I have red dupioni silk panels in my living room. They are lined and have a thick (felt-ish) material between the silk and the lining that stops the sun. I like the way it looks, especially since the extra fabric gives the panels more heft. I agree that the brass rod feels out of place with the wall color and the drape color.

Blackout lining really does block out a lot of light. I have them on drapes in my baby's room. The fabric in there is not silk though. I'd ask whoever has made them for you for their expert opinion on whether the lining would work well with the silk.

My mother-in-law made my baby's curtains, and she had them hanging in her own bedroom at her house until we were ready to hang them up here. She loved the blackout lining so much that she made herself curtains after we took the baby's (she got used to them...they're great for sleeping if your room gets a lot of light). She did make her curtains out of silk. But hers are much darker than yours. So again, not sure if the lining would detract from the look of the lighter silk. I'm guessing no.

You could get a sample of lining from your local fabric retailer and pin it to a section of your drapes to see whether they impact the look or not. Or buy a yard and pin that so the section is big enough to really tell. I believe you can get the lining in white or off-white. If you can see through the silk, a white lining may help lighten the look. But the blackout would definitely make your drapes look more consistent from top to bottom (i.e. the light coming through the window won't change the colour).

Sorry, my first post was long-winded, and I still have more to add!

If you want a more modern look, I'd actually lose the sheers. Keep the panels (and decide if you want blackout or not...separate issue), and install blinds. You can get roller blinds that function similarly to sheers in that they don't block a lot of light. And that would give you a cleaner, crisper, more tailored look. I think it would look more modern.

Good luck. I'll shut up now.

I'm in agreement. The blackout lining will add consistency to the color when it's bright outside.

This post was timely, Im about to order white silk dupioni for my bedroom. I had a hard time finding true white and not ivory, but I'm waiting to receive a swatch from a company in India called Ksrishti (any ever heard or them/worked with them??). They seem to be 1/2 the price of theshadestore.com

I've decided on blackout lining mostly for light issues when we want to sleep in, but it also adds heft to the drape. We added a grommet style, which may detract from the light blocking a bit, but with mounting the rod a good 6" above the window I think it will be ok, anyway I couldn't resist the modern style.

I wish I could remember the site I found my liners on, but it's a webpage that deals with items used for allergies, medical stuff, etc. The liners are the same ones that you see in hotels, and by far are the best blackout material to use. I'm not sure how they will look behind sheers (they are not as long as yours) but behind a regular curtain, they rock. do a little research online.

Your light colored drapes needed interlining - and I agree that those sheers either need to go, or be hung on rings because the frills sticking up beyond the forward rod is saying "Grandma's Cottage" (besides which they're too short too)

You may also want to try dimout lining if you do not want all the light filtered out.

Also I love the look of brass in a room. Perhaps a subtler tone. You may want to patina the rod to give it a more refined look. Gunblue works really well if the brass has not already been coated in plastic to prevent oxidizing.

Another suggestion: You might make your curtain rod wider, so that, when open, the silk panels are actually sitting fully outside of the actual window area (the edge of the silk panel should just kiss the edge of the window). That way you wouldn't have the issue with the light coming through, plus your window will look larger (it's an old designer's trick).

I'd also agree that the sheers aren't maybe as modern a look as you could achieve. Partly that's the pole pocket installation - even just putting them on rings instead of ruching them on the pole could be a bit cleaner and more contemporary-looking, while still maintaining the softness, if blinds feel a little too "hard."

Good luck!

Both my mother and I have lining on our curtains. It has helped maintain the color of our curtains and it has kept her
house even a little bit cooler.

bepsf and screenname are 100% right about the sheers looking dated and too short as they are mounted.

You could fix the length problem easily using a spring-mounted tension rod inside the window frame and tuck the ruffly header part out of sight. Your drapes will move easily past the sheers, and the sheers won't peek out the top. Be sure to use a heavy-duty tension rod (these are oval, not round) and it won't bow in the middle. Good luck!

oops. Careless with my close tag, sorry.
Upon a second look, one tension rod might not work with that bit of wall that exists between your windows.

