apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Well, Restoration Hardware has beautiful lined silk drapes. Have you looked at those? Where do you live? RH is having a warehouse sale for the next 2 weeks - Paramus, NJ, DC and probably other areas.

Silk Trading Company has gorgeous drapes and if you see what you like on their website you can be pretty sure that that's what you'll get if you order online.

The village workroom http://www.villageworkroom.com/

has an excellent selection and very good prices and customer service. You can customize your length, pleats, colors, borders and rod tops. Highly recommended.

I have several pair of STC out-of-a-box curtain panels, as well as some STC silk pillows. Very good quality and excellent pricing. Many months ago, I went into one of their stores and inquired about having custom panels made. I was treated with a remarkable amount of disinterest, given the cost of what I was considering ordering. They lost a sale there (about $4000 or more...STC are you reading this?). I have no patience for companies that allow salespeople to make assumptions about income. It's idiotic.

On a happier note, I recently checked out their Web site, and it is vastly improved since the last time I looked there. You can now easily have custom panels made -- for a reasonable price -- without visiting a store. And they get the fabric samples to you in about a week. There are, however, fewer variations available than in the stores.

I do recommend this online business, even though I was turned off (turned away?) by the store I visited. The silk is better quality than RH's.

Another company to consider is Fabricworkroom.com. I just ordered a custom shower curtain and window panel from them. They don't do the shortcuts many companies do (such as Smith and Noble). No glue. All sewing. Good selection of fabrics (many colors of silk).

The Silk Trading Company has fabulous fabric, but it can be pricey. But if you go to their website, http://silktradingcompany.com/ , you'll see info about their "Silk Social Club." You get a 10% discount on the first purchase when you join. Also they send you things in the regular mail, too.... I just got a notice of a sale, including another 10% discount with the card.

I'd also like to mention that they have an excellent website: even if you can't get to a store physically, the photos of their fabrics look JUST like the fabrics do in-store. So what you see on the site IS what you get.

Penelope, I've never heard of the Village Workroom. Thanks for passing that info along.

Pat, what STC store did you go to?

Phyllis, why does your name link up to a google search page?

Anne,

Sheesh, I haven't a CLUE why that comes up. I don't even have my own website, and I am technologically-challenged, :) When I make a comment, I put in a dash where it says "URL" - what does "URL" mean anyway?!

URL directs one to any website one wants to share. If you don't want to do that then leave it blank. I usually just include the link in the body of the post but sometimes it's not possible so it's put in the URL box.

hi

go to william sonoma home - their new upscale brand - and check out their fantastic silk drapes.

Am I the only one that thinks real silk on window coverings is kind of, well .... stupid? Silk is destroyed in direct sunlight - avoid them if you windows are facing south. I know the curtains mentioned have linings, but the edge does get exposed to sun and will look terrible over the years.
Curtains are one of the really big ticket items in your home - and it is worth the investment in good tailoring. The really silly thing is that there are really good synthetics available that look and feel like silk without the problems with sun, fading and staining. I for one am ready for the silk curtain trend to end so we can move on to something better.

I've been to the Silk Trading Company multiple times and their curtains are top notch, but so is their price.

In regards to alex's comments about silk being destroyed in sunlight, this is where good craftsmanship makes a huge difference. High-end silk curtains or any type of curtains comes lined. The best ones are "inter-lined" where there's an additional felt fabric inbetween the real fabric and lining, giving the fabric more weight and sun protection.

I'm sure I'm going to get made fun of, but I don't care. :) I got mine at JC Penney on sale for $60 per panel. I honestly think they look about as good as the ones at Restoration hardware. And, if they don't, well, hey they were at least half the price and they're enough to satisfy me. I'd care deeply about quality of stitching and felt linings perhaps if I was ordering something custom that I'd have a long time, but who knows when I'll move again and have different sizes of windows to contend with. Anyway, I think they're worth taking a look at.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I will check them all out....even JCpenney.

