Consider function when choosing drapes for the home
Don't let curtains and draperies put a scare into you.
That advice is shared by longtime Las Vegas interior designer Jackie Von Tobel, who knows people can be overwhelmed by the prospect of selecting them for their home.
Drapery is "a very personal item," said Von Tobel, who in 2007 authored "The Design Directory of Window Treatments" (Gibbs Smith).
It also tends to be expensive: Custom-made drapes produced by professional window-treatment designers and manufacturers can cost thousands of dollars. Even those that are ready-made and available for purchase at retail stores — with the hardware required to hang them — can prove pricy.
Draperies are "definitely something (people) should invest in because it's really the first thing you see when you walk in a house," Von Tobel said. "You look at what's on the walls and its draperies, and it can set the tone for the whole room."
Several measurements must be taken before selecting and hanging draperies. Window-covering companies typically provide in-home consultations that include taking measurements as part of their services.
For do-it-yourselfers, Von Tobel said there are "plenty of (websites) that will give you sort of guidelines on how to measure for your draperies." She also recommends watching instructional videos on YouTube.
"It's not like, 'OK, my window is this tall and this wide,'" she said. "You need to know where your drapery hardware is going to hang. If they're going to open and close, you need to know how much room you have on either side of those (drapery) panels to open and how long your rod needs to be.
"Basically, you're going to measure the whole wall, and then where the window sits in that (space), instead of measuring just the window or a sliding-glass door."
The drapery fabric and design options available can also be daunting.
"Just by the fact that it is (made of) fabric, you're going to have multiple choices to be made, and a lot of people are very uncomfortable making those choices for themselves," said Von Tobel, who is also an interior-product designer.
Some of the fabrics, table linens and other decorative items she has designed have been carried by major retailers nationwide, including a line of dinnerware for Pier 1 Imports. She also designed an award-winning collection of drapery rods, finials and related accessories for drapery-hardware manufacturer Helser Brothers Inc.
Von Tobel encourages people to start the drapery selection process by considering how they will function in the home: "What do you need on that window? Is it just that you're putting up something pretty to make it look nice, or do you need light-blocking? Do you need sun-blocking?"
The latter can be a real concern for shift workers in Southern Nevada, whose schedules may require that they sleep during the daytime rather than at night.
That is where blackout curtains and drapes can be helpful. Typically found in hotel rooms, they are internally lined with varying levels of special room-darkening material.
"The old-fashioned blackout lining was very hard and crisp, and kind of crunchy," Von Tobel said, noting that today's improved technology allows for more "subtle draperies that hang well, and you can't really tell that they're blackout."
When hung on a window with an accompanying pair of heavy, interlined curtains or drapes (into which an extra layer of lining material has been sewn between the ordinary lining and decorative fabric), blackouts can also effectively reduce sound.
"If you live somewhere that's on a busy street, or there are kids outside playing, those layers of fabric can keep out some of that noise out if you're a day sleeper," she said.
While ready-made blackout curtains and drapes can be bought at many stores, Von Tobel recommends that they be custom crafted by a professional who can assist clients in selecting the correct level of blackout material for their sleep needs.
Marlies Zieman agreed. She is the owner of Interior Visions, a Las Vegas-based wholesale drapery manufacturing company. For more than two decades, she has worked with local interior designers to create custom window coverings for high-end homes and other projects.
Most of the bedroom-window draperies that her company manufactures are of the room-darkening variety, she said. Some homeowners require total darkness, while others don't mind if a little light peeks through.
"It depends on what the client's needs are and what their (home's) sun exposure is," Zieman said. "That's what we discuss with them and design what they need, and we then make the drapes accordingly."
Interlined draperies serve a dual purpose by also helping to protect floors and furnishings from the sun's damaging heat and ultraviolet rays, which can be especially harsh during the summer months in Southern Nevada.
"We have a huge problem here with sun fade and sun rot," Von Tobel said, which is why she urges people to buy window treatments that are lined with professional-grade materials.
"If you buy cheap ready-made (drapes) and you're hanging them in a window and it's exposed (to sunlight), it's going to fade very quickly, especially in the summer, and it's not affording you any kind of protection."
Certain fibers and fabrics, such as cotton-polyester blends and high-quality linens, tend to fare well on windows. "But they will fade, so you don't want to use a dark color," she advised. Silk, on the other hand, "will absolutely turn to dust" as a result of too much sun exposure.
What hasn't faded much in the past decade is the popularity of "really simple window treatments to almost nonexistent window treatments," Von Tobel said.
Case in point: straight-panel drapes and curtains hung on decorative rods. This less-is-more look caught on while the nation's economy struggled and spending on home-improvement projects dwindled.
The simple style is still popular although more opulent trims, fabrics and colors are being featured on today's panels.
"They're relatively inexpensive to switch out. It's not like a $5,000 custom, traverse-seam (window) treatment," Von Tobel said. "A panel is a few yards of fabric, so you can change it on a whim. I think people want more variety in their interiors now. They get bored with things easily."
It helps that "there has been just a huge insurgence of really great, ready-made product out there that you can basically buy off the rack," she said, citing drapery offerings by home-décor retailers including Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware and Crate and Barrel.
"They're not inexpensive," she said, "but they are lined and they're made with sort of designer standards."
Meanwhile, drapery hardware "has become really the decoration of the window versus the drapery itself. It's like the window jewelry," Von Tobel said.
Many of today's rods feature fancy metal finishes — copper and brass are uber-trendy — and intricately designed finials that are often adorned with acrylic accents, precious stones and other unusual materials.
"Hardware is important," she said. "That's where you can really sort of make an investment because you're going to change out your draperies maybe every few years, but your hardware is kind of like the bones of that treatment."
When in doubt about drapery design, Von Tobel said it's best for anxious homeowners to consult a professional. After all, the drapes are "going to be living there on your wall and in front of your face for the next few years.
"Take the time to really think it out before you just buy something on a whim," she advised, "and mostly think about the functionality, because it's not just a pretty accessory to your room. It provides a vital function."
