Drapery 101: Our Guide To Your Best Choice

Summary

Dear Alice | Interior Design Podcast
Episode: Drapery 101: Our Guide To Your Best Choice
Release Date: April 10, 2025
Hosts: Jessica Bennett and Suzanne Hall (Alice Lane Interior Design)

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1. Embracing Install Season and Ongoing Projects

In the opening segment of the episode, Jessica Bennett (Alice) and Suzanne Hall enthusiastically discuss the bustling "install season" of 2025. They highlight the culmination of years-long design projects, where meticulous planning and construction finally transition into the installation of furnishings and window treatments.

Notable Quote:
Suzanne (00:41): "It's install season. It's beginning."

Alice emphasizes the gratification that comes from seeing designs come to life, describing the installation phase as "Christmas morning every single day" (03:39). The hosts express excitement about showcasing behind-the-scenes glimpses of their projects, which span diverse styles and client needs.

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2. Drapery Essentials and Listener Questions

The core focus of the episode revolves around drapery, addressing listener questions and sharing expert insights gained from over two decades in the interior design industry.

a. Responding to Rowan's Question on Valances

Listener Rowan posed a question regarding the relevance of valances in modern drapery (09:40). The hosts agree that valances, specifically balances (a term referring to valances), are becoming dated and less favored in contemporary designs.

Notable Quote:
Alice (09:40): "Rowan asks our balances dated. Can we dig into those?... We're seeing that now every client is gonna want to do, like, layers and layers of goopy gobi window treatments."

b. Alternatives to Valances: Cornice Boxes and Roman Shades

Instead of traditional valances, Alice and Suzanne advocate for more structured and timeless alternatives such as cornice boxes and Roman shades. Cornice boxes add architectural interest and structure, making them suitable for formal and traditional spaces. Roman shades, on the other hand, offer functionality and elegance, providing privacy while allowing light control.

Notable Quotes:
Alice (11:52): "It's a really cool look. And you can get a lot of really interesting profiles you can chase them with tapes."
Suzanne (12:47): "It's a very traditional treatment... adds shape and form to the space."

c. Proper Fabric Fullness in Drapery

The discussion transitions to the importance of fabric fullness in drapery. The hosts critique outdated practices, such as using only twice the width of the window for fabric, which they find insufficient. Instead, they recommend a fullness of three to five times the window width to achieve a luxurious and well-draped appearance.

Notable Quotes:
Suzanne (26:05): "We want to give you guys the very best advice. And it's don't do two times with width."
Alice (27:01): "Use those terminal. Like, use, like, is it two times, five times? Like, what are. What am I?"

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3. Answering Chris's Question: Window Coverings That Let Light In but Hide or Soften the View

Listener Chris inquired about window treatments that balance light ingress with privacy and view softening (28:26). Alice and Suzanne explore several elegant solutions tailored to different spaces and functional needs.

a. Sheers and Sheer Romans

Sheer curtains are celebrated for their ability to diffuse natural light while maintaining an airy ambiance. When combined with Roman shades, they offer both aesthetics and functionality, allowing for effortless privacy control without sacrificing light.

Notable Quotes:
Alice (28:37): "I love a shear. Jess loves a shear."
Suzanne (30:12): "The cutest, the sheer roman is... nothing is sexier on a window than that Sheer roman."

b. Cafe Curtains

Cafe curtains are highlighted as a charming option for spaces like kitchens and bathrooms. Hung lower on the window, they allow ample light while obscuring the lower half of the view, ensuring privacy without darkening the room.

Notable Quotes:
Alice (35:46): "This is Rachel Parcel's primary bedroom bathroom... you can lay in the tub and you can see what the weather's doing."
Suzanne (35:13): "Another way to answer your question, Chris, of what type of window covering would let light in but hide or soften the view is the cafe curtain."

c. Top-Down, Bottom-Up Shades

Top-down, bottom-up shades offer versatility by allowing users to adjust the shade from the top or bottom independently. This feature provides flexibility in controlling both light and privacy, making it ideal for rooms where visibility is a concern.

Notable Quotes:
Alice (40:54): "Top down, bottom up... It can operate as a cafe curtain."
Suzanne (41:10): "Top down, bottom up... it's great."

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4. Conclusion and Upcoming Topics

As the episode wraps up, Alice and Suzanne tease upcoming discussions, including an in-depth exploration of pleat styles in drapery and the essentials of avoiding common pitfalls in window treatment installations. They invite listeners to engage with their content, leave reviews, and stay tuned for more expert advice in future episodes.

Notable Quote:
Suzanne (43:07): "Next week, tune in for more about draperies. What to avoid, what to do, what we're loving. We're gonna share all of those."

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Key Takeaways

• Modern Alternatives to Valances: Cornice boxes and Roman shades are recommended over traditional valances for a more structured and timeless look.

• Optimal Fabric Fullness: Achieving three to five times the window width in fabric fullness enhances the aesthetic and functionality of drapery.

• Versatile Window Treatments: Sheers, cafe curtains, and top-down, bottom-up shades provide effective solutions for controlling light while maintaining privacy.

This episode serves as a comprehensive guide for homeowners and interior designers seeking to make informed decisions about drapery and window treatments, blending functionality with elegant design.

Transcript

[Alice]

Foreign. Welcome to Dear Alice, a lifestyle approach to interior design.

[Suzanne]

Hi, guys. Welcome to Dear Alice. We're so happy to be here today. Right.

[Corey]

I really am. This has been. This is like my break in my week.

[Suzanne]

Yeah.

[Corey]

I'm not like ferociously, like, typing emails and skating around a warehouse. I brought my skateboard to the warehouse and I've just been. Yeah, it's 80,000 square feet.

[Suzanne]

Yeah.

[Corey]

So I'm just. Yeah. Whenever I need something, just skate around, you know, find someone, get some video footage of that.

[Alice]

That's really fun.

[Corey]

We'll do a video and be like, let me, let me show you some of our inventory. Let's skate around. I'll do a couple tricks.

[Alice]

Come see the Brooklyn. Come with me.

