coffee, reading, journaling and morning prayers and reflection and sometimes an hour (if I am lucky) in the afternoon taking a catnap. It is important to me to have a cozy place for that.

While in Roanoke for ten days early September, I bought three remnant pieces of a P Kaufman linen/cotten blend of fabric that I knew would be perfect for this room. I envisioned pinch pleated drapes on the two windows and large window over the desk. I would have to get creative to make the best use of the limited fabric but thankfully each remnant was at least three and a half yards as each panel would be 102” long.

Instead of pinch pleated drapes, I settled on tab-backed drapes that would give me the same look of a pleated look but without the drapery rings. Since I wasn’t going to open and close these drapes this was a good solution for these small panels on both sides of the windows.

I split the width of the fabric in half to get two panels out of the fabric pieces. To add a bit more of a width to the fabric, I found a coordinating white and blue checked linen fabric to make a leading edge on the panels.

I lined the fabric to give them more weight and so that the light would not fade the fabric or filter out the design when the sun comes through the window.

Once done, I trained the pleats to be more defined and hung them on a simple white rod hung just above the window frame.

I decided the panels would not work on the big window of the adjacent window as they would look too skimpy with just half the width of the fabric. I opted instead on a cornice topper using the same fabric with a cording made with the checked white fabric. This way I would be able to actually see the design on the fabric and finish the window off with just the right amount of softness and without covering up the window too much. I think the vaulted ceilings handles the cornice treatment nicely and draws your eyes downward.

Next month we will be painting this room a natural linen color from Sherwin Williams.

What do you think?

Denise