Window dressings and soft furnishings not only give us privacy and warmth, but also provide a visual focus when considering how to design your interiors and decorate your home. They can both soften a room and add a sense of drama, fun or simplicity. With a plethora of gorgeous designer fabrics available and a variety of interesting ways to embellish your soft furnishings, creating the perfect interior space has never been easier.
Contrasting bands of fabric
A band of contrasting patterned or coloured fabric can be added to the tops or bottoms of curtains to add a simple yet effective layer of added interest. Either add wider bands in proportion to the overall height of the curtains or run thin bands of contrasting fabric along the very tops of the curtains for a more subtle finish.
We can replicate this on Roman Blinds by adding a contrast flap; a static fold of fabric attached to the face of the blind which acts like a soft pelmet. By using a fabric that either contrasts or compliments in colour or design, you can mix and match to suit your preferred colour scheme. Further enhance the design by adding a row of pom-pom, tassel, bead or crystal trim to the blind for an extra element of interest.
Leading Edges & Borders
Adding a contrasting band vertically to the leading or trailing edge of curtains. Again, pick out a contrasting but complementary colour or design to coordinate with the accent colours within the design or within your overall scheme. It is important to consider the composition of the fabrics as you would not want to attach thicker heavier weight material to a softer lighter weight fabric. You can further enhance the leading edges by sewing on the pom-pom, tassel, bead or crystal trims along the joins of the two materials for an even more dramatic look.
A nice touch for Roman blinds, is to border the entire blind to create a frame, treating the fabric almost as a piece of art. Choosing a darker, contrasting plain fabric to really make the main body of the blind stand out. This would work wonderfully with a colourful, bold fabric which is intended to be one of the focal points within the room.
Trims
Ball, bead or pom-pom trims consist of fabric covered wooden or acrylic round beads or soft fabric pom poms sewn onto a strip of braid that can be sandwiched in between two fabrics or sewn onto the face of your curtains, blinds or cushions. You can find these in a huge variety of different shapes, sizes, colours and textures and they are ideal for adding a playful element to your drapery and interiors. Attach the pom-poms or beads to the leading edges of your curtains, along the bottom edge of a Roman Blind or pelmet or even add to the edges or corners of cushions for a tactile finish. Be careful to determine to size and shapes of the cushions and trims and what other style cushions will be sitting alongside them for a harmonious finish.
Border Trim
Wide flat border trims can be used instead of contrast leading edges to add interest or texture to a plain fabric. There are many borders varying in pattern, colour, texture and width. Some are elaborately embroidered and others more simple in order to coordinate with any style of curtain fabric. A bright, funky, patterned trim would bring a plain fabric curtain to life. Conversely adding a plain coloured border trim to a patterned curtain can focus the eye on one desired colour.
Adding border trims to the face of Roman Blinds and also cushions is another way to use these stunning embellishments.
Buttons
Buttons are a fun way of adding small bursts of colour. Add these to the centre of round cushions in a contrast colour or attach to the fronts of the pleats on Double or Triple pinch pleat curtains. We can make custom made fabric covered buttons to add a pop of colour to curtains, or even add Swarovski diamanté buttons for a luxurious high-end look.
Piping
By using a very simple coloured piping cord you can easily inject a bold colour contrast to your soft furnishings. Found more popularly around the edges of cushions of all shapes and sizes, you can also add a strip of piping to the bottom edge of your hard pelmets or sofa seat pads for a splash of colour to break up the main body of the fabric.
Fringing/Tassels
Tassels and fringing have historically been used on more traditional and ornate soft furnishings, but with the right balance of colours, style and patterns you can adapt these to suit a more contemporary scheme. The textural aspect can add a warming, tactile finish which works well in a more rustic, boho-chic living space. Add tassels and fringing to the leading edges of curtains, along the bottoms of contrast borders, flaps and the edges of blinds as well as to cushions. Consider the size and proportion of your tassels; you do not want to overwhelm the drapery or the overall scheme.
It is important to remember that any embellishment should reflect the style of the drapery to work well as one cohesive design and by adding to the ornamentation bit by bit you won’t risk overwhelming the space with too much decoration.