Home & Design

Window Treatments 101


Designer: Annette Hannon, Annette Hannon
Interior Design, Ltd., Burke, Virginia.

A double-hung window may be the industry standard, but the American classic is slowly losing ground to its more dramatic custom-built counterparts. And while windows that span multiple stories or cover an entire wall look great, the perennial problem arises: How can they be covered?

From spicing up the traditional to formalizing the unconventional, seven area designers weigh in on what to include (and what to avoid) when dressing your windows in style.

Designer: Annette Hannon, Annette Hannon Interior Design, Ltd., Burke, Virginia
Window Type: Dramatically different-sized windows
Dilemma: “In this room, we had one large window and two smaller windows,” Annette Hannon says. “The smaller windows were flanking the same corner of the room.”
Designer Solution: “For balance, I chose to ‘bookend’ each window with only one panel, sweeping the panels toward each corner with a tassel,” she says. “This created a more dramatic area, which could hold its own against windows more than double its size. A lot of people feel drapery treatments should simply cover the window opening—especially on windows that are not full length. But with typical eight-foot ceilings, like we have here, this treatment gives the illusion of height.“


Designer: Vivianna Irizarri, Cachet Furnishings & Interiors, LLC
Oakhill, Virginia.

Designer: Vivianna Irizarri, Cachet Furnishings & Interiors, LLC, Oakhill, Virginia
Window Type: Multiple-sized windows
Dilemma: Creating a uniform look with different-sized windows. “Two of the four windows were six inches smaller than the others,” says designer Irizarri. “I needed to give the illusion they were all the same size.”
Designer Solution: “Getting the correct proportion made all the difference in the finished appearance of the room,” she says. She and her team also hand-designed the cornices using plywood and faux-finish gold leaf accents that complement the room’s architectural elements.


Designer: Natascha von Blumencron, NF interiors, LLC
Great Falls, Virginia.
Designer: Natascha von Blumencron, NF interiors, LLC, Great Falls, Virginia
Window Type: Windows in low-lit areas
Dilemma: Letting in filtered sunlight while still creating a sophisticated window treatment.
Designer Solution: “Most people still believe that window treatments need to be heavy, mostly silk to create a finished look,” says von Blumencron. “Being from Belgium, I grew up with the gorgeous look of Belgian linen and know that in the end, linen will always work in any interior.” Her signature lightweight panels create “an informal, yet finished look,” she says.


Designer: Deborah Wiener, Designing Solutions
Silver Spring, Maryland.

Designer: Deborah Wiener, Designing Solutions, Silver Spring, Maryland
Window Type: Double-Hung windows
Dilemma: This large master bedroom contained only a small set of double-hung windows to let in light. Worse still, the windows offered sub-par views of a busy street.
Designer Solution: Wiener says the trick is to go big. Most homeowners, she explains, create “a window treatment that is small in scale, to match the small-scale window.” Weiner instead “wanted to make the window seem more impressive than it really was,” using floor-length panels and a dramatic valance to create this effect.


Designer: Justine Sancho, Justine Sancho Interior Design, Ltd.
Potomac, Maryland.

Designer: Justine Sancho, Justine Sancho Interior Design, Ltd., Potomac, Maryland
Window Type: Long width, short height
Dilemma: “The room had a cathedral ceiling, however, the walls were relatively short,” says Sancho. “The result was a very wide and low window. A traditional drapery treatment would have created a ‘squat’ look.”
Designer Solution: “To compensate for this problem we employed a simple design concept: vertical panels at the extreme ends of the room added ‘height’ to the room while at the same time maximizing the view,” Sancho says. “A Roman shade, fabricated with color-coordinated fabrics, anchors the panels.”


Designer: Susan Utley, Design Studio, Bethesda, Maryland.

Designer: Susan Utley, Design Studio, Bethesda, Maryland
Window Type: Floor to ceiling, at a 90-degree angle
Dilemma: The homeowners wanted a warm and cozy feel for their sitting room, but the uncovered floor-to-ceiling windows made the room feel cold and uninviting. But the condo had a cement ceiling with tension rods that could not be drilled through for structural reasons.
Designer Solution: Susan Utley and her team found a way to bend and anchor the rods needed to hang dark silk dupioni panels layered with sheers underneath. “We had a beautiful and perfect look at the end of a long road, plus a happy customer,” Utley says.


Designer: Alice Busch, Great Falls Distinctive Interiors, Inc.
Chantilly, Virginia.

Designer: Alice Busch, Great Falls Distinctive Interiors, Inc., Chantilly, Virginia
Workroom: Exclusive Draperies & Upholstery
Window Type: Two-Story Windows
Dilemma: The immense height of the windows offers a dramatic view, but also lets in enormous amounts of sunlight, which has the potential to fade furniture quickly.
Designer Solution: Busch and her team broke from the norm, creating floor-to-ceiling silk taffeta drapes. “By placing panels at the ceiling, the treatment draws the eye up and makes the room more cohesive and less disjointed,” she says. “It illustrates a dramatic contrast from the floor to the ceiling.” Busch says it’s also important to keep the hardware proportionate. “For a treatment like this, we use a three-foot drapery hardware rod to keep it in scale with the treatment.”

The Newseum's Debut


The Newseum. Photo by Sam Kittner.

