The pinch pleat draperies for my Mahalo Lounge home tiki bar went up last week, and I love them! As I’ve discussed before, the entire plan for the decor of my tiki transformation started with finding the right fabric — Kamuela, in green, by Diamondhead Fabrics — to cover the large expanse of windows in my living room/dining room. Once I had the fabric figured out, I then found a local company — Custom Window Treatments of Pittsfield, Mass. — to have the draperies made and installed.
Overall, this part of my project was a breeze — and how often can you say that! Diamondhead Fabrics was great to work with. Custom Window Treatments was terrific to work with. And, I thought that the money I paid for everything was fair.
Photos:
So here’s the deal: Until I get the room finished, I am keeping all the interim photos, well, sneak peeks. This is for two reasons: (1) Sneak peeks are good, they keep ya wanting more, and (2) the rest of the space is in an uproar, and (3) until I get the entire room in place and can invest the time and if necessary, money, for good-better-best photography, it’s ‘easier’ for me to shoot vignettes.
So be tantalized.
Above: One of the two windows in the dining room. Note: I spray painted the front of the new traverse rods ‘almond’ before installation. I wanted the traverse rods to blend into the grasscloth wallpaper better than the brite white as-supplied traverse rods would have. Do not paint the back of the rods, though — the green part allows for smooth sliding of the carriers.
Above: A look of the fabric all in its lovely pinch-pleatiness.
Above: The last thing the installer did on every window was to “educate the pleats,” as he called it. First, he carefully pulled the pinch pleats at the top into a nice alignment. Then, shown here, he tied plastic (from a garbage bag) around the bottom of each set of the pulled-into-place pleats. I was then supposed to leave the ‘tied’ draperies alone for a few days. I followed instructions. I did not mess with anything for three days. I now have well-educated pleats. Deliver me a diploma, somebody!
Note: The installer got everything up — new traverse rods and draperies — in about 2.5 hours. I know from previous experience that it would have taken me at least three-times longer. He knew what he was doing and confidently proceeded through the installation with zero hiccups whatsoever.
Above: A peek at the end of the largest window — it’s 12′ wide — and the draperies are even wider, to accommodate the stack back. Also, you can see the ‘jungle’ that will separate the main seating area from the bar area [the jungle will fill the big white space in the layout shown here.] There will be more styling to the jungle, of course. But as you can see, DH — he’s the green thumb in the family — has lots of oxygenation going on in our house! We may not always be breathing easy figuratively, but we are, literally.
Note also in this vignette, how the grasscloth yellowed over time around the print that hung in place on the wall for quite a few years. I’ve written about how wallpaper — perhaps this is particularly true of grasscloth? — can get ‘tan lines’ before. In this instance, I am not bothered. There’s gonna be art and tikis and mirrors and lotsa covering all the walls before I’m through!
Next up: Let’s choose the upholstery for my new sectional! I have about 100 samples in hand, and it’s time to make a decision!
Kelly Wittenauer says
Any plans to paint the wainscot and/or dentil crown moulding? I’m accustomed to tiki bars looking dark & mysterious, with lots of dark woods & natural bamboo. The abundant white painted trim seems off to me.
pam kueber says
Yes! All the trim will be painted dark and mysterious!
Sheila says
I adore barkcloth. This is a really nice treatment! Where did you find the fabric? Love Love Love!
pam kueber says
The link to the barkcloth is in the story – the brite blue bold text are all hotlinks.
Markie Crossman says
Just beautiful, Pam!
Lynne says
Pam, your drapes are just amazing. I love the black background, so dramatic! The thing with pinchers, is that not only do they look FAB from the inside, but they look so classy from the outside as well.
Jay says
Beautiful! All those educated pleats standing at attention (and there’s lots of em). As a plant lover I have always admired the old tropical leaf print fabrics and wondered what they might actually look like in use. I like the one you chose. Have your husband pick up a few large pots of alocasia and split leaf philodendron to make those drapes come alive.
Thanks for sharing!
pam kueber says
I’ll let him know. I think he already has philodendron. We also have monstera deliciousa.
Carolyn says
Glad you’re doing sneak peeks – we’d be overwhelmed by a total reveal. Plus we’d see that slow and steady wins the race – maybe I can’t get everything done in a weekend but I can do a little bit any time I’ve got 30 or more minutes! And to thoughtfully consider instead of just jumping right in to “get it done now”.
Two things I can’t wait for – since you can’t put palm trees in, how will DH use common houseplants to do the job just as well.
And the reactions of your “supervisors” – unless it’s sad news.
pam kueber says
I actually saw a palm tree at an estate sale recently. I am still kicking myself for not buying it — and might actually stop by the house to see if it’s still there. At the time though, I was stopped by the prospect of getting it home; I don’t have a truck and it was pretty darned big!
Rick G says
I had one once, it was about 5 feet high in a pot & the leafs were made of real banana leafs or something like that ?, I remember them always crumbling !! …. it also came with a really cool stuffed monkey !! – wish I had kept it
Allen says
Wonderful Draperies Pam! These are going to set off the whole space beautifully. I wonder if pinch pleats can be “re-educated”. The pleats are a mess on mine.
Rick says
Allen,
A refresher course?
Lynne says
Allen, yes, you can-if they are a mostly cotton blend. Well, you can try. Use the steps that Pam showed. ( I tie mine off with thin strips of fabric). Then use a steamer on a low setting, NEVER actually touching the drapery fabric. Works just like steaming the wrinkles out of a suit.
All of that being said, drapery fabrics with a strong horizontal weave, or one that is all or mostly polyester will always hang like a bad prom dress.
I have made many a curtain and valance in my day!
Michael says
I will be following your journey closely! We have the original traverse rods on our wall-to-wall windows in our living room and dining room, and for the six years we have owned the house I have wanted to get custom pinch pleats. I think this is the year! And we also have a vintage sectional that needs to be reupholstered this year (looking for a solid grey bouclé or similar fabric). I can’t wait to see the final reveal!
PS: “sneak peek” (English teacher, can’t help it…) 🙂
Andi says
Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I typed “peak”!!! English major here–I promise I do know better!! 🙂
When I saw your comment I scrolled back up to see who had done that–sharp intake of breath, oh my!
pam kueber says
I typed ‘peak’ in the first draft of my story. Journalism major here. I found it on second or third run through. English is the worst language for its homonyms!
pam kueber says
dag, I coulda swarn I fixed it before I published. Fixed.
Michael says
Still there, Pam. lol
No big deal, though. I just finished marking a set of eleventh grade literary essays with much more egregious errors.
pam kueber says
“many” more egregious errors …
??? lol
Allison says
“Much” modifies “more egregious”, “many” modifies “errors”. And only the author knows which she meant.
English IS tough!
Michael says
Allison’s got my back. 😉
pam kueber says
I had continued thinking about this. I agree: Alison is correct. Including that English is krazee
pam kueber says
Dangit. I used the word multiple times. Trying to go though and catch all references One More Time
Mary Elizabeth says
As I told my grandson, I am a RETIRED English teacher and am no longer responsible for pointing out other people’s errors. The drapes are super fabulous!
Andi says
To-die-for! I love the fabric—the colors, the density (maybe not the right word…saturation?) of the pattern, the way it looks fabulous when the pleats are “pinched” and even move fabulous when the curtains are drawn. WOW!! What a transformation those draperies are capable of! Can’t wait to see more (your “sneak peak” strategy is right on target!).
Madeline says
Oh, proper pinch pleats! Those simply do not exist over here in the UK (at least not in my area!). I miss those.
I can’t wait to see how this room looks when it’s finished…! More sneak previews, please!