I love mixing fabric textures in a room - linens with velvets with silks. But with kids in the house, the silks usually need to be pillows or curtains. Fine by me - I love silk curtains! I found an inexpensive silk fabric source in the garment district and had planned to just make my own panels. But then I stumbled on these panels at JC Penney for about $50 each. Real silk with lining? I couldn't pass that up.
I bought four panels for my long window wall, which should be just enough width to combine and make two very wide panels. I bought them extra long so I could sew in my own pleating (tutorial on the way!).
I got the Ming Blue color which, despite the preview color on the JCP site, looks like a mix between all of these curtains below. A dark, moody slate blue. I'm loving it.
Kate Spade
Windsor Smith
I love these drapes! What a great price!!
ReplyDeleteI'm dying to see your place but I know the pressure you must be feeling from all sides here! Good luck Jenny! We're routing for you!
ReplyDeletexoxox
Jessica
These curtains look absolutely gorgeous. Ditto on the excitement to see your finished room!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see them in your place. Love the blue!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to hearing your news...and seeing more of your work! Janell
ReplyDeleteJenny, are you happy with the quality of these curtains in person? I'm always nervous about buying from less expensive retailers because the items can often look cheap. Thanks! PS Can't wait to see what you've done with your place!!!
ReplyDeleteI have these drapes in 108" long, 6 of them. They hold up pretty well, no complaints. Although I took them down now, changing taste thats all. Instead I made 4 roman shades with your tutorial and they came out lovely. Can't wait to see more of your work.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, I have a red and blue theme in my living room and it has been a long time that this color combination has been shown some love among trendsetters!
ReplyDeleteYour room will be gorgeous!
I posted on a red/blue painting today, come and see!
xoxo
Oh, do share! Where is your secret garment district silk source?
ReplyDeleteJenny, I do not know how you have time to do all you do, it is certainly inspiring. You inspiration library must be huge - because you always find the perfect photos to illustrate exactly what you are saying, which is what makes Little Green Notebook such a success.
ReplyDeletewww.acuratedlifestyle.blogspot.com
I love silk drapes - just did champagne colored ones in my dining room. One tip for other readers, silk drapes always look slightly different in color than you are expecting because they have an added sheen. They are lovely, but don't try to match them too closely with another color.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great price! Can't wait to see them in your room!
ReplyDeleteFantastic Price! I've been on the lookout for drapes for my husband's office. Just painted the walls BM Polo blue and got a zebra print rug (it's chocolate brown stripes instead of black). The amber gold could work. Def worth looking into. Thanks!! Can't wait to see all your pictures!!!
ReplyDeletePS - This is the look I am going for:
http://covetdujour.blogspot.com/2011/02/spaces-his-home-office.html
And we also LOVE your source posts too! Especially when you find a total bargain! I'm headed to the jcp site now to see them for myself. Can't wait to see what you have coming!
ReplyDeleteooohhhhh I can't wait to see photos! Your stuff always ROCKS!
ReplyDeletexoxo
E
www.glitterandgoldblog.blogspot.com
That windsor smith image has been in my files for some time now...utterly gorgeous...love the drapes!! would love to see what you do!! hope to see you on my blog sometime soon!! xx meenal
ReplyDeleteThe blue drapes "make" the last room!
ReplyDeletejuliesfreshperspectives.blogspot.com
The blue silk drapes really add a very nice ambiance to the rooms!
ReplyDeleteOh, I cannot wait to see. I am also interested to see how the extra length makes pleating. But like Jessica mentioned...I know the pressure you must feel, so just know that we all think you do an amazing job and love reading and seeing everyday! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteDark blue draperies always make a room look more luxurious! I can't wait to see your space!
ReplyDeletegreat moody blue. i did pinch pleats on my ritva (ikea) curtains & wonder if we did them the same way. i'm sure they're beautiful!
ReplyDeletep.s. your "things in the works" sounds very exciting! wish you all the best.
Had to stop and say hello. I'm thrilled I found your blog and yes of course you are so smart and talented. I served in YW with your mom in Snowflake almost 6 years ago and I love her so much. Your Dad too. I was in tears reading your last birth story. Amazing! I am looking forward to seeing and reading more of work, especially your house.
ReplyDeleteLindsay Baum
oh, I love a good inexpensive find. thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeletewww.fivestarfinds.blogspot.com
Thanks! Great tip on the curtains. Who doesn't love when they can get the look for less? Only problem is that the ones in the size/color combo I want are sold out! Oh well, I'll keep checking back.
ReplyDeleteOhhh! I'm so excited for the pleating tutorial! I bought the fabric for panels in our family room and know that I want pinch pleated panels - but I'm a little scared to do it yet :) Just want to make sure I know 100% what I'm doing before I mess up 10 yards of fabric! Your tutorials are always SO helpful - so I'm definitely wanting to wait until you post your tutorial! Thank you in advance :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Jenny--
ReplyDeleteLast year we purchased pleated silk readymade draperies from several large retailers and catalog sources to compare to the silk draperies you could have made at Calico Corners.
We found that the JC Penney draperies were not very full (1.5X fullness instead of 2.5X); they were made with single hems, not double hems; and that the side hems were pillowcased and not anchored to the panel. This means that the lining will have a tendency to roll out, since it is not inset. In addition, the bottom hems were sewn in such a way that the stitches were very prominent and visible.
The JC Penney lining was very lightweight and was 70% polyester/30% cotton instead of being 100% cotton. There was no interlining, which will make silk draperies last much longer. Silk is easily damaged by exposure to sun, and we recommend that all silk draperies be interlined.
The JC Penney pinch pleats had only 3 inches of fabric in the pleat--while Calico makes their pleats using 6 inches of fabric. Their pleats were spaced 5.5" apart, while Calico pleats are spaced 3.5" apart.
So there is definitely a difference in quality! The JC Penney silk panels were less expensive than the custom panels from Calico, and they were also the lowest quality of all the panels purchased, in both weight of silk and construction details.
Compared to other sources, we were surprised to learn that the custom Calico silk draperies were LESS EXPENSIVE than silk readymades from Williams-Sonoma Home, Restoration Hardware and Ballard Designs--sometimes by half!
FYI, all fabrics are 20% off at most Calico Corners - Calico Home stores or online through March 26. Look for TITAN and DUPIONI styles for solid silks--they come in dozens of colors.
Custom labor is also on sale at 20% off so that you can have beautifully made silk draperies that will fit your windows perfectly. Calico also can make extra deep pleats in the case of very tall drapery panels, so that they are proportional to the windows.
Many things that look pretty good in a photograph may not be the desired quality when viewed up close. If you care about these things, caveat emptor!
Dark blue draperies always make a room look more luxurious! I can't wait to see your space!
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