At press time, Washington’s newest museum, the Newseum, was scheduled to open during the first quarter of 2008. It will feature news history, interactive exhibits and, of course, the latest breaking news. Located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth Street, NW, the building’s architectural elements reflect the museum’s media roots and include a 74-foot-high engraving of the First Amendment and an immense front wall of glass, symbolizing transparency in reporting. The Newseum occupies roughly one-third of the 643,000-square-foot building, which also is home to Wolfgang Puck’s new restaurant, The Source, a conference center and residential apartments.

Building architect: Polshek Partnership Architects, New York, NY. Photo © Sam Kittner, courtesy of the Newseum. 

Eye on Entertaining


Dinnerware by Fortessa makes an elegant statement for a holiday party.
Gold leaf-patterned plates from the Accentz Collection pair nicely with
Copetta dipping bowls in aquamarine and amber. Cobalt and amber
goblets from Fortessa’s Gala collection. Flatware: Scalini Metalware.

Designers offer an array of festive ideas to inspire your table décor for the season. From traditional motifs to daring innovations, these creations can brighten any occasion. Washington, DC, designer Victoria Neale of Victoria Neale Interiors translated her love of coral into a holiday masterpiece for last year’s Georgetown Jingle. She fashioned a “tree” from coral branches and strung it with red garland to mimic seaweed. Neale hand-stenciled a gold coral design onto a tablecloth and outlined the napkins with the same color. “I love coral, so it was a very personal design for me—and a labor of love with all that stenciling!” Neale said. Reynaud Cristobal dinner and salad plates and flatware: Neiman Marcus. Chargers: Macy’s. Napkin rings: Saks Fifth Avenue. Chairs: West Elm. May Bernhardt, owner and designer of Mayflowers in Reston, Virginia, wanted to create an avant-garde floral design for fall that drew its inspiration from the colors of the changing leaves.

Bernhardt, who also loves the Tuscan feel of the fall, incorporated mango calla lilies from Europe, persimmons and berries from California and aged terracotta pumpkins from Campo de’ Fiori into this creative autumnal display. Nestor Santa-Cruz of SKB Architecture and Design in DC wanted to avoid Christmas clichés in this holiday tabletop designed for last year’s Georgetown Jingle. “We imagined a hostess who would use the family china and crystal, and would mix it with some new accessories and accents from retail shops, and other pieces that could be found in the house,” says Santa-Cruz, who named his design “Christmas Chic.” “The result is a sophisticated, contemporary and fun table for two to toast the season’s greetings and exchange party cadeaux from Hermès!” For the centerpiece, Santa-Cruz accessorized a vintage Tommy Parzinger brass candelabra from David Bell Antiques with a Christmas medallion and 1940s vintage candlesticks by Lalique. The tablecloth, made of vintage textile from Uzbekistan, is from Timothy Paul Carpets + Textiles, as are the accent pillows on the chairs. Dinner plates: Lenox China. Silverware: Christofle Paris. Napkins: Neiman Marcus. Placemats and fruit bowls: Crate & Barrel. Place cards: Cartier Paris. Salt & pepper bowls and water goblets: Baccarat. Bread and soup bowls: Herend.

Chevy Chase, Maryland, interior designer Kelley Proxmire used antiques and fall tones to evoke classic style in this dining room in Londonderry Villa, an 1860s Gothic revival-style house that was used as The Historical Society of

Talbot County’s 2006 Designer Show House in Easton, Maryland. Proxmire wanted to create a lasting look that brought the outside colors of autumn in, so she utilized warm, burnished browns and oranges to complement the mahogany furniture.

Antique Chinese reticulated dessert plates, circa 1810, adorn every place setting, as well as vintage brass candlesticks from Kelley Interior Design. The Anichini Nobel dinner napkins and placemats with custom brown embroidery complement the Ginori brown chargers from Gore Dean. A brown-on-cream Jane Shelton print upholsters the dining chairs, and a Paul Ferrate domed lantern in wood and antique iron draws the look together. “Exquisite holiday splendor” was the theme of this tabletop and dining room design by Haleh A. Niroo of Haleh Designs and Timothy D. Albrecht of Consider it Done. A Meroni dining room table, Baccarat chandelier and candleholders, Tabriz Persian rug and furniture by Haleh Designs of Potomac, Maryland, complement the Herend porcelain place settings, Moser crystal and antique accessories. Place settings and accessories available through Consider it Done, Bethesda, Maryland. Norma Hoff of C.C. Interiors in Clarksville, Maryland, combined elements of the old and the new to create this classic holiday look. Hoff used a white wreath, greens from her own back yard and silver pieces and dinnerware from her personal collection to create an ambiance that she describes as “casual elegance.” Her goal, she says, is to show how family heirlooms can be pulled together with newer pieces in a variety of price ranges to create a cohesive arrangement.


Designer Victoria Neale translated her love of coral into a holiday
masterpiece for last year’s Georgetown Jingle. Photography by Angie Seckinger.


May Bernhardt's fall arrangement. Photography by William Monet.


Nestor Santa-Cruz's design for last year's Georgetown Jingle.
Photography by Angie Seckinger.


Kelley Proxmire’s dining room in The Historical Society of Talbot
County’s 2006 Designer Show House. Photography by Angie Seckinger.


An elegant table setting by Haleh Niroo. 


Norma Hoff's holiday décor. 

HOME&DESIGN, published bi-monthly by Homestyles Media Inc., is the premier magazine of architecture and fine interiors for the Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia region.

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