Ha makes a good point about lined and interlined drapes. I had some drapes made a few years ago with silk I picked up on a trip. The drapes are lined and then interlined with a felt like fabric. They are heavenly but I just can not afford to have drapes made again. Mine haven't faded but I don't receive much direct sunlight so I don't know if it is the fabrics protecting the silk or the lack of direct sun. Is it possible to love drapes? I do love my living room drapes.

Thank you again for the suggestions. Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Anne, it was the San Francisco store. It's in the design ghetto, where stores can be a bit -- ahem -- aloof.

Regarding silk breaking down in sunlight, yes it does. But so does any natural fabric. If you have a sunny window, silk works well over a shade or blind, or as dummy panels along the sides of another treatment. And it should be interlined if you want it to last for years, and if you want it to look formal. If you want a more casual look, and want only several years out of it, go with the ready-made ones with simple lining. I have those in bedrooms, whereas I'm (eventually) going to get a custom, interlined set for the public rooms of my home.

The fabricworkroom.com business I mentioned has some good "fake" silks. They are nice for use in places like the bathroom or in bright, hot rooms where natural fabrics might perish. Heat affects fabric nearly as mush as light.

EXPO Design Centers have 3 Silk Trading Company store-within-a-stores in thier Roseville, Scottsdale, and Orlando stores. A huge selection of ready made and endless custom possibilities.

http://www.antiquedraperyrod.com/

Not much there right now, alas. Has a good selection of hardware though.

Pat, I learned very well about appearance and income at the bank I worked at (as well as knowing I can change my appearance).

Some of the best-dressed people had absolutely no money in the bank at all. I think they spent it all on their wardrobes trying to APPEAR well-to-do.

And the wealthiest person that I met at the bank was also the one most likely to be escorted out of any retail store for being a bum. He was smelly, his clothes were worn, his hat was sweat-stained and old. He had enough accounts, all chock full of money, that he could pay cash for just about anything, including a home in the S.F. area.

I tend to treat everyone the same way, which is as a valuable person, everyone starts equal. They can blow that all to hell with their first comments, of course. ;)

If you haven't already, send off an e-mail to the company headquarters, and let them know of your experience. No company can afford to turn away business unless the customer is abusive.

If a guy pulls a shopping cart up to the store window, stares at the display, walks in, hands the clerk a wad of money, and wraps the drapery around his shoulders because he thinks it gives him super powers, cool. Tell all your other superhero friends where you got the cape and send them over too.

Hi everyone. It's true that silk will decompose in the light, but maybe Michelle wants to hang them away from the light, to hide floor-to-ceiling built-in shelves in her bedroom, as I did, to make a closet. I did a cursory comparison shop and found that West Elm had the best price, definitely a lot less than Restoration. $99 each for the longest size and free shipping - a little more than what Christine found at JCPenney - nice work, Christine. At West Elm, you only have a few colors to choose from, but they are good ones. Rock on, sisters and brothers in drapery.

You know, Lucy, you were right. I did want to hang them somewhere away from light but not to create a closet. I suppose I should have devulged this from the beginning. If you have the May issue of Domino there is an article featuring the New Orleans home of decorator Vesta Forte. My townhouse has this strange add on and the bedroom on the second floor has a "room off the back." It looks alwmost identical to the designers -- a room with a window and a door to another room. I imagine her additional room was once a porch, blacony or sleeping porch that was finished off to make an additional room. I don't think mine was ever a sleeping porch but it is the same idea. I really liked her use of drapes. Thank you for the ideas....please keep them coming. Have a wonderful day! Michelle

It takes quite a long time for silk to disintegrate if lined. I don't think you're planning to have the same ones for 30 years, are you? That's how long my mother has had hers and they're still fine. They're ecru, though, so if they've faded, you really couldn't tell. I think faded things can be very pretty, though. So, years hence, there's that.

