I’m following up on yesterday’s story about Dave and Kris’ lovely mid-century modern living room with this post that specifically applauds their window treatments. These are beautifully executed and give me the jumping-off to spotlight six tips for this style of window treatments for a mid century modern interior:
Pinch pleat curtain tips:
- Pinch-pleat draperies: Rock the Casbah. I am the world’s #1 fan of pinch pleats. They are tidy, yet warm and welcoming. They are harder to find than panels … because they are harder to make, but not THAT much harder… as you will recall, Gavin and I even got in a hissy fit one time over whether they require more fabric than panels. I think the determining factor is how full you make either. Where to get pinch pleat draperies? I tend to favor finding someone local who can make them to fit your windows perfectly. This is what Cindy did, for example. Other sources: For off-the-shelf, readers seem to like J.C. Penney’s Supreme line, including their prices; there are othe pinch pleat options on the JCP site, use the Search box. Vintage — you may be able to find pinch pleats vintage, too, and these can also be adapted (made smaller) or pieced together to make wider widths.
- Stack back: This is a term you must conquer if you are to use pinch pleats. Basically, it means: You need to think about how much space the pinch pleats will take up when they are open… and plan this into your calculations for how wide to buy your pinch pleats. For example, Dave and Kris’ drapes look to have about a 12″ stackback (on each side). If they have a 40″ window… with 4″ trim on each side… a 4″ overlap at center… and 4″ returns (the fabric needed to wrap the traverse rod 90-degrees to hug the wall) they would order a pair of panels that span approximately 76″ combined. When closed, this would allow enough fabric to cover the entire window (from return to the center, overlapped)… and when the drapes are open, the stackback would begin at the edge of the glass (covering the trim.) I hope to heck I got this right, and I am sure that if not, Gavin will correct me. There are places like Smith & Noble that have calculators — seek them out. Really, it’s not that hard. If you are having someone make the drapes — give them super careful measurements of your window and they will do the calculation.
- Sheer panels underneath: I love how Dave and Kris have put sheer panels underneath the pinch pleat. This makes the room all glowy — let’s in the light, but maintain privacy, if that’s required. However, if you like to open the windows wide during the day, the sheer are going to be a pain. Alternatively, you can opt for sheers on pinch pleats — that is, two layers of pinch pleats. The downside to this, is that your draperies are going to extend farther into the room. Sheer panels can be tucked right behind the single traverse rod holding your solid pinch pleats; you’re gonna have a 4″ or so protrusion into the room. If you have two traverse rods, one stacked on the other, I think you’re talking 6″ miniminum protrusion, because their needs to be enough space for the bottom set of sheers to open and close. I was in England this summer and in the humongous drapery section of John Lewis, I noted that the brits seem to use kind of “pin-tucked” (I think that’s the word) sheers on traverse rods, under their pinch pleats. The pin-tuck design is flatter — so I think the protrusion is minimized. Sorry, I am sure that this is really hard to understand.
- Position of top of draperies: Note how D&K’s draperies start at the top of the wall where it meets the ceiling. But look at the light — the window starts much lower. They have installed the draperies floor-to-ceiling to fool your eye into believing the windows are larger and also, to accentuate the height of the wall. With the sheers in place, in particular, this works magnificently. Lesson: First consider whether you can take the drapes all the way to the ceiling — especially if the window is already vertical (rather than horizontal) in its orientation; no need to think that your drapes “must” start right above the window — which would, in this case, have broken up the lovely overall lines of the room.
- Position of bottom of draperies: For mid-century interiors, I am also a fan of draperies that just barely brush the ground. Tidy. Linear. Also, easier to open and close, and to keep clean.
- Traverse rod: Paint it! You can also paint your traverse rod to blend in with the wall color or in this case, the color of the sheers behind it. I just laid out my traverse rod to the correct (installed width) and put two thin layers of spray paint on it. My traverse’s sit on top of ivory colored grasscloth, and spray painted almond, are barely noticeable.
Note: You can also layer pinch pleat draperies over aluminum horizontal blinds. We even have advice on whether and when to turn the blinds up — or down!
Embrace your inner Traverse Rod!
Do you have a fear of pinch pleat drapes… of traverse rods… of making homemade pie crusts? YOU CAN DO IT, and you will be a better person for the effort!
And remember, all my stories about window treatments for mid century homes are located in the Category: Retro Accents / Window Treatments.