The whole point of silk curtains is the lovely way the light shines through them. If you want opaque, you can use a much cheaper fabric.

I agree with "screenname" regarding the idea of lengthening the drapery rod to allow the silk panels to stack back outside of your windows. It would give the look of bigger windows and reduce the sunlight coming through the silk, too. Regardless, it is probably a good idea to add interlining or some thicker lining in the silk panels. I also vote to switch out the brass rod or age it - it is quite shiny against the dark walls - and would suggest getting rid of the sheers. I have drapery panels stacked at the outer edge of my windows and use blinds for light/privacy control. Since we don't see any more of your decor, I'm not sure what style of blinds I would suggest. Have fun!

I second the ideas about losing the sheers and replacing the rod with a chrome or silver finish. The drapes are lovely. I've always admired a palette of whites with black -- crisp and warm at the same time.

Q re your black walls: How do you keep the black looking black? I painted a lot of my interior near-black, but found it marks very quickly -- whitish streaks that only got worse when I tried cleaning them off. Gave up and painted over all but the bedroom.

Wow! Thanks AT Readers for all of your great suggestions! I'm thoroughly impressed by everyone's comments. Every single post was helpful.

I like the idea of adding a white blackout lining to block the sun, also resulting in a heftier panel. You're so right about "Grandma's Cottage" with the ruffled header on the sheers! The seamstress mistakenly added that when it was supposed to be a rod pocket. The lengths are too short as well, so both of those mistakes will be corrected. After reading all the comments about losing the shears and installing roller shades instead, I agree and will certainly try that.

I should have mentioned that my decor is modern/hollywood regency, so hopefully I can pull off the brass since it matches other elements in the room. Very good ideas about how the brass could be more subtle. Thank you for addressing that - I appreciate it.

If I could do it all over, I would have at least gone with a true white. I'm trying hard not to beat myself up about it, especially since another AT Reader confirmed that true white dupioni silk can be a challenge to find.

Thanks again everyone. I appreciate all of your helpful comments and your time!
PS: To "holland" the wall color isn't quite black (Benjamin Moore: Dragon's Breath), but it does obtain smudges quite easily. Taking a damp rag and lightly dabbing the mark helps a bit.

I don't know if I'm too late here....but here's my 2 cents after dealing with the exact dilemma in my own bedroom recently. I had custom curtains made for my bedroom and when the installer was hanging them and I saw the light coming through I screamed for them to STOP! We had a discussion which involved them totally re-doing the drapes with black out lining but when all was said and done I left them alone. I spent the next few days wondering if I had made a mistake. I've lived with them for a couple months now and when I see the light filter through I realize that I actually like a hint of natural light. I still wonder "what if" I had the black out lining...would I love the room more? My answer is usually no because then I fear the room would become cave like since I only have one window in the room. My silk curtains are lined and the hang well so they look great! Good luck!

I would like to add, Blackout lining is a good option only if you want your rooms to be fully dark (100% black out), According to me if you use or buy Interlined Silk curtains, backed with cotton lining it is always better, because it makes the silk curtain look thicker more luxurious, also blocks sun light up to 80%, so during the day it keeps the room darker & during nights with the lights on the silk curtains look VERY elegant.

Interlining is not only good during winters, it is equally good for all seasons. Interlining protects the silk form fading or losing color also adds to the fullness of the curtains.

>

Silk is a natural fiber that will rot over time with bright sun exposure. Blackout would probably be worth the investment. We also always recommend interlining with silk (it's that flannel material between the silk and lining). If you are going for a luxurious hollywood regency style - I would make the panels 1 - 2" longer than floor length so they sit nicely on the floor and look more voluminous.

http://www.idreamofdrapery.com