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After staying with MIL this Christmas, I noticed her lil white curtains are yellowing and in need of replacement. She would love to get something new or have me whip something up for her, but I'm at a loss. Her comforter is a shiny fabric in taupe and cream.
Should I stick with the valances and find some fabric to make new ones. I think she'd like to keep the blinds and not put too much $'s into the window. (would move if she could find something smaller since FIL passed last year)

Have you seen any fabric that might "nice it up" for her for the windows? Should I stick with the lil valances?

The room with the wallpaper is her lil bathroom off the bedroom. Wallpaper will stay and the flowers are a peach color.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: nance425,

Do you want to do both rooms the same? Then I would do peach....valance for the bathroom and sill length drapes for her bedroom....Then I would make peach pillow covers (or new peach pillows) for her bed to tie it all in. Pretty spread, by the way.

I'd suggest painting her bedroom peach and then using white panels (check out washable white panels on www.countrycurtains.com.) BUT since she may move, that suggestion isn't practical. In that event, I agree peach brought into the bedroom via window treatments, pillows and perhaps a throw will liven the space, tie the bathroom to the bedroom and can be reused in the event she moves.

I am curious tho...can she center her bed under the window? If so, she can extend a rod beyond the windowframe to enlarge it and serve as a backdrop to her headboard. The peach drapery behind the headboard will call attention to the bed too and provide contrast.

May and Froo - thank you so much for your input. Peach is gonna be hard to find isn't it? Not a current color. I've already done a lil searching and getting discouraged.

quote:

Originally posted by nance425:
May and Froo - thank you so much for your input. Peach is gonna be hard to find isn't it? Not a current color. I've already done a lil searching and getting discouraged.

Peach in paint is not difficult (even a focal wall behind the bed is an option. Peach in drapery and bedding elements might be more challenging, but you can always sew simple slipcovers for pillows and find a peach throw. I'd continue the search and use the wallpaper in the bathroom as color reference. The hunt for either paint or lines will be worth it's weight in gold. Patience is key and you'll reep the rewards when all's said and done. Look for solids, stripes, or textural peach curtains or sew simple panels.

You didn't address my concern w/ the off center window. Could the bed be centered under it? If so, extend the window treatment to visually enlarge the window so it's more in scale the headboard.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Froo Froo,

o sorry, Froo. Moving the bed over might make it too close to the closet and prevent her from opening the doors. It's a lil tight in there, which is hard to see from the pic.

p.s. do you see the orange string hanging down? It's attached to the fan/light, so she can turn either off from bed. I bet you'll never see that in a home design.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: nance425,

Nance I was wondering what that string was! Now I know.

What about taupe colored panels in a faux silk/poly type fabric that matches the taupe background of her spread. That is a nice elegant looking spread and straight rod pocket panels would be apprpriate and dress the room up.

Pale Peach walls would be appropriate for a lady her age as well as looking pretty with the bathroom.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tuesday,

You know, the peach family includes some shades that would not feel dated and would tie into the bath paper. See http://beautifulfabric.com/asc...0&pStart=0&recNum=60
as an example - this one would tie to the taupe but add a little pattern and interest. Here's a tweed that would work in the bath

http://beautifulfabric.com/asc...&pStart=0&recNum=114
This kind of colorful tweed will read solid against her bath paper - instead of a ruffly valance you could do a tailored box with pleated corners - even one full height panel swagged over to the left - asymetric works in a room like this but leave the blinds under for practical purposes.

You can use beautiful fabric that is modern and she will love the accent tones - look below for something gorgeous - don't get fixated on the peach. So long as you stay in the family, it will work. I'd avoid the pale peach walls, and use some beautiful fabric - add one pillow to the bed / perhaps a bedskirt in the same thing and you've got it. And these fabric suggestions are just for inspiration - how to tie the wallpaper to something beautiful and current. Her bedspread is neutral enough it shouldn't be hard, and just a touch of the color she loves - see this gorgeous print. http://www.calicocorners.com/p...ange/becka+carmel.do

Nance - now the string will be a style point!

Thank you sooooo much LDE.

I went to the Calico Corners website and looked around. Saw a couple more that might work and added them to your suggestions. (see the links below). I put everything together in a collage. Would they work as well? What's your favorite? And would you put the same fabric design in both the bathroom and the bedroom.
I forgot to say there is another window to the right of the dresser where you enter the little bathroom. Similar to the one on the bed wall.



Grams Parlor
http://www.calicocorners.com/p...y=priceAscend&page=6

madelaine embroidery
http://www.calicocorners.com/p...y=priceAscend&page=3

florabunda - oatmeal
http://www.calicocorners.com/p...y=priceAscend&page=2

This message has been edited. Last edited by: nance425,

Great pasting them altogether - though of course you probably truly need a swatch of several to place against the coverlet to know how they work with the ivory / taupe for sure.

