Curtain Call! Part II --Draperies that Billow Like a Ballgown

Last time (before the brief interlude with SPRING!) the subject was draperies that were serenely simple, yet special in their length and volume.  They are made of fabrics that, well, drape (duh).  May sound silly, but the "hand" of the material makes all the difference.  Lightweight wools, soft cottons and linens, rayon and even certain silks and synthetics are perfect to cascade down to the floor -- just meeting it, breaking like a well-tailored trouser leg, or puddling in a glorious heap.  There's no right or wrong, but there definitely is a mood created by the way the drapery falls to the ground.  But that's for a later discussion.  Right now, the subject is draperies that billow!

They make their presence known in a different way and with a different attitude -- draperies that billow out speak more to opulence and less to restraint.  They can be pure silk or engineered synthetics, they can break a little or a lot, but what is always required is a certain crispness, a movement that rustles like the proverbial ballgown.  For sheer drama and glamour, you can't beat them.

Drama? Glamour?  This bedroom by Bentley LaRosa Salasky Design has it all!   These voluminous silk draperies just ooze grandeur.  There's also a knockout valance to top them off, but I'll feature that in an upcoming post.  I know you're just dying to see it...you will.  Keep reading my blog. (photo: New York Magazine; photographer unknown)

In a Missouri house architect Bobby McAlpine and designer Susan Ferrier ramp up the drama in the master bathroom by adding a linen drapery with a fringed hem. (photo: Don Freeman for House Beautiful)

The California house of designer Mary Watkins Wood features  glazed linen curtains from her collection.  (photo:  Thomas Loof for House Beautiful) 

In a Houston house, a trio of designers, headed by Babs Watkins, used additional fabric to create extra fullness in their  opulent draperies. (photo: Kerri McCaffety for House Beautiful)

Designers Illya Hendrix and Tom Allardyce embue a California dining room with "worldly sophistication" and the silk draperies contribute to it -- notice the wrapped detail at the top. (photo: Jeff Oshiro for House & Garden)

Windsor Smith uses sky blue silk with a pretty border for a Los Angeles house.  (photo:  Victoria Pearson for House Beautiful)

Paul Sisken adds a jaunty elegance to a Hamptons dining room. (photo: Antoine Bootz for  House Beautiful)

In a Charleston, South Carolina pied-a-terre, Elizabeth Hagins (your humble blogger) used an under-layer of a UV resistant fabric from Perennials and an over-layer of a faintly metallic woven sheer from Kravet.  As the draperies are opened and closed they billow out even more, creating wonderful verve.  

This is the dining room of the same Charleston home.  Here again we used two layers of fabrics to create the same billowy sumptuousness. Since the intense sun was not such an issue, no UV treated fabric was required, so underneath we layered the same Kravet fabric used in the living room, and topped it off with a patterned silk organza from Koplavitch and Zimmer (now available through Wolf Home.)  The results in both rooms are stunning, thanks to Sam Ruff of Designer Services.            

This brings up a preaching moment.  There are lots of ready made draperies available through many different resources, and I agree that they serve a useful purpose.  But the only reason to use them is their price.  You cannot replace a well-made custom window treatment, no matter how simple the design.  I'm a lover of beautiful fabrics, but if you need to skimp, it's better to use a humble material and have it made by a professional.  Lecture is over.

My upcoming post, Curtain Call!, will continue its look at draperies, with examples of details used to great effect.  (I would ask, who said, "God is in the details," but that's just too predictable, no?)

Thanks for reading, everyone!