[Suzanne]

Corey gives people r. Get on my back.

[Corey]

Let's go piggyback.

[Suzanne]

So fun. Well, you guys, thank you so much for following us along. I was going to say, if you're not following us on Instagram and you want to see what we're up to, the name of our company is actually Alice Lane. Some people don't know that. If they're just tuning in and they think that we're called Dear Alice, but.

[Alice]

That'S just a. I think her name's Alice.

[Suzanne]

That's just a fun, quippy name for the podcast. But we're actually Alice Lane Home on Instagram and Alice Lane Interiors on Instagram. If you want to follow along the big, beautiful builds and remodels that Suzanne hall and team are heading up right now.

[Alice]

We're doing so many good things right now.

[Suzanne]

So many good things.

[Alice]

Like 2025 is the year of installs.

[Suzanne]

It's install season.

[Alice]

Yes.

[Suzanne]

It's beginning.

[Alice]

Yeah. Which I will say, like in the design, like Spectrum. Right. You have like initial design and schematics and then you're like getting to all the designs of all the rooms and you're project managing the whole thing while it's being built and then and furniture and all those things. And then you get to install season. And it could last, like, depending on the size of the house, anywhere from like two to four, sometimes five years before you see the fruits of your labor. And so, like, it's going to be a good year. So definitely follow along. And to Alice Lane Interiors.

[Suzanne]

Yes.

[Alice]

Really, it's going to be really beautiful. Try and get a lot of behind the scenes so you can see how the sausage is made.

[Suzanne]

Well, also, like, the install means that you finally get to dress the home because it's just been a big construction project, finally clean and then it's Just this big, beautifully designed, empty house. And then here, you add in the soul and the layers, and you start to tell the story of the people that live there. And that process, I think, of dressing the home is like sacred magic. I love it so much. And when you leave every night, I mean, you're so sore because you've taken 50,000 steps and you've literally moved somebody else's family into their home and made it look perfect. But every morning, you wake up renewed again, and you're so excited to see the fruits of your labor from the day before. And you make massive moves. Like, drapery installers are coming, and it's a symphony of things happening. So definitely follow along. Alice Lane Interiors, because you have five installs this year, which is a lot on homes that take about three, four, five years to build, to have them all land in this small time frame. Yeah.

[Alice]

And it's also fun because, like, when you designed it, you started doing these designs again 3, 4, 5 years ago to see, like, how relevant they are now. And we always talk about timeless interiors, and, like, things are always moving. We go from light woods to dark woods, and this is Right. And so it's fun to just see that, like, when you're designing for a human and for the client, how that just, like, lasts the test of times, and it's just as good today. And you're so. It's like Christmas morning every single day on an install.

[Corey]

Are there details that you like that slip your mind? And then when you're like. And then you're like, oh, my gosh, I forgot about that.

[Alice]

I'm just like. That was so brilliant.

[Corey]

It's like five fifty Christmases. That's insane.

[Alice]

It is just like, that counterage detail, like, snaps, man. It's so good. So I cannot wait to see all the things I've forgotten because some of them have been so long or just the slabs that we picked out three or four years ago, like, to see them installed, like, it's. It's really. It's so gratifying. It is why we do the work we do.

[Suzanne]

Yeah. So you can experience that install well and get to know the people and then connect the. The finished home with them and. And then getting to see them.

[Alice]

Oh, God, you're so happy for them because it's like. I mean, anyone that's built or remodeled, you know, it's a painful process, and it's just decision making, and you're. You're, like, hemorrhaging money, and you are just, like. You're so tired and you just want to feel home. And so I'm just so happy that these people finally get to feel like they're not like, floating around in space and they get to, like, live in their house and like, raise their children and it's. It's so beautiful.

[Suzanne]

I don't. This is probably a bad comparison, but it's a little bit like when a baby is born, you know, like, you've been working, you're pregnant with this thing for years, and you finally like, install is pushing this baby out and getting it. Yeah. And then, you know, and then you get to live in it or you get to bring the baby home and you got to live with it. Right. And you get a normalize it and. And just have all of these great moments in real life with it. So it's a really cool, special thing to get to be a part of. And anyway, I think there's so much learning and those of you making big decisions right now in your own homes or trying to gear up for what's next, maybe you're going to remodel a room or I don't know where you are in your journey, or maybe you're an interior designer, taking people through this. I. We just like, need this collective book club where we can all come and share our learnings. And dear Alice, is that for us. And so we're happy that you're here at the table with us to get to just be a part of the experience and, and the learning and. And taking off the gates on what we're learning. So, yeah, in today's episode, actually, it's about drapery. And this came from two questions that have come in recently that listeners have had about drapery. And I want to say we were like, yes, we have to talk about this. We need to answer these questions because drapery is one of those things that you do at the end of a project and you're feeling pretty raked over the coals financially because you've just really committed to a lot. Right. And you're. Things are always a little over budget, especially this post. Covid time that we're in, things have just not been normal for a while and probably especially when you started the project versus now at the end. And so making window treatment decisions are expensive and you do want to get it right. And so we want to just share every. As much as we know. And in sitting down and combing through this topic for the last several weeks of what to share, we said, let's do this in two parts. Let's answer the questions that are ahead of us. But then let's also do a second episode on everything that we have to talk about with drapery, because it goes way beyond what is in these questions. So we actually recorded an episode Sept. 16, 2021, on Drapery. What was it called again?

[Corey]

Drapery. The Next level.

[Suzanne]

Yes.

[Alice]

Nice.

[Suzanne]

Yes.

[Corey]

Yeah, that's a good sign. We were good back then.

[Suzanne]

So you can go back and listen to that. But we're hoping to give you a more information about drapery and. And then also answer today's questions in this episode. Next week, we'll. We'll give you all of the unfiltered information we can on drapery just to help, you know, what we're doing on our projects, to learn from any mistakes we've had to even know, like, what plead style to use, what not to do. Oh, my gosh. Is. And we're just going to try and keep you from any pitfalls when you're making those drapery decisions.

