How was your Fourth of July? Did you have some sparklers? They are usually a favorite among children for brightening up a July 4th evening. What child doesn’t like twirling around a sparkler to see what patterns they can make? They’ve even become prominent at weddings and other celebrations.
Adding sparkle to interior spaces doesn’t always have to be literal. It doesn’t always mean adding glimmering lighting or silver or gold metallics. Sparkle can come from something with less bright sheen, but unusually decorative.
In the encyclopedic book Designer Window Fashions, author Charles Randall writes: “Decorative hardware is a means to add emphasis. With many choices in materials—wrought iron, steel, glass, carved wood, and more—to rings, tiebacks, holders, rods, scarf brackets…your choices are many.” Since Decorating Den Interiors’ roots are in window fashions, it is only natural that many of our designer colleagues use hardware as jewelry on fabric like jewelry on a dress.
Medallions come in many styles and shapes. The large shimmer gold medallions (above left) add sparkle to drapery panels made of elegant lilac faux silk. The panels were cut with an angled header with just three pleats—one for each medallion. The diamond-shaped medallions (above right) are both decorative and functional—they accommodate the inside and outside angles of the window. A beautiful grey blue floral linen like fabric was used to play up the navy walls and the white wainscoting and trim. Simple panels were used to frame out the view but do not cover much of the windows.
Metallic drapery rods capped off with glass finials are another way to add sparkle. The gold and crystal in the above left add pizzaz to the two-fabric drapery concept with one-third of the panel being a rich damask and the rest of the panel being a silky solid fabric. Finials also come in a wide variety as exemplified by the custom-made exaggerated scroll finials in the above right.
The setting above is a large glamorous master bedroom. The icing on the stunning draperies is a dramatic black iron drapery hardware with large filigree finials. For those not familiar, filigree is metal work created by molding a length of wire, usually gold or silver, into an ornate pattern. In this case: Black set against lighter colored wall. And the cherry on top: A grand filigree statement built into the center of the rod.
It need not be metal or glass to add sparkle. Just look at the effect of the upholstered buttons on the tiebacks above left. On the right is a spectacular shaped cornice with a black and white toile. Toile gained popularity as a printed French fabric in the late eighteenth century, and the classic aesthetic remains popular today. Both make the window a piece of wall art.
One last tip. Look at how two simple, but exquisite, mirrors can add sparkle to this bedroom. The reflections of the window treatments extend their beauty.
If you’d like some help adding some sparkle to your window fashions, give me a call or send an email. I’d love to team up with you.