Daves
Nina462 says
Now – don’t forget the drycleaning for pinch pleats. My mom has a huge bay window (the type you can sit in) and I take her pinch pleats in for drycleaning every other year. It’s about $60…but they come back really nice & pressed! So you might want to figure that cost into it – well worth it for keeping them nice & pristine. She bought her drapes at JCPenneys around 1990 and they are still doing very well.
Amy Hill says
My goodness, 48 comments already! I think this is #49. Folks must be snowed in & logged on their computers all day long!
Gavin, do you have a blog of your own? I would love to read what you write!
Gavin Hastings says
Yes I do have a blog…it’s called RetroRenovation! (I’m kidding Pam!)
I do not have the focus, dedication and personality a blog demands. I leave that up to our hostess: Thankfully she extends an invitation to her party over and over again.
pam kueber says
Gavin, consider yourself an official Retro Renovation Supreme Contributor! I KNOW readers look forward to your daily take — as do I! There are others who contribute very frequently, too — gosh, if I start naming them I will miss someone — I am really truly grateful for your active participation, as well. It’s what makes this all worthwhile!
Annie B. says
So very true. What a wonderful sense of community you and so many others have engendered, Pam.
I often play the “WWGS” game while reading posts and comments: What Will Gavin Say”???
Gavin Hastings says
Read today’s post in a few hours…
.
While Pam is away I am going to hi-jack the the Penney’s drapery chapter and explain to folks how to “train” their curtains. Several readers yesterday hinted at the idea, so I guess I’ll share some hanging ‘how-to” today. Technical…many paragraphs and lots of words….
If you don’t mind….o.k?
Lisa says
Check estate and garage sales for deals on pinch pleat (traverse rod) draperies. I bought custom-made, lined draperies plus valances for $35 at a sale last summer and was able to replace the drapes in 3 rooms of an apartment. I haven’t had traverse rod draperies since I was a kid but now I love them — so easy to open and close.
pam kueber says
yes, Lisa, if you really do open and close your draperies every day, traverse rods are the best! remember to be safe with the pulls, though… I have a post on this in the database.
linda blackmore says
I was one of those JC Penney’s Custom decorators in the late 60’s/early 70’s. Pinch Pleats were almost the only thing we made. Open weaves came into being while I worked there. They were very popular for modern houses, as were woven woods. One thing your folks need to know to help get a professional look is the pinning and hanging. That needs to be very carefully done, as the entire effect would be ruined if not hung properly. Also, if they have a very large span of window, buy heavy duty rods. I once did a huge wall in red velvet with black sheers(no, not a house of ill repute). We used an electric rod they were so heavy. I loved that job.
Jeanne says
Linda, I was a “decorator” for Montgomery Wards back in 1978-79! 🙂 I just graduated with a graphic art degree and couldn’t find a job right away, so I took that job. I got intensive training on measuring for pinch pleats (and other window treatments), because we had to order the fabric as well as the rods, etc. Although it wasn’t what I really wanted to do for a career, it was fun while I did it. I sold lots of pinch pleats even in the late 70s. And yes, woven woods were popular, too.
If any department stores offer this service, I would recommend it. I remember visiting the “drapery workroom” to see the actual drapes being made and other department stores used the same workroom as Wards. Plus, having a professional install and hang them is a plus.
Although, my mom ALWAYS made our pinch pleats and as a perfectionist – they always looked great.
Kirsten says
I was so glad to find this post today. I have a window treatment dilemma, and I am venturing into unchartered waters. We’ve just moved into a 50’s ranch that has a ton of very large windows, and I was thinking of putting pinch pleats on the front windows. However, the front window “unit” is a huge picture window flanked on each side by a double hung, making the whole shebang 154″ wide! It’s a fantastic feature of the room. Maybe someone out there can help with my questions.
Would I just have 2 drapes (one on each side) that meet in the middle to cover the entire window unit? Or would I have 2 on the ends and 2 where the double-hung windows meet the picture window? Does anyone ever just put them up as stationary pieces?
Also, any thoughts on using shades instead of sheers? Basically layering pinch pleats over shades. I’d like the privacy and light transmittal that you get from a sheer fabric, but I want to be able to open and close something easily.
Finally, is it possible to get a traverse rod that would span the entire 154″?
Thanks so much!
Gavin Hastings says
Kristen-I will post tomorrow. Have to go to work.
Gavin Hastings says
Kristen- So may unanswered questions here: Aftter subtracting the window, how much wall space is left on each side? Is the window the focal point of the room? Is it casual or more formal? And most important-How much money do you have to play with?