[Alice]

And I think the fun thing about having done this for as long as we've done this is that we know what, like, consistently works. Like, I can go back and be like, I like that, but I still like this better. So that is, like my number one advice, and that's what we're using this as, is to tell you, like, our rules for why things work. Just so that when you do it once. Because again, you're not going to be doing window treatments every year. Right. Like, they're expensive. You're going to do them once. Do it right. So, yeah, hopefully this helps.

[Suzanne]

So, yeah, for sure. And we've been at this. Alice lane has turned 17 this year and even before that. It is a. Cute.

[Alice]

That's cute. I know, I know. But I've been driving.

[Suzanne]

Driving. Yeah.

[Alice]

Kissing boys for a year. And then.

[Suzanne]

Yeah, yeah. So. And then even before that, we did this in, in different ways before we formed Alice Lane. So it's about 20 years or more of experience. So we have. This is a lot of decades. A lot of styles come and go, and we want to just pay the very best information that would spanned decades when it comes to drapery.

[Alice]

Yeah. You guys want to know something fun before we get into it? I just, like, as I was preparing for this, I just googled a couple things just like, I'm just like, I wonder what people are saying. Like, what's industry standard? What are the videos that are available to give people advice? It was so rough. So rough. I'm like. I'm like, I feel like you Know when they have, like, those, you know, like, you know, red carpet critics and stuff, I'm like, I feel like I should do that for window treatments and be like, no, that's the next episode. Bad. Don't even like. Yeah, anyway, because like full on videos, like, of what not to do, and I'm just like, I want to stamp them. Yeah, y'all shouldn't be watching those things. So.

[Corey]

Yeah, that's the problem with the Internet is just like, people can just people. Everyone has opinions and unfortunately, some of them aren't great. And you can just throw it out there. Like, you're the professional. And I mean, that's in every industry. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. That's the Internet for you.

[Suzanne]

Like, everyone.

[Alice]

That's why we're doing this.

[Suzanne]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Alice]

Tell me, son. You know, son, not everything on YouTube's real. Yeah, exactly. Aliens did not land on our backyard yesterday.

[Suzanne]

So.

[Alice]

Okay, anyway. Yes to our questions. Let's get into it.

[Suzanne]

Yes.

[Alice]

Okay, so the first question is from Rowan. Thank you for sending questions in, by the way.

[Corey]

Cool name.

[Alice]

Also, yeah. Rowan asks our balances dated. Can we dig into those? You didn't cover that nuance in the drapery episode. Rowan. I'm really excited about this question because as we like in 2025, we have. We started filming this in 2024. Just like the. I don't know, this tidal wave of tradition coming back. And which is so funny to say that traditional is back, but we're seeing more layers. And especially, like with draperies, we're seeing that now every client is gonna, like, want to do, like, layers and layers of goopy gobi window treatments. But a valance to me. We're going to show you what this is. It's actually. It's fabric that's usually just like, stretch from like, the total width of a window. And it's a soft covering. So this is showing one with, like, that justice holding up. You can see it on the screen right now if you're looking, watching on YouTube or Spotify. But you can see that it's just. It's more of a soft covering that just like covers the mechanics of, you know, what would be a rod or what would be the function of whatever is drawing the curtains back and forth. It's something soft. It's not like we're going to go into a cornice boxes. But balances, I think they're nice, but I do think I. I'm never using them.

[Suzanne]

No, we've never used a balance.

[Alice]

I'm like, if I'm gonna do something like this, like a collar over my window treatment. And even, like in school, 20 years ago, I'm like, I still would have been more drawn to what we're going to define as a cornice box or a pelmet box, which is a more hard covering that's going to be more decorative. You can do some really, really cool things. The image we have up right now showing this kind of like, keyed cornice box. And I. I like the structure that it offers. And you do see this in a lot of traditional magazines and shelters. And I. It's a really. It's a cool look. And you can get a lot of really interesting profiles. You can chase them with tapes. And this is usually what's housing the draperies and panels that are falling behind it. So to just do a valance feels like you're just like pinning up a scarf over your windows. In my mind, I'm like, there's no structure to it. And like, for, you know, the homes that we continually love, we're just not going to be using a valance. We would do a cornice box. And to that, like, the thing that we do the very, very most, we'll get into and show you a lot of images of is Roman shades.

[Suzanne]

So, yeah. And I think a cornice box, if you think about the construction of it, those of you that are just listening, you would. Your drapery workroom. I don't think that very many people would take this on themselves. You're not finding this on Amazon. This is a custom treatment to do a cornice box. Your drapery workroom is going to probably use a CNC machine. They're going to route out this shape wood. They're going to build the box, and then they're going to use some sort of batting to make it soft. And then they're going to upholster the box, and then this is going to fit over the top of the window and probably go up to the ceiling. And then your drapery is going to live underneath the box. So it's a very formal, traditional treatment like Suze is talking about. There's also. I'm going to hold up this last cornice image. This is not our work, but just to sort of familiarize yourself with this. This is a cornice box with no drapery under it, but it's still giving shape and form.

[Alice]

Really cool.

[Suzanne]

Some formality to it.

[Alice]

Architecture, too. Like, if you have a really boring room, this is a way to add some profile and shape to the space, you know, and add interest. And I really actually love this Example. Yeah, a lot. Yeah. We're going to be doing a home in the Midwest for an influencer that we just love, love, love.

[Suzanne]

Yeah.

[Alice]

And she's all things traditional and, like, she loves tape, she loves trim. She loves, like, gimps and garlands. All the things.

[Suzanne]

Upholstered walls, trims and silks.

[Alice]

Gracie. All the things. And so if you are that person, if all those words resonated, you're going to love a cordis box, and we're going to do one on her big landing, and it's going to shape the window so beautifully and just add a lot of interest to what would be a square landing. So it is a really cool trick to do and a fun way to start playing with fabrics and layering and patterns and all this.

[Suzanne]

All the things that being said, let's talk about cornice boxes for a minute.

[Alice]

Yeah.

