It seems I can walk into any kind of store and invariably the thing that catches my eye will have the highest pricetag. When you are wired this way you have to learn something: I am willing to wait (until I can afford it) more than I am willing to settle.
Which brings me to my office decor. The shelves and the desks and the file cabinets and the electronics are set up and sure, I can certainly work in here and I love it. But I have 2 bare windows that are crying for Something Pretty and I have no shortage of resources for Pretty. I have had this Lorca sample (available through Osbourne & Little) hanging up for 3 months and I'm sure I have to have it. It makes me happy.
You can see that it is an embroidered silk. The large flower with the green "stars" is actually velvety to the touch.
Did I mention that it retails for about $560.00 per YARD!!!!
Then there is the sample I have hanging out in my basement TV room. It is a Vervain fabric, from their Barry Dixon collection. I have been in love with this pattern, Cacao Vine, since it was introduced a couple of years ago.
I have it hanging upside down. The cacao pods look like hot air balloons this way.
This one's a bargain compared to the first. Between $200-$300 per yard.
Which brings me to a solution that I'd like to share with you. When it comes to decorating with fabric (or Soft Furnishings, as we like to call them) there are so many ways to use JUST A LITTLE of that expensive fabric so you can maximize your budget. Sometimes just one pillow will be enough to satisfy you, but when it comes to window treatments, you have fabric conserving options as well. There are plenty of valances that only use one yard of fabric. You can mix a valance fabric with a less expensive fabric for the draperies underneath. You can line some valances so the fabric peaks out from underneath, or use it for banding down the vertical edge. A contrast hem, from 5" to 15" at the bottom is also pretty and economical.
The red bottom band could have been longer to use less face fabric.
This swag probably used 1 1/2 yds.
Cornice boards! You can't see that this was a gorgeous lattice weave silk. Simple sheer panels underneath.
More cornices in an embroidered silk.
Plain dupioni on top; very expensive embroidered silk 12" hem.
Make the tabs a contrast fabric.
Each of these valances used approx. 2 yards but these were very large windows (doors).
Very flat little valances. Used about 22" of fabric for each.
Flat valance. The interest was in the trim and the covered buttons.
Simple silk swag with no cascades.
A bed corona. I didn't make this, but you could do something less elaborate to conserve fabric. I like the mix, though.
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