Tricks of the trade: Tonal Curtains
We’ve been doing this long enough now to have some established tricks up our sleeves.
While we work in a broad range of styles that reflect our clients’ tastes, and while we rarely repeat a fabric or piece of furniture, we do have some specific strategies that we employ again and again.
Drapery
Often, we use drapery as a moment of drama, pattern or contrast. But sometimes the drapes are simply supporting players. In these instances, we often go tonal, matching the drapes to the walls.
Why have drapes at all in these cases?
Drapery lends height to the room, can even out an awkwardly sized or placed window, and the fabric serves to soften the space and absorb sound. Curtains have a job to do, but sometimes its best if they do it subtly!
Bold
In rooms with a bold wall color, continuing the tone on the drapery adds depth. In this family room, we chose velvet drapery, which means we get a texture shift from wall to drape panel. A patterned or high contrast curtain would have cut up the room and drawn focus away from the architectural details.
Photo: Josh Grubbs
In this Minneapolis dining room, green velvet drapery emphasizes the french doors, and can be drawn to cover them, creating a cocoon effect. Again, the drapery is sexy and lush but does not steal the show.
Photo: Josh Grubbs
In another Minneapolis dining room, chartreuse linen draperies glow against slightly deeper walls. Everything else is quite neutral so the color is the star! To take the effect one step further, the simple drum chandelier is in the same color family.
Photo: Scott Amundson
Quiet
In the examples above, the colors are bold but the strategy has a calming effect. In a neutral setting, the effect is even more serene. In this great room in Deephaven, curtains in the same pale grey as the walls give quiet definition to the dining and living spaces without competing with architectural features like the v-groove ceiling.
photo: Spacecrafting
In a primary suite in San Francisco, the ripplefolds close to cover a large glass door—essentially becoming a wall themselves.
Photo: Thomas Kuoh
In my own living room, White linen draperies help balance an off-center window, and block glare from the TV in the late afternoon. With strong color and pattern in here, the goal was for draperies that almost disappear.
Photo: Kim Cornelison
Are you convinced? While we LOVE a good patterned window treatment, sometimes a solid, tonal to the wall, does the job right.