[Suzanne]

Is this the first time we've done a cornice box in 17 years? Is Alice Lane probably. Yeah, I think so, too. So what I want to say is it's not common. We don't do it a lot, you know, if you're attracted to it, like sue said, and. And if it's for you. But the norm is that, like, probably most of you might not even have heard what a cornice box is, or maybe you have, because you love design, but you. You don't get to see a lot of people installing it. So it is a really fun, big move. It's a real moment. And I think. I think some people should really try it.

[Alice]

You should lean in. There's so many cool examples online, and.

[Suzanne]

I think you're gonna get so much credit for it, because nobody else is doing it. You are.

[Alice]

And it just, like, adds in. And honestly, I'm like, I. I would do one.

[Suzanne]

Yeah.

[Alice]

And you can do them in, like, really modern ways, whether you're really traditional and scoopy and swirly, or if you are a little bit more clean. I thought those were both real. Some really good examples of ones that, like, still felt like they would get along with whatever your style is, but add a lot of interest.

[Suzanne]

I love this one.

[Alice]

I'm like, that completely feels like you. I love that. Do that key thing so good how it just chases the geometry.

[Suzanne]

You have to have a silhouette if you're going to be doing a cornice. So whether you're keyed or rather like, you're swoopy, like what sue said, these have personalities, and so you have to kind of decide what you're going to be.

[Alice]

Yeah, I would. I don't think I would ever do just, like, a straight box cornice box. That, like, is so boring and sad to me. Yeah, like, soft sadness is what that is.

[Suzanne]

Soft. Soft sadness is the balance. The balance is soft sadness.

[Alice]

That's at least taught. Soft sadness at least.

[Suzanne]

I'm gonna go back to this again. This is. This. This is the balance.

[Alice]

This reminds me of, like, the calico corners.

[Suzanne]

Yeah.

[Alice]

Anyway.

[Suzanne]

Oh, thanks for asking. It was a. Was in a fabric. A fabric shop showroom or night in 1987.

[Alice]

You know what, pro grandma, we had balances 100. My grandma had balances 100. Because it is something that you could do a DIY thing and, like, and. And they're cute whatevers, you know, like, you could actually, like, string them onto a curtain rod, which they would do a dungeon rod, and you'd have. I think my mom still has some. Mom, you have still some, like, lace scalped balances.

[Suzanne]

I'm pretty sure Sus is clowning on you. Chromography, I love you, but we should.

[Alice]

Redo your window treatment anyway. But yeah, if.

[Corey]

So every. If you're going to do a cornice box, you're treating every window in that room the same, or what's the rule on that?

[Alice]

That's a great question. I would. I would think, like, for the example that we're doing in this. This home that, like, really loves tradition, it is a singled out. She actually would do them on every window, but this particular big one is a singled out, like, big window on the landing. So it's more of a feature.

[Suzanne]

She has such a grand staircase, and it's really wide, and you come down to this huge landing with a massive window on it. And then the stairs, like, turn a.

[Alice]

Daybed and go down, like, on the landing.

[Suzanne]

Yeah. There's enough room for a day bed for. And for wheelchair access. There'd be room for both.

[Corey]

Okay.

[Suzanne]

Yeah. It's a big landing, so I don't.

[Alice]

Think I would do it, like, unless I lived in the White House, maybe. But yeah, I would just do, like, more like key feature windows. I want to add architecture to it.

[Suzanne]

You would do a cornice box in your boy's bedroom. I know you would.

[Alice]

Totally. I would, actually.

[Suzanne]

But not a balance. You won't do a balance. Yeah. So, okay, so let's get back to Rowan's question, which is our balance is dated. The answer is yes. And then he asks, or she asks, can we dig into those? You don't cover that in the nuance in the Draper episode. Okay, so, Rowan, we would not do a valance. We would do a cornice if we were going to do something that's architectural. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or we would do a Roman. Exactly. Yeah.

[Alice]

So, and this is kind of goes to the. I think of just, like, having something that can drop down, like a valence, but it would be more functional. We even do a lot of stationary. Beautiful Romans. But at least it feels like there's fullness and can actually operate to cover up the whole window. That balance, like, I know that you're just a scarf. You know, a cornice box at least feels architectural, but a valance just looks like a scarf to me. And so. But a Roman is such a be. I love a Roman. We do them in every house that we work on, and I love them. Most of the time, we're doing inside Mount Roman. And so that means that you have a Roman shade that can, like, drop down. You know, most of the time, they're tucked in the window box. Sometimes we will do, you know, if we want to, like, say it's a really short window and we want to lengthen or, like, heighten the whole thing. I'll mount it, like, above to the ceiling and then just have it, like, just graze the sides of that. The outside of the window box on the sides. But they're just. They're so beautiful. And it just. It adds such a layer. Or you can say it's like eyeshadow.

[Corey]

Yeah, there you go. Can you define, like, what a Roman is? Yeah, just for those people that. That don't know.

[Suzanne]

Yeah.

[Alice]

A Roman shade. And you'll see lots of different ones that are more, like, straight, more than relaxed. A Roman shade is what usually will sit inside that window box, you know, on each end. And when you lower them, it covers up the whole window to give you full privacy.

[Suzanne]

It's a soft covering that is fabric. And so generally, it's going to be opaque, and it will be lined, and it will provide privacy for you, but it is soft, and sometimes there's a tape around the edge that makes it feel a little more traditional. Right. Informal. This is in Rachel Parcel's kitchen on her back door window. And hers is always pulled up because you want the light to come in, but it makes it feel finished.

[Corey]

Yeah.

[Suzanne]

And it's in this one. This is in her closet. You can see that there's. There's shelving on both sides. So there wasn't room for drapery. And so we did that pink silk. And we actually kind of did a cornice box with the crown mold. And then that Roman can pull all the way up inside that rope. And Tucks up underneath it, underneath that crown. Or you can let it out a little bit. Seeing the drape, seeing the folds of silk are really pretty. Having that be pulled up and just letting natural light in. But in the case of privacy, you pull a cord and all that silk drops, and you have total privacy.

[Corey]

Yeah, that's awesome. And so in on windows where, like, not in that case, are you doing both, like, drapes and Romans?

