Curtain materials
Sunday, 20 August 2006 18:01![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
strange_complexThis post is mainly an aide memoire for myself, and a convenient way of showing my Mum what kinds of designs I do and don't like. So the post is really addressed to her: others feel free to ignore if you wish, or comment