If it were myself, and just from the facts you have provided- I would cover that entire wall with floor to ceiling draperies top to bottom-side to side. I would hang them on a ceiling mounted travese rod…bot only open them as far as the center picture window.
Sheers are pretty formal as undercurtains and obtainable everywhere for less than $10 a panel….but I prefer the look that Shane and myself (imagine that, huh?) go for: 2″ Venetian Blinds for light control.and a true mid-century look.
Good luck.
Kirsten says
Hi Gavin,
Thanks for your reply. I have about 5 to 5 1/2 feet on each side of that window unit. The window is very much a prominent feature in the room – it’s at the front of the house and faces the street. (Hard to believe, but there is another 7–8 foot window in that room as well! So I will want to replicate what I do on the big window with the other one.)
Since we have a 2nd den-like area closer to the kitchen, we are planning to keep this room fairly formal to “showcase” some of our mid-century furnishings and style (if you know what I mean).
As far as price, well if I can do it reasonably, that would be ideal. I’ve looked at Smith and Noble and The Shade Store, and sometimes get sticker shock. I need to check out JC Penney.
I like the idea of floor to ceiling drapes. When you say that you would only open them as far as the picture window, do you mean that you would always keep the double-hung windows covered by drapes, even when they are open?
Annie B. says
Kirsten,
Our house before the present one was a 1956 ranch with the same window scenario.
The previous owners had installed custom made pinch pleats of gold antique satin which opened from the center of the picture window and “set back” (thanks, Pam) against the outer frame of the double-hung windows. They were gorgeous. I never used any sheers with them.
These curtains hung just to the sill of the windows which made for easy furniture placement and really lovely “wall drama”.
Hope this helps a little
Kirsten says
This is helpful, Annie.
When you say they were “set back against the outer frame of the double-hung windows, do you mean that when you opened them completely, they revealed the entire window unit? In other words, they never covered any part of the window when they were open?
Annie B. says
Kirsten,
That’s right, these curtains – to the best of my recollection as we sold this house in 1993 – when completely opened revealed the entire window unit.
This would mean that the traverse rod had to’ve extended beyond the window itself in order to hold all the “set back”.
Does your window unit extend all the way to the floor or stop short?
Mariah says
Kirsten, My front window setup in our 1963 Cape Cod is similar to yours except my window is about 112 inches wide. I have pinch pleats from JCP layered over a shade and have been very happy with the set up. I tried a couple different combos including sheers (which are now hung on their own over our other smaller bay window in a different room). Smith and Noble sells nice wood traverse rods up to 156 inches. They can be a little pricey but they have really pretty hardware. I have a shade that is a traditional ivory roller shade, but a high quality one that operates with a pull cord instead of just tugging on the bottom. To make it fit with the era it has a scalloped bottom with short cream colored fringe as trim. So it looks quite pretty when it is halfway or 3/4 of the way down in the evenings and early morning! The shade is just sheer enough to let a warm glow of light through material but still protect our privacy. Then my pinch pleats are layered over them. Really, I hardly ever close my drapes because the shade gives enough privacy. Good luck!
Puzzy says
Kristen- I recently moved into a 1955 colonial which sounds to have a similar window set up to yours. I was lucky that the previous owners had the pinch pleats already there! What it looks like they did was put two drapes on each side with the traverse rod running the whole length of the wall. This allows the curtains to bunch together on the section of wall space and exposes the double hungs when the curtains are open. When we close them we use the cord to pull the first set closed which covers the picture window and then we have to arrange the second drape a little by hand so it doesn’t looked bunched around the double hungs and taut in front of the picture window. We usually just leave them open but they look great either way. Hope this made some sense!
Gavin Hastings says
Kristen-Just a thought:
Traverse rods can be made to open left or right. Our studio room here has a french door flanked by a window on each side set 2ft apart from a centered door. The entire length is over 200″. The longer rods come-the price gets larger, as well.
I hung TWO 120″ rods end to end over the entire length and hung 4 60″ wide floor to ceiling draperies, using six wands to close and open.
I can have a solid wall of drapery
or, large drapery panels flanking the doorway,
or drapery/window/drapery/doorway/drapery/window/drapery.
Pleated sheers from Penney’s extend the lenght of the entire unit.
Kirsten says
Hi Gavin,
Thanks for your description of your studio room. Very helpful. This is a question about measurements. You seem to be such an expert! Based on your studio room, it sounds like you are covering 240″ of window/door, so you have 2 rods at 120″ each and 4 panels at 60″ wide each. Have I got it right?
