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Roman Shades Give Old House A Rich Look
By Peter Wilson, Fri Dec 9th
It was a 150-year-old farmhouse and we were lucky to get it. Thehouse had been well cared for, but nonetheless was showing itsage. It had been more than a quarter of a century since it hadbeen remodelled. The thing that struck us most about thetwo-story stone and frame structure was that it was so muchdifferent than the modern homes in a subdivision that had sprungup nearby. This house had tremendous character. I am not a decorator and will be the first to admit it.Personally, I didn't see what was wrong with putting an orangebean bag chair in the living room. I guess it was somethingabout traditional styling and an emphasis on forest green. Mywife is only marginally better at home decorating than me, butshe emphatically threw out the bean bag. Fortunately, we have a family friend who is a near genius withdecorating ideas. She can pluck items out of the trash and putthem together in such a way that Better Homes And Gardens wouldinclude them in a pictorial feature layout. Home décor is ahobby for her and she jumped at the chance to take on thechallenge of our new old house. I asked her about the bean bagand got only a chilly stare in response.
Our goal was to decorate the house a little differently. Wewanted to reflect its character. We wanted the house to be justa little different. We wanted it different, but not toodifferent. We weren't to the point of Japanese screens andseating ourselves with pillows on the floor. We called on ourfriend to help out. When our friend got to the dining room, she suggested Romanblinds, also called roman shades. She ticked off the reasons. + First, they were classy and different. The fabric of theshades could be made from the same material as the table clothand would go well with our antique dining room set. + Second, the dining room of the old house had non-standardsized windows. After measuring them she announced it would behard to find curtains or blinds to fit them. Blinds, curtains orshutters would have to be custom made. + Third, the house has beautiful native oak woodwork. We hadjust finished stripping layers of paint accumulated over thepast century. The wood had been conditioned, sealed andfinished. It had beautiful graining. We didn't want to cover itup with curtains or drapes. + Finally, she could make them and save us some money. She isvery talented at making curtains and shades. Those reasons sounded good to me. Especially the last one. Whenyou take on the project of buying and restoring an old house,saving money becomes a real test. A Description of Roman Shades A roman shade is a rectangle of fabric that can be lowered atwill. It rises in even folds. These folds are created by asystem of rings, cords and horizontal battens. When the shade islowered completely down it is a flat panel, although some styleshave slight folds at each batten. The shade hangs from a boardattached to the top of the window frame and hangs within thewindow framework. This board can also be fastened to the wallabove the window, if so desired. Our friend chose to line the panels of our shades. She did thisto provide some additional insulation for the windows. Thebitter winter winds, known to sweep across the fields andforests
Thank you for the beautiful sweater. How did you know pink was my favorite color?]]>
in our part of the world, rattles the windows and drawsheat from even the best built homes. Lined shades were just onemore barrier to help maintain interior temperatures. Where You Might Use Them Roman shades can be used in almost any room where you mightconsider mini blinds or some other type of shade or blind. Theycan be made from almost any fabric and either be lined orunlined. As sheers, they can be used in combination with drapesto give a formal dining room and special touch of grace. In abedroom they are excellent for room darkening and privacy. Our friend was able to make the shades for our dining roomwindows. They hung in folds about eight inches wide, which areabout as wide as you would want. Although I did not previouslyknow what roman shades were, I found out there were dozens ofpatterns available for making them. As a courtesy, I suppose, Iwas asked for my thoughts on which pattern to choose. (Mysuggestion was promptly discarded. I think it landed next to thebean bag.) Anyone with a sewing machine and a little talent can make theirown roman shades. Home decorating books, magazines and websiteshave patterns available, as do sewing supply centres. Talentwith a sewing machine is not required, of course. There are alsoa number of stores and e-stores that have these shades for salein either standard or custom sizes and in your choice of fabricsand colours. When our friend got done with decorating the dining room andhanging her shade creations, the effect was just what we wanted.The room had a rich feel to it that went perfectly with thestyling of the old house and the furniture we placed in it. Theroman blinds were eye catching and different without beingstrange or out of place. First-time visitors always stopped fora second look and complimented them, which nice. In the meantime, I hid the bean bag chair in the old barn. Ihave to admit that it didn't go with the current home décor, butyou never know... About the author:The writer Peter Wilson distributed a lot of articles for thehttp://www.shades-blinds-shutters-guide.com internetsite. He ispublishing on issues like roman shadeshttp://www.shades-blinds-shutters-guide.com/roman-shades.htmland home decoration with new curtains.
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