[Alice]

No, a roman is usually done in, like, a situation where you don't, like, need. Like, if I'm in a dining nook, I'm like. And I have a lot of little kids, I'm probably not gonna do draperies just because, like, their dirty hands will get on them, and you just kind of want things tucked away. So whether it's for function of just how you use a space, whether it's for limitations of how much room you have on each side of the window.

[Suzanne]

Like this. Yeah.

[Alice]

Yeah. Of. Yeah. This is a pantry. We did. And this is actually. This is actually Rachel's house. We want to do a roman. Obviously, we can't have panels or anything, but we want to add that visual softness in a space where it's all hard surfaces. It just does everything and. Well, I love what you said about having it, like, drop down a little bit, because the way light interacts and comes through fibers and fabric is just so dreamy. Like, it's so, so pretty.

[Suzanne]

Yeah.

[Alice]

And a lot of. A lot of times, this is something that, like, we do a lot of times is that we will actually go through the house and we'll have, like, a privacy shade. So let's just dissect that really fast. A privacy shade is like a Hunter Douglas shade or a Lutron shade that, like, can completely black out a room. So you want to, like, black out the room, but you also want something soft, because that blackout at night, you'll drop it and you won't, you know, like, it'll give you full privacy. You weren't going to want to tuck that up. And it's not really that pretty.

[Suzanne]

Like, it just looks like a roller shade.

[Alice]

It's just a roller shade.

[Suzanne]

It's opaque. Yeah.

[Alice]

So oftentimes we'll pull that up, but then we'll do a decorative roman on top of that. That's stationary, that still has the gathered fullness that looks like it could, like, drop down and be functional, but it's just, like, it's just beautiful and it's sitting there. And, like, my eye believes that that's what's going to Give the room privacy at night, but it's always going to look good.

[Suzanne]

Let me. Let me say this too, because I have a Roman in my primary bathroom that sits between the two vanities where we get ready. And then there's a little sit down vanity for me to do my makeup. The huge window there. Not huge, just a normal window there. And I have a Roman shade and it's all properly folded and it's pushed up in the perfect spot. If I made that function every day, up, down, up, down, up, down. I'd be constantly fixing those folds, constantly futzing with it, and I might just always leave it down because I need the privacy. So instead I got. So instead I got a little Hunter Douglas roller shade that looks like raw silk and I just pull that up and down. It's chain driven every morning and night. And I just leave my Roman perfectly in position with all the folds just how I like them. So I'm not futzing with all this fabric.

[Corey]

Y.

[Suzanne]

So it's just, it's impractical and it would take more time. And a Hunter Douglas roller shade, a vinyl roller shade isn't very expensive. So we oftentimes will have a functioning privacy shade behind the Roman if it's in an area where you're going to be using it daily. Multiple times a day.

[Alice]

Yeah. Bedrooms, bathrooms. So, yeah, makes sense.

[Suzanne]

Yep. So I'm noticing from the images we're providing, Sue's, that we love a Roman above a bathtub.

[Alice]

We do. And often it's just. That's a functional thing. Again, when you have like wet zones or things where it just doesn't make sense, like to have like this, like, really, if you don't use the bathroom, go for it. Have some draperies. But oftentimes it's just, it's humid. And this just feels a little bit more tucked up and tidy, but still adds softness to a space.

[Suzanne]

Yeah, so, yeah, totally. Also kids rooms. Right. This is a boys room. So sometimes boys rooms, you don't necessarily need all the fullness of prom dress.

[Alice]

On the wall, you know?

[Suzanne]

Yeah, totally. So this is. This is a project in Washington, D.C. yeah. And this is a boys room.

[Alice]

Just it feels tailored and just like tucked away. Like a really great.

[Suzanne]

Kind of preppy, too, which is so preppy, which is a thing. And traditional.

[Alice]

Scott. Yeah.

[Suzanne]

Like an ascot for the room. There you go.

[Alice]

I love it.

[Suzanne]

Yeah. And then just one more.

[Alice]

Like, if you would imagine for a second that room without the Roman, like, still cute. But there's something that happens when you do, like, go to the efforts of doing your window treatments. Like, it changes finish. Like, it's. Yeah. Like the designer once it said, like, it's like the mascara for the room. Like the window treatments. It's just like that final layer, and you're just like, finally, because the windows.

[Suzanne]

Are like the eyes, you know, in that room, and they're letting light in, and then you just are adding that final coat of mascara. It's also very much should be driven by function. I think you can see in this last example that we're showing, there's a dresser that sits inside of a pocket, and you couldn't really do drapery here. The dresser would be sitting. It would just be too tight for the drapery to do its thing. So a Roman above this dresser was a really good and practical solution. And. And adding that tape made it also feel kind of preppy and just tailored. Yeah. Defined. Yeah. So we do love a tape on a Roman. Yeah, yeah.

[Alice]

Most. Most often that's what we do do. We'll add some type of trim and really, like, in the era of tradition and, like, that kind of movement moving forward, we're doing more trims, we're doing more fringes, like little eyelashes and things like that. So I'm excited for you to see some of the stuff that we will be showing you in the next, like, year or so of installs, because we are getting a little bit more decorated on our window treatments, which is fun.

[Suzanne]

Definitely more colorful. Yeah. Tune into Alice Lane Interiors to see some of those examples. So to answer Rowan's question about our balance is dated, and we said yes, and can we dig into those? We would say, Rowan, consider the Roman shade. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We don't know that's what we would do. Instead of the balance, you're going to get a full treatment that way. And the valence is like the start of something, but it is never really completely a finished window treatment.

[Alice]

Yeah.

[Suzanne]

It just.

[Alice]

Yeah, it does look unfinished.

[Suzanne]

Yeah. Dated. I just don't think anybody's done the balance. Yeah.

[Corey]

Where are people going to get them? Like, is that a Roman?

