SF Silk Trading Company Closing

The Silk Trading Company is closing their store in S.F. Not exactly sure when but they are either having or will have a blow out sale of 50%-80% off items in the store. This is a great opportunity to get ready made panels, fabric by the yard and pillows.

The Silk Trading Co.
1616-A 6th Street
S.F.
415-282-5574

Also, check them out online for great sales on discontinued fabrics and premade drapery sales.

Tanell - Spruce $25/yd

Jacoby- Terraza $29/yd

Kendrar $10/yd

Ribbon Overlay $76-98/panel

The Shade Store and Dwell Sudio Team Up

The Shade Store and modern fabrics from Dwell Studio partnered together to make some fun window treatments in some groovy fabrics. Check out Dwell Studio to finding matching bedding.

Curtain Panels

Today I'm discussing options for soft window treatments - curtain panels. What you can get out there in the world of retail and how does that compare to semi-custom or custom window treatments?

Prepackaged window treatments can be found for great prices at Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Target, JC Penny's, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Z Gallery and a host of other places. Curtain panels typically come in lengths of 84" or 96" and sometime up to 108-120"; however they tend to be quite narrow and range from 23-50" wide.

Linen's n Things: silk, lined with cotton, 42x96", $89.99/ea. or $179.98/pair

Pottery Barn: silk, lined with cotton, 50x96", $169ea. or $338/pair

For semi-custom treatments you can try options such as Smith & Noble, JC Penny's, Shades of Light, Silk Trading Co., etc.

Smith & Noble 24x96" (very narrow), silk, privacy lining, casual pleat, $498/pair.

Shades of Light: silk, cotton lining with inner fleece lining for insulation and added body, 23x96" (very narrow), $428/pair.
Silk Trading Co: "Out of the box" drapery, 47x96", silk taffeta, lined (not interlined), $782/pair. This fabric is high quality silk taffeta and better then anything you would get in a department store. Fabric may be comparable to Shades of Light above, but the above Shades of Light example is only 23 inches wide.

Custom curtain panels will depend largely on the cost of your fabric which could be any where from $10-150 per yard. Here is a sample break down of pricing I recently quoted a client for standard panels, 54" width fabric by 92" long. Other embellishments such as banding, buttons, or trim is extra labor & material costs.

Two panels (one width of standard 54" fabric) = $310 (or $620 for double width panels)

• Fabric 6 yds @ $25 = $150
• Labor & lining = $160 (or ~ $80 per panel)
• Plus sales tax

Good luck finding window treatments!

Tired of Vertical Blinds???

Window treatments for sliding glass doors and extra wide windows can be difficult to dress. Fortunately the sliding panel track system is now hitting the market and you can create panels in natural fibers, synthetics and fabrics that create a clean, simple, up-to-date window treatment solution. Finally something fresh and new!
Below is an interesting option from JC Penny's. Fun, hip and inexpensive for those on a TIGHT budget. My only warning is you get what you pay for, so know this treatment won't last forever. When choosing your window treatment and brand, keep in mind the level of day-to-day wear and tear on the window treatment. For heavy traffic flow consider investing a little more in a quality brand and quality hardware for everyday use. Having said that this is still a very affordable option.

Another consideration is size. If you buy from a department store you will be limited in height and width. I've just ordered a set for a client's house and we chose to select a version that will got to the ceiling in a typical 8ft ceiling room. This will carry the eye up and create the illusion of more height. Also we are carrying the treatment to the edge of the wall which is about 18" from the window jam. Therefore when the panel system is open the panels will stack to the side without interrupting the backyard view. The panels should be installed in about 3 weeks at which time I'll post a picture.