Interestingly, JCPenney does or did sell some Silk Trading Company curtains - I bought silk panels there in December and they have the STC tag. They are the same quality as the other STC curtains I ordered from the website but they were less expensive (about $100 per panel).

Hyena Silks has some very pretty things too, but I haven't ordered from them.

Another idea is to use a silk-like fabric - I have panels from Habitat in the UK in a sort of unlined taffeta and they look great. You can even machine wash them. They were cheap, too. Bonus.

In my search for silk drapes for my dining room I found www.indianselections.com - they make custom drapes from silk saris. If you like the look of the sari, they have gorgeous colors, rod pocket or tab top, and lining in white or to match the color of the sari. They also customize length & width. 2 panels with shipping cost me less than $75, which is a good price compared to other custom sized drapes. For my living room I was lucky enough to score lined silk panels in a brown / turquoise stripe at TJ Maxx - the length is not perfect, but I bought an extra brown solid panel & plan to eventually use it to add to the bottom. Good Luck!

Hey, Andree, I assure you that I'm no bag lady hiding millions in secret accounts. I'm just your average, financially comfortable, middle-aged lady who dresses more for comfort than for fashion. And I refuse to dress up to slog through stores...an activity that I find to be inefficient and excessively tiring. If I can do things on the Internet or by phone, I will. I just think it's absurd for a clerk to "borrow" snobbery from a store (especially a mainstream one like STC, but this holds for designer stores as well). I mean, they're clerks, for heaven's sake. I did retail work as a young girl. I know what they get paid. It's quite comical, if you think about it. But if my time is wasted by a sweet young thing with attitude, I don't think it's funny at all. Which is what happened in the store I mentioned.

Amy Rigby has a song called "I'm Invisible," which is about the plight of women of a certain age. It's very funny.

Rant finished. Didn't intend to subvert this thread. On a better note, I just spent a week in NYC, and everyone was as nice as can be...in (chi-chi) stores, on the subway (!), everywhere...except in one Chinatown restaurant which should be removed from all recommendation lists. But I suspect that the weather had a lot to do with the happy mood. I'm sure the grumpy New Yorker still exists out there!

Pat, it's not just women of a certain age either. Teens, they aren't taken seriously. A lot of elderly aren't taken seriously. I have stories, of course. But I won't do them now.

There is one good thing, Pat. What goes around, comes around. Miss Snooty-Pants will either die or get hers eventually, as we all have. She'll realize she's getting "old" when the first 16 year old calls her "ma'am" at the ripe old age of 22. hehehehe

Actually, that "ma'am" thing is geographical, some places it's expected and others it's an insult. but I'm sure there's something like that everywhere, where it's meant to be an age-related insult.

Do you have any friends with contacts in Asia? If yes, I would go the import route. There are gorgeous silks selling in Asian countries for a fraction of the price, and you pay very little for tailoring. And since curtains are not like clothes, all they need are your measurements to cut and sew them. It will take a bit longer, though, but if you're not in a hurry I recommend this option.

I purchased silk drapes from DreamDrapes.com and they are absolutely beautiful. They were custom made to fit my windows and the silk is so much nicer and heavier than the silk I've seen at Restoration Hardware or anywhere else for that matter. They are not cheap by any means, but I saved about half of what I would have paid locally or if I purchased them from the Silk Trading Company.

I have been looking for drapes for the last six weeks and came upon Sumptuous Silk. All I can say is "WOW"! The drapes are gorgeous and the quality of silk is exquisite. What surprised me most were the prices.

The web site is very clear with pricing which made it easy for me to make a decision.

I strongly recommend www.sumptuoussilk.com. You will not be disappointed.

JCPennys does have good draperies-good looking only. After 6 months mine are bleached. The interlining AND lining is what makes this drapery last.

Did you try Indian Selections at http://www.indianselections.com/

They have a 20% Off sale going on at the moment.

Regards