Just musing on paper here about the options -

Grams does evoke age to me - the fabric blend would work for drapery and as a bedskirt, though not as an accent pillow. Since it does evoke age, I'd play against type. The madeline on sale is a great buy, perfect linen / rayon blend for all uses and the question is - does the background taupe "match" the ivory coverlet. It is the safest from a design point of view - almost juvenile, and therefore probably my least favorite for pepping the room up. Something about this reads "pale" to me, so better for a pretty pillow than a valance. When I'm older, I know my sight will dim a bit and I think I will love color and beautiful things even more.

I think all of the other florals could work with a coordinating fabric for the bedskirt / bath window. I put the tweed in because I thought it was a good coordinating find and hey, it could make a fancy ruched light/fan string / cord cover.

Also, for the bath area, sometimes two florals really need to be different to go together and that wall paper is nearly too close to many that we pulled. Here's another sale ticking that might be perfect for a bedskirt and bath window if the beige works with your main fabric and existing coverlet - http://www.calicocorners.com/p...h/ticking+classic.do

My favorite: the prettiest thing for her window for me is also the thing I think will actually match best - the becka carmel linen. I'm a fan. I think in person, the swatch would be paler and match her coverlet tone (bit more taupe than ivory - definitely trending linen) best of all the selections and look yummy in a matching pillow. It has enough white in it to work next to the white blinds and wall and pull it all together. I also see that the tonal swirls on her coverlet have the same general pattern impact, so you could get that sense of deliberate style from the repeat. Of course, you will have to have a swatch to tell.

This is also the only floral different enough from the wall paper to work next to it in the bath - or here is a place you could just go and match the new bed ruffle (since a valance there doesn't need to match the bedroom, just coordinate, and that ticking stripe is a sale bargain!). The oatmeal is yummy too, though probably clashes with the wallpaper in the bathroom and there I vote for the coordinating ticking stripe as above.

For the price tag, going with the inexpensive ticking stripe on the bedskirt and bath valance, then splurging on the becka carmel linen for her bedroom window and one accent pillow on the bed from the scraps.

That's me just guessing - you'll want to consult with your "client" with swatches and see them in the room. You can't go wrong with
any / the best taupe match of any of the florals for her bedroom window.

If it is in the budget, I'd add one long dummy panel the width of the fabric stapled/drawn away from the bed (for visual height and elegance) then hang a piece (or trio) of inexpensive but compelling vintage art over her bed. If the fabrics are modern and the art is vintage, the whole thing feels so fresh and yet, personal.

For fun, I found a good housekeeping from her childhood with (yes, complimentary tones!) http://www.art.com/products/p1...ng-february-1929.htm
Or a trio for over the bed, so there is visual interest despite low headboard.
There is also a darling little girl baker http://www.art.com/products/p1...4980bfd6f4f42460de68 and sledding cherub from the same era http://www.art.com/products/p1...ng-february-1930.htm

You will come up with something wonderful! thanks for letting me share some fun ideas - working with family is always tricky trying to please another anyway, and that is so dependent on their personality that sometimes you like to choose for them and surprise them (especially when it is your budget :-))

This message has been edited. Last edited by: LibraDesignEye,

Nance,

Those fabrics give you lots of directions to take the room along with keeping the neutral bed linens. If you don't find a peach color paint that you like, consider using another background color from the fabrics that blends/works with the bedding.

I find that sometimes the results are even better when I DON'T try to match a hard color and use one that sits quietly in the background.

It's easy to stitch up 3 panel bedskirts instead of the platform ones. Just a panel for each side with about a 4-6 inch heading. Tuck under the mattress on each side. Use twirly pins if needed. I love these types of bedskirts so no lifting needed and easy change outs.

Looks like it will be a fun project and nice update for your Dmom.

Also thanks for sharing your fabrics. I think one of them is going to work perfect for an upcoming project too. I found the fabric in a different colorway of seaglass and aqua.

quote:

add one long dummy panel the width of the fabric stapled/drawn away from the bed (for visual height and elegance) then hang a piece (or trio) of inexpensive but compelling vintage art over her bed. I

LDE: thank you for all of your ideas and input. I never dreamed there could be so many options.
I'm not understanding the above idea.
Are you thinking drapery panels for the bedroom windows or just valances with the blinds? Where would this dummy panel be put up? stapled? on a rod?

I also like that Becka Carmel linen. Adds a lot of color. Would you do panels or just valances (box with pleats) on the bedroom windows? I like the boxy valance idea for the bathroom window. The bathroom is really tiny.

I love the artwork. Would go with the Becka fabric really well, if she liked it.
Thanks so much for your input/shared enthusiasm.