[Suzanne]

Very good question. So we. I mean, we're always going to use a drapery workroom, but it's because we do this professionally and we have Drake drapery workrooms on speed dial. We've got relationships out of state. We're forming those relationships. And here's the thing. If you're using a workroom, they're coming to the house, they're doing the measurements, you're showing them what you Want, but they're going to know. Like, for instance, Suzanne was showing the drapery workroom. This is the amount of fullness I want on my drape. And he's like, oh, you like five times a width. It used to be in the old days that you two times the width of the window, or two and a half times, or three times at the most, the width of the window for the drapery fullness. So let's just say that your window's 60 inches. So you're going to two times that, which is 120 inches of fabric, or three times, which is 180 inches of fabric. Suzanne likes five times the amount.

[Corey]

So you're doing 300.

[Suzanne]

It's a ton. It's a ton of fabric. The look is a 10 out of 10. It is expensive. But usually, in fact, we were just plucking through old portfolio images and we were like, that fullness isn't good. We're not going to hold that up. We're not going to talk about that in 2025 with all the knowledge that we've gained. We want to give you guys the very best advice. And it's don't do two times with width. My. The drapery in the back of my house, in my great room isn't enough width. But I made that decision 10 years ago. I also made that decision with my pocketbook in mind. I should have not done drapery until I wanted to invest in five times the width of my windows.

[Corey]

Yeah, it does look it when they're drawn. It just does look better with dimension.

[Alice]

And the eyes believe that when those, like, are drawn, even if you never draw them so you have privacy shades, you never draw. My eye wants to believe that you could draw those and they would still just be, like, so full and lovely.

[Corey]

Yeah.

[Alice]

Like a flat sheet.

[Suzanne]

You'd still have all your pleats doing their thing. There's still a lot of fullness. You're still getting that beautiful, beautiful, full look.

[Corey]

It. Yeah, it is a bummer when it's a job and they're like, also, it's.

[Suzanne]

A ton of rings up top. It's just like the full prom dress moment that you want in your drapes. So, yeah, I would say, at a minimum, do three times. Right. I'm like three to five for a really professional look.

[Alice]

Yeah. And you're in your window, people will be like, are you sure they will say that? Because they always ask me, they're like, are you sure? And I say, I'm sure.

[Corey]

That's when you know you're doing it right.

[Alice]

I'm positive. Like, I'm just. I like it full. And take them a picture. Take a picture of something that you find successful and say, this is what I want. That's the fullness. Like, what is that? But, like, use those terminal. Like, use, like, is it two times, five times? Like, what are. What am I? And allow yourself to learn that lesson with them so that you're really clear and they're really clear on what you want that to look like at the end of the day.

[Suzanne]

Yes. So great. And we're going to get into. In the next episode, we're going to get into our favorite pleat styles, because these things matter. They also really date your draperies, and we just want you to do the right pleat that will look good. For all the decades we've been in business, we would never regret this. So tune into that. But right now, we're just answering the questions at hand. So to Rowan, we're going to say you're going to just do a really beautiful Roman instead of a bonus box if you're ridiculous.

[Alice]

Rowan.

[Suzanne]

Yes, totally.

[Alice]

It could be fun.

[Suzanne]

Second question is from listener Chris, and they ask, what type of window coverings should we install to let light in, but hide or at least soften the view?

[Alice]

Great question, Chris. Okay, so our. I will say that this is something that we do at least in one. A portion of every house that we work on just because of the amount of light that it does let in. It's a normal panel, but we do shears.

[Suzanne]

Yes.

[Alice]

I love a share. Jess loves a share.

[Suzanne]

I love a sheer. It's all I want.

[Alice]

It's like a music video, and then the wind hits it, and then you're just like. You can hear the music. You smell the.

[Corey]

That is a sleeve. That's a slim Dion music video.

[Suzanne]

This is yes. Yeah, yeah. It's just a wedding veil of a thing. And these hang so beautifully. And you want the windows to be open and drifty and like a really good smell. And you're like, like, my work here is done. Right? Yeah, yeah.

[Alice]

And you're not covering any of, like, again, all that. All that hard work you paid for for, like, the window casings and those expensive windows. And like, a sheer is so beautiful. And I will say a sheer on anything. A sheer on a panel. We do all the time. A sheer Roman. We didn't even talk about that.

[Suzanne]

You stop. You stop it. The cutest, the sheer roman is. Well, you know how sheer right now, fashion is everything. Like, girls are wearing sheer Skirts and sheer dresses or sheer jackets. Or it's.

[Alice]

How about. I love it.

[Suzanne]

Yeah. How about the sheer ballet flat? Right. Have you seen that?

[Corey]

I have.

[Suzanne]

So cute. Anyway, the sheer roman is just, like, the most ridiculous of treatments because you're like, why even have it? Like, people that are super practical be like, what is this? But those of you that have done it, if you know, you know, nothing is sexier on a window than that Sheer roman.

[Corey]

I thought you were gonna say on a woman. I was about to say yes, but.

[Suzanne]

Yeah, I mean, we're interior designers, so to us, it's like sheer. The sheer Roman.

[Alice]

So good.

[Suzanne]

And I even think overmount on the sheer Roman.

[Alice]

You kind of want that too, because, like, I just wanted, like, why do.

[Suzanne]

We not have an example of this to share? I'm so mad.

[Alice]

We might. Sorry.

[Suzanne]

Google it. Google it. Because it just. Just the coolest of cool people will do it. And have we done it?

[Alice]

We do. We do have one. I'm gonna put it on here.

[Suzanne]

Okay.

[Alice]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah, yeah, I'll show you.

[Suzanne]

Okay. Sheer drapery. Okay. So, Chris, we're answering your question, and we're telling you if you do a shear, it's going to let that light in, but it's going to hide or soften the view, and you're going to feel like a rock star for living in that house. So, so pretty. Here is shears stacked around a bathtub, and the fullness is so full that those drapery folds are what give. Is what giving you privacy. Even though the fabric is kind of semi transparent here, it's really open weave, and the full look, it just looks finished. Even though everything's white and serene, there's just this full, full amount of fabric that's semi transparent. And I love this. This is our St. John's project in Dallas.

[Alice]

It's so, so beautiful.

[Suzanne]

Yeah.