I’m wondering about the measurements of drapery panels themselves. If I buy a 100″ wide pinch pleat panel from JCPenney, for example, will it already have fullness built in? In other words, if I stretch it out to its full 100″, then will it be flat or “full”? Is your drapery full looking when you cover all of your windows and french door?
Thanks for helping out a newbie!
Liz says
I used to think this style of drape was really archaic-looking, but when we moved into our 1950’s-era home, I knew nothing else would look right on our windows. We had all of our pinch-pleated drapes custom-made by this company.
http://www.factorydirectdrapes.com/store/pinch_pleated_drapes.asp
They are made here in the US, and they have tons of different fabrics. I don’t really have a basis for comparison, but the prices seemed reasonable and the quality of the drapes is excellent.
Love your blog.
JAson says
I Love pinch pleats. So did Mom. I found a GREAT set of lined, pinch pleat drapes on Ebay last year. Then I found them in my 1957 Sears catalog…HOW COOL! There were 8 panels which were enough to do my living room and dining room so they would kinda tie in together. I think that there is a company that reproduces this pattern…it’s grey with turquoise, black and pink amoebas and silvery looking horizontal swipes. They seemed expensive, but not really so when you consider the cost of custom made (Material+time).
Tikimama says
Jason, that sounds like a swatch of Melinamade barkcloth I have pinned to my wall right now. Check out her site and see if that’s it. I ordered the swatch set (fabric and wallpaper) from her for $18 and it was well worth it.
Kate says
Upon scouring your site for ideas, I was persuaded to replace the ugly, hated vertical blinds on my sliding glass doors with pinch pleat drapes. BEST DECISION EVER! They look magnificent. I had enough room for a stack back that reveals the entire window, luckily.
BTW, also on advice from your site, I ordered from Factory Direct Drapes — great, fast service and I’m very happy with the drapes. Now if I could just keep my kids’ hands off of them….
pam kueber says
yay! would love to see pics, kate… you know, i think i’m gonna have to do an “upload photos of your pinch pleat window treatments!”
Larry says
Oh Pam…wait till I get moved into my house and can get mine cleaned and installed..they really are terrific!
Kate says
Pam, I’ll try to get some pics to you in the next couple of days. I have a before shot of the room too. (Just FYI, my house was built in …. eeeek… 1999. But I am infusing it with Art Deco/Streamline and mid-century wonderfulness. We even installed a 1930s chandelier in the dining room. My last house was built in 1852, so I am leaping forward a whole century in my decorating influences!)
pam kueber says
Great – thanks, Kate!
Denise Cross says
Ahh the pinch pleat dilemma. My 30 year old thermal backed pinch pleats were custom JCP, covering to the floor, WALLS of windows. Oh to have back that service! It cost $800 back then (1981). Custom service, in my home, not available anymore. So, I recently resolved to make myself, done it before, with pleater tape. Then… I did the math. >The cost of fabric, plus Roc-Lon Thermal lining, pleater tape, pleater tape hooks …. outrageous! (tall/long/wide windows times 2.5) Absolutely prohibitive (for me) on these window sizes. I’ve optioned out now .. to vertical faux woods (real wood warps in the desert) and pinch pleat drapery panels, with my 50’s tropical bark cloth. I’ve loved the drapery thermals for the desert heat & cold. And I can only hope that I’ll love the faux woods for hopefully ‘almost’ keeping out enemy temps. I know I’ll enjoy the angled open feature in the summer. Feedback on vertical fauxs ….. very welcome. Goin’ Tiki on this room. I’d encourage anybody to definitely DIY pinch pleats… with less glass to cover. Just make sure the fabric of choice is readily available by bolts, not discontinued. And thermal lining runs around $3 yard and is essential to protect all your hard work.
Eartha Kitsch says
I can highly recommend J.C. Penney’s pinch pleats. If you can’t buy the off the shelf sizes, they will custom make them for you – and it’s not nearly as expensive as one might think. Tip: Sign up online to get their coupons by mail. They send them out often and we got all of our custom made pinch pleats for half price!
I’m also so glad that you mentioned stack back. This confused the life out of us to start with as we were new at the pinch pleat ordering. The people who work in the drapery dept. at Penney’s are very well trained and have a computer system that they can put your measurements (wall and window measurements are both needed) and they’ll tell you exactly how much you need for stack back. They’ll also give you a handy brochure so that you can go home and measure with their charts. Another thing about stack back is that if your windows go all the way up to the corner of the room with very little or no wall at the ends of the windows, the pinch pleats will definitely cover up part of your window – so it’s something to consider if you want to be able to see out of your entire windows.