The Art of Window Dressing

Dressing a window with curtains or blinds can completely transform your living space and dictate the atmosphere of the room. From bold colours and striking prints to sheer light fabrics that allow natural light through, there is a whole spectrum of fabric choices out there for your window dressing and the choice depends on the overall look that you're aiming to achieve. For this blog post, we're taking inspiration and tips from how fabrics from the Fabric Collective range have been styled to elevate interior spaces around the world. 

Stripes: Classic or Contemporary?

Striped blinds never fail to make a statement and when using them to dress a window, the effect can be even more impactful. But choosing stripes is just the beginning. Questions still remain: how thick do you want your stripes? Vertical or horizontal? Straight or scalloped? The options are endless and the choice is yours . . . 

 Images above: (left) Blinds in Tori Murphy's Fastnet Stripe Rose. (Right) Blinds in Tori Murphy's Scallop Stripe Raspberry.

The Perfect Pelmet . . .

We love the grand look of a well-designed pelmet and it's clear that we aren't the only ones who do. "For me pelmets exude luxury, they add an extra attention to detail and give a very finished feel. Pelmets add a sense of height and can balance particularly tall windows. Equally pelmets are a neat way to hide the tracks on which curtains are hung as well as any blinds set behind. The proportion of a pelmet is key, you do not want them so narrow that they look mean, neither too wide that they look heavy or block too much light." – Penny Morrison. 

Image above: Curtains and Pelmet in Penny Morrison's Arabella Red.

Image above: Curtains in Brook Perdigon's Loxo Onyx.

Colour Coordination

When choosing fabric to dress a window, you need to consider the space as a whole. The colour palette of the fabric that you choose for your blinds or curtains can beautifully tie together colours in the rest of your scheme, making them pop even more. We love how the intricate blue and red design on the curtains and blinds in the image below bring out the reds and blues in the rest of the space such as the framed artwork, floor tiling and painted plates. 

Images above: Curtains and blinds in Tasha Textiles's Pushkar Blue & Red.

"Curtains are an opportunity to introduce colour and pattern on a large scale, and from which you can choose a complimentary paint colour for the walls and co-ordinating fabrics for other upholstery in the scheme." – Penny Morrison. Another masterclass in colour coordination, in both images below the bold multi-tonal blue curtains sit harmoniously alongside the geometric blue upholstery on the dining seat and other blue elements in the spaces.

Images above: Curtains in both images in Penny Morrison's Kenil Indigo. 

Yellow is such a warm, vibrant colour and when used in a balanced scheme – like the one below – it can be both uplifting and calming in equal measure. Florals, yellows and oranges tie together the curtain fabric, wallpaper and upholstery in this interior space that exudes joy and charm. 

Image above: Curtains in Sarah Vanrenen's Berri Yellow. 

Let Light In

Curtains and blinds aren't just for blocking light out; they can also dictate the degree of light that you want in a space and the way in which you want that light to shine through. In the image below, the light handle of the linen fabric allows a soft natural light to come through, illuminating the stunning floral print and softening the colour palette even further. We especially love how the blinds are styled with matching curtains, tying together this kitchen space beautifully. 

Image above: Blinds and curtains in Penny Morrison's Ella May Linen. 

Passementerie! 

We love when designers aren't afraid to take things to the next level and that's why we are all for the rising trend of passementerie – like these pom poms used to adorn the gorgeous blue floral curtains. Debby Tenquist, founder and designer of Botanica Trading explains, "There is a resurgence of designers using passementerie. I am seeing lots of curtains on Instagram with trimming/fringing/pom poms which really ups the ante. I think this pom pom trim on the leading edge looks great with these Indigo Mughal Floral Stripe curtains from the Incredible India range" (images below). 

Images above: Curtains in Botanica Trading's Mughal Floral Stripe Indigo.

Image above: Curtains in Serena Dugan's Condesa Mushroom/Peony.

A Sense of Grandeur

If styled right, curtains can elevate a space to royal heights. In the below image, the rich and vibrant red curtains help to create a regal space and – reaching from ceiling to floor – help to showcase the gorgeous high ceilings. 

 Image above: Curtains in Jennifer Shorto's Midnight Mademoiselle Red.