[Alice]

We also fun thing when we are doing panels and we'll get into this on episode two, it's a lot of it's going to sit outside the window. So you have, like, your actual window casing. You're not. One of the videos I saw on YouTube, she, like, measured the width of the window, and I'm like, damnass. Like, you can't do that. You have to go beyond. And you really are stacking the majority of that, like, five times. Stack outside of your window and then just have a peekaboo of it kind of like coming in, like, six inches into the window. And a sheer gives you the credit because you start to feel that light and then you can kind. Like, in the St. John's you can kind of play with it it and just get to your desired, like, spot where you want it to hit and then still feel that fullness that is extending beyond the frame of that window.

[Suzanne]

Yes. Okay. There are also pattern shears.

[Alice]

Oh, yes.

[Suzanne]

I, in general, am not a super pattern person.

[Alice]

No, you're not.

[Suzanne]

I know. I. It's mostly because I said that I don't wear a pattern. Like, I don't look good in them. They just hijack everything. And I feel like a clown. And there's so much happening. Then, like, just wear solid stress and calm down. You'll think clearer thoughts. You know, it's just. It's too much. But I do like it for other people and other personalities. And this little bit of pattern in a sheer. I mean, just stop it some more.

[Alice]

I know. This is our Lovers Lane office. This was her office. And it was so cute because you had, like, the. I don't know, the Christmas of that lined ceiling with that. That crisp line. And then we just. And it was her office. So we're just like, we should do something more romantic and just like, something that feels like her.

[Suzanne]

Her personality.

[Alice]

And so. And it's like adding a pattern on pattern, but it's a lot more softer if you're more textural. This is a really great way to do that.

[Suzanne]

Yeah. So, so good.

[Alice]

Chris, I can't wait to hear what your spirit animal of the shears.

[Suzanne]

Yes. One last shear here I want to show you. This is in a primary bathroom.

[Alice]

Barbie Dream House.

[Suzanne]

In the Barbie Dream House. And we have so much fullness here. These are always drawn.

[Alice]

Always.

[Suzanne]

And it lets all the light in, but gives her the privacy because it's a primary bathroom and the whole room is draped in shears.

[Alice]

And it glows.

[Suzanne]

Shut up.

[Alice]

It just, like, feels like it's glowing when you walk in there. It's amazing.

[Corey]

Is it literally, like, all of the.

[Alice]

Walls y just in the bedroom.

[Suzanne]

This is the magic trick of an interior designer, is the shear. It's the smoke and mirrors moment. Like, can you feel that? In that photo, you have mirrors mounted over the top and you have all these drapery folds lining the entire walls of this.

[Corey]

That's so cool.

[Suzanne]

Pretty. Yeah, it's just foxy. Yeah.

[Alice]

So pretty.

[Suzanne]

So pretty. Okay. Other things that you can do with shears to let light in is sometimes. And this can think it's pretty traditional. I have to say.

[Alice]

This client was traditional, and she was older, and so she knew. Yeah, she was Getting into.

[Suzanne]

It's like, super old. Just kidding. I'm joking. So this is shears, sheer drapery. And then you have an overmount drapery, which is solids.

[Alice]

Yeah.

[Suzanne]

What do you want to call it?

[Alice]

Yeah, it's still woven, so it wasn't like, completely, like, heavy heavy, but probably did, you know, she probably did have some blackout. This was a project we did probably five, six years ago. And she probably did have blackout because she would draw these with the old baton, you know.

[Suzanne]

Huh.

[Alice]

So. But the shears is something that she could have open if, like, sun was coming in, it was too harsh. You could just like, close the shears during the day, but still at light in. But then at night, she could romantically whisk with the baton. Those draperies closed.

[Suzanne]

Yeah.

[Alice]

Go, Rachel.

[Suzanne]

You've got double rods. You've got a lot of hardware. So much fabric expense. And also, you've got to just really love just working the room with the draperies.

[Alice]

Work the room.

[Suzanne]

Yeah. You do. Yeah, totally. And I think this is something that is more kind of a lost art, I think with tradition coming back in. If you got yourself a big fat budget, maybe you want to do double drapes like this. We generally don't do two drapes, but this is something.

[Alice]

It was fun to do it when we got to do it.

[Suzanne]

Yeah, it is fun. It is fun to get to do it. And you get it. You do get to control, like you said, light. Light. And it was in this room that.

[Alice]

We did, like, on this other little window, we did do a sheer Roman with that sheer.

[Suzanne]

Yeah, you did.

[Alice]

And that. There's, like, a little sheer slip cover right there. So again, you go, Rachel.

[Suzanne]

Yeah, go. So pretty.

[Alice]

So pretty.

[Suzanne]

We'll have to share more images. Yeah. Another way to answer your question, Chris, of what type of window covering would let light in but hide or soften the view is the cafe curtain.

[Alice]

I love the cafe cream.

[Suzanne]

I do, too. Let's just. Let's just define what that is. Those of you watching, we're holding up here. This is Rachel Parcel's primary bedroom bathroom. Excuse me. And this is letting light come in the windows, but then you've got the drapery right where you would maybe be undressing to get in the tub or where you're standing and getting ready. And you can just open these up or shut them. So it's like a short drape hung at a height that is. This was at a nice break in the windows. And I think this look is so pretty and traditional. I feel very European about This I do too.

[Alice]

Yeah. I think it's so beautiful. I like this too, because over a bathtub. You know how we just said that we love to do a Roman over a bathtub? I totally do. But I like this probably even more so over a bathtub just because you're not blocking your view. So like you can lay in the tub and you can see what the weather's doing. You can see the clouds and the green on the trees and just like have clarity but still have privacy.

[Suzanne]

Yeah.

[Alice]

With a Roman, it's dropping, you know, from top down. You're covering up the whole thing when you need privacy. So therefore you're not getting to see any of your window. Window view. Except. Oh, this is another. Okay. Yeah, this is another cafe curtain, also over a tub. It's just, it's so darling. This is from our Manchester house. And again, everything in this house was like based out of the uk and so it's such a good, it's such a good treatment. And at the right height again. And you said. I like the way you said that. It's along one of those like window grids lines. So you're lining it up with something. So don't just like haphazardly, just hang it up there. Be methodical about it.

