Make Room for Dramatic Drapes

By Marice Richter Photos by Rodger Mallison

An extensive remodel of their Colleyville home gave John and Lauri Searfoss exactly what they wanted in their great room: lots of light and a panoramic view of their back yard. Before the remodel, the high-ceilinged room had only French doors with windows above them, but the Searfosses decided to change them out to enormous floor-to-ceiling windows. But all the glass and expanse presented another dilemma.

"We realized that we needed to bring the room in and give it some warmth," Lauri Searfoss says.

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That's Haute

That's Haute!

3700 Cheek Sparger Road, Suite 140, Bedford

817-545-8600

Robin Froeschke

Designs of Arlington

817-371-7914

Rutherford's Design, Fabric, Gifts

5417 W. Lovers Lane, Dallas

214-357-0888

The couple turned to interior decorator Donna Moss, owner of That's Haute!, a home decor and women's clothing boutique in Bedford. Lauri Searfoss had bought some accessories at Moss' store and was attracted to the designer's glamorous style.

Moss, host of HGTV's show Donna Decorates Dallas, knew exactly what the room needed -- dramatic drapery. She designed a spectacular window treatment for the space made from brown velvet panels with a damask pattern and copper threading in the fabric. A cornice topper incorporates Moss' signature bling with jeweled buttons tufted into the fabric. Large teardrop-shaped crystals hang from the cornices in each window.

"To me, draperies are a lot like jewelry," Moss says. "If you aren't wearing any jewelry, something's missing. Drapes can be dramatic or elegant or simple but you need them to frame a room, make it complete."

Lauri Searfoss agrees. "They add so much to the look of the room," she says.

Moss and other interior designers say draperies are an important part of any room, both for style and function. Treatments, like Moss' design for the Searfoss home, fill both roles, with the fabric panels and cornices adding style and retractable solar shades and unrolling fabric screens adding function by shielding the room from the blazing summer sun.

Draperies come in ready-made and custom varieties. Ready-mades are mass-produced and come in only a few standard sizes, designers say.

"With custom draperies, the sky's the limit," says Arlington-based interior designer Robin Froeschke, who creates luxurious custom drapery treatments for clients across North Texas. Her ingenuity ranges from an elegant matelassé drapery treatment of long panels topped by a scallop-edged cornice for one client to whimsical curtains for a doghouse for another. "There are so many beautiful fabrics and styles to choose from -- I personally love bold stripes for drama and rich colors for theatrical flair," she says.

One of the big advantages of well-designed custom draperies is that they can disguise architectural flaws such as windows that are hung too high, too low or off center. "They can make small windows look larger and make the room look much better," Froeschke says.

Draperies have come a long way in the 24 years since Robert Rutherford opened his namesake design business in Dallas. Heavy velvet and brocade draperies accented with thick fringe trim have mostly given way to streamlined styles and lightweight fabrics, Rutherford says. "People still want beautiful draperies with trimmings, but they want them to be more understated and elegant," he says. "The rules about decorating have relaxed. It's OK to have a modern chair in a traditional room and it's OK to have pared down, unfussy draperies."

Fabrics like silk, linen and lightweight wool, chenille and lightweight velvet are popular choices for drapery panels and cornices, according to designers. Damask patterns, metallic thread woven into the fabric, vibrant color and intricate embroidery are frequently used to add texture and richness to draperies, while tufts and pleats add artistry and drama.

The choice of fabric and styling is only part of what makes a drapery treatment really stand out. The "hardware" -- rods and finials -- are crucial to the overall aesthetic and make as much of a statement as a sleek nickel faucet in a bathroom, designers say. Iron, wood and bronze are just some of the choices for rods and finials. "There are so many beautiful designs and styles that really make a statement," Froeschke says. "Rods need to be durable, especially if they are used for opening and closing drapes once or twice a day."

Designers also note that high-quality draperies, especially those that are triple-lined, help insulate a room, which can reduce energy costs. Draperies also can add another layer of security to a home by shuttering views from the outside. Technology makes it possible to open and close draperies and blinds from a smartphone, so homeowners can give the impression that someone is home even when no one is.

Today, draperies aren't even limited to just windows. "I design a lot of draperies for cabanas around pools," Froeschke says. "The choices for outdoor fabrics are endless."

Marice Richter is a Grapevine freelance writer and frequent contributor to Indulge.

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