Beau's Rose - thanks for poppin' in. Good to see you.
Re the bedskirt. How much extra do you think I would need to add to the ends to overlap one another? Have you made them?
I'm actually going to be doing one for a basement bedroom but was going to join and make pleats at the corners. Overlapping sounds a lot easier.

I don't think the carmel ticking will go, but I see Cerise which might. I'm not sure what color Cerise is. If it's more red, then it won't go either???
Found another peachy twead I can check out, too. Whattaya think? (just makin' sure I don't overlook anything else that might be out there)

p.s. I'm not sure I have to do a bedskirt. Her comforter comes down almost to the floor. ???

This message has been edited. Last edited by: nance425,

You've got pictures and I'm using words - sorry for their limitations.

I went back to read where the second window is -to the right of the dresser, out of the photos if I'm understanding correctly. I did suggest some full length dummy panels for these two windows in the bedroom as it would add a lot to the room (softness and color and pattern). This idea would leave the blinds underneath to do the primary job of light control.

I'm guessing since I can't really see the whole room like you can. Painting is a big job and can be very difficult and disruptive to older people (it takes a lot of labor to prep room / move belongings and furnishings / get them back in the same place / sleep somewhere else for a few nights/ off gas new paint so it doesn't affect their breathing / and so on) so while you were planning fabric and sewing, it didn't seem like too much to add a dummy full length panel to the "outside" of each window. I see these set up to draw away from the bed, draw away from the dresser -

How to build them? Here are a few ideas from what I've seen (not what I've done), so maybe start a new thread to ask for window covering seamstress support!

Currently the valance is on a rod, so they could be sewn to the back of the valance
pocket with folds sewn in, and the only hardware you need is a hook on the wall to catch a fabric hold back band low at bed / dresser top height. Some more experienced seamstresses / window covering makers here may suggest something vastly improved / with or without being more complex. I've also seen them built in with valances where they were both attached (stapled)to a fabric wrapped 2 x 4 that is hung with L brackets off the wall, but since your hardware is existing it seems right to use it!

Did I add a coordinating bedskirt to your project list? Aaack! No wonder projects expand -we have so many "helpers!" Overlapping corners and Beau's easy install type sound great to me -could be pretty but these many ideas may expand your work unnecessarily.

Ticking stripe seems funny right next to the print it in your photo, but in real life it would be across in the bathroom or below the bed and the color match is good. Ticking stripes always really look more pastel when they are used because the eye blends the two colors in them together. On the Calico corners color board against all the other fabrics, it reads like real fruit - ripe peach tone.

Peachy tweed is pretty and very pastel. I bet if you held a swatch up to the wallpaper it would even be paler than that peach tone. Thinking that doesn't add the warmth of color like the saturated mid-tones we were exploring (since we are talking about using it in small amounts - a little bath valance, possibly a bedskirt near the floor). Maybe try the swatches in the space - tape them up on the wall and stand back - I think you would be pleasantly surprised.

Depending on the fabric, that peach could make a wonderful heart shaped accent pillow for the bed though! I know you will love what you end up with - the project at any scale is wonderful - no expansions needed. Your MIL is well-loved and will certainly feel it in her pretty new space.

Nance,

I will find the info for you and post in the next few days. I have to search through links.

ETA: Back sooner than expected.

Here is a how to for you.

http://nouveaustitch.com/2009/.../bedskirt-on-a-band/

I use a piece of adding machine tape for a template and play with pleat size. Usually a 2-3 inch pleat will look nice.

My panels have about 1 to 1 1/2 inch overlap on the side panels that wrap around the corners ONTO the footboard end. This extra inch of fabric width provides a continuity to the bedskirt and prevents a gap at corners. Then the Footboard panel goes on top of these wrapped corners.

Keeping the panels in 3 pieces is easier to put on and remove from bed. Easier for laundry and ironing.

The amount of fabric will depend on the fabric repeat. But a skirt that is 18" long would work well with a 27 inch repeat. The extra 9 inches would allow enough for hems. Don't forget Steam a Seam if you are doing flat panels. You can use to hold hems and then easy to stitch right over it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Beau's Rose,

Another tutorial for you.

http://ankastreasures.wordpres...ust-ruffle-tutorial/

Remember the repeat of the fabric will need to match around the skirt.

Another possibility.

http://shabbynest.blogspot.com...no-sew-bedskirt.html

This one is clever using ready-made curtain panels.

http://www.mybackyardeden.com/...lored-bed-skirt.html

Good Luck!

LDE & BR: I'm sorry I haven't gotten back sooner with a BIG thank you. It got busy around here.

I hope to have a chance to get up to Calico Corners and check out the fabrics, but it will be "road trip" since they aren't in the area.

Thank you so much for the bedskirt info, BR. Looks easy enough for my other project.