[Corey]

I was gonna ask you, if they don't have grid, they want to do a cafe curtain, where are they doing it?

[Alice]

I would do depending on the height of the window. Like, let's see, like a lot of them are split. Do you leave like a third or two thirds? I love things in thirds.

[Corey]

This is like a third.

[Suzanne]

This is a double hung.

[Alice]

Yeah.

[Suzanne]

Let me show them this. This is a powder bath in the Washington D.C. capitol Heights project. And this is a double hung window. You can see there's three panels there. And so they chose the top line as their break to hang their rod and then the cafe rod. And you could see like any guest.

[Corey]

Could go, is that inside of the inside mount?

[Suzanne]

Yeah. And. And anybody would be comfortable going in and using this bathroom because even though that top part is probably hanging out in that 8 foot, 7 foot level, most people are 6ft and under. So you might see the top of their head. Yeah, yeah. Unless you have a super tall pervert in the neighborhood that's looking, that's like.

[Alice]

Looking really hard, like one of those.

[Suzanne]

Basketball players from the Wizards is outside looking in. Then he could see you going to the bathroom. Yeah, yeah, perhaps so. So that is like with the, with the window grids.

[Corey]

I like it on the inside of the Windowsill, too. Yeah. Super cool.

[Alice]

You can. I mean, there's like. Like fancier, almost tension rods, you know, that you can, like, sandwich between them. Keep it nice.

[Suzanne]

This is, like, a tension rod inside mount. This is tiger oak. This is a patterned Roman, and I actually love this pattern.

[Alice]

And we did this above the tub. And we also did it because there. We should post it above their sink. We put the sink in front of the window because we're like, really? When you're brushing your teeth, you don't need to actually look into a mirror. Like, I'd rather look outside. And we did a little cafe cream right above the sink. And it's so cute.

[Suzanne]

So cute. And then you know what they did that was so smart? They put mirrors on the walls next to that with no sink. So actually, when you're getting ready, you don't have to put your curling iron in.

[Corey]

This is such a good idea.

[Suzanne]

It was genius.

[Alice]

Needs to be watching themselves while they brush their teeth. Yeah.

[Suzanne]

Also, you don't need to pay for two sinks. Just pay for one. Y'all. Brush your teeth in front of that window. Enjoy it. And then you don't really need a sink otherwise. You just need a lot of counter space.

[Alice]

Okay. This isn't even that episode.

[Corey]

And to be close to a mirror, I don't want to be two and a half feet away from a mirror.

[Suzanne]

No.

[Alice]

And I'd be getting wet all over your, like, crisp shirt that you just got dragged in.

[Corey]

Oh, it happens all the damn time, right?

[Alice]

All the damn time. Every single day.

[Suzanne]

Definitely. Another thing besides the cafe curtain. Sorry. One last honorable mention. Is this one in a kitchen? We love a cafe curtain in a kitchen.

[Alice]

Also, Manchester. You guys, this is so cute.

[Suzanne]

You just lean forward and just open that little thing, but otherwise, you're letting light in. You're blocking the ugly driveway or whatever's out there. So you're softening that view like you wanted to know, Chris.

[Alice]

So we just added a little petticoat to the house, and, like, there's nothing cuter.

[Suzanne]

Yes. The other option would be from. This is a drapery work room, but I know Hunter Douglas has another option, and it's called top down, bottom up, which is when it's kind of like a reverse Roman when the fabric's on the bottom, and then you can draw it upside down up to the top of the window. Or you can draw it down so that you can see out while you're in the tub, but nobody can see you naked from the neck down.

[Alice]

Yeah. So, yeah, it can be Almost act almost like a roman if you wanted to operate it that way. Or it can just like operate as a cafe curtain. So this. But that like bar stands in the center of. And then it can just kind of.

[Corey]

Like it moves off of. Okay, that's cool.

[Alice]

Yeah, so it's great. Especially I think this is like, this was a little. This is our Tahoe tree house. And there was a golf course just right there in like the middle of the mountains. Beautiful. But all these golfers would like swing by, you know, trail.

[Suzanne]

So she just hated it when they were looking at it.

[Alice]

Perverts. Yeah. Anyway, top down, bottom up.

[Suzanne]

That's so great. So those are some great options for you, Chris, to be able to get that privacy and let the light in. Our favorite options. I hope this helps. If you guys have questions that you want answers to send those in and we will be able to dedicate an episode to giving you as much information as we can about it. Just like the strai, I just wanted to give a shout out because our very best sale just started three days ago and that is the best sale of the whole year where it's site wide and you can get anything you need in any category, any project you're working on, it's the best time to buy. And so you guys go and just get whatever you need. Shop your hearts out. Alicelanehome.com yeah, and it's going to run through the end of the month so it's a really good time to be able to make decisions. And I have to say, if you need help, we have a free interior design service called Home Furnishing Design where they are doing the furnishings. They have the entire Alice lane playbook, all 200 vendors on speed dial and they can get in and design your home. Sofas down to the inch, rugs, customize things they can work on, whatever you need help with and give you the confidence to move forward. So if you need help, jump in and get that help right now so you can still get those things on sale.

[Corey]

It's just such a fantastic time attacking the game.

[Suzanne]

Yeah, it really is. It's like taking advantage of the system. It's inside baseball is what it is. Yeah, definitely. So that's@alice lanehome.com so shop that and if you don't mind, leave us a five star review. We would love it. And Corey, how do they do that?

[Corey]

So you on Apple podcasts you're gonna leave a review there. You go to our show page, there's Dear Alice and then where you can read the reviews. There's a little like either blue or purple icon right above them, says write a review. Click on that and fill out your review and submit it.

[Alice]

We read them.

[Suzanne]

We do. We love it. So thank you so much and thanks for tuning in. And next week, tune in for more about draperies. What to avoid, what to do, what we're loving. We're gonna share all of those. Those in that inside scoop with you on that. And we'll catch you guys next time. Hey, thanks for listening. If you like our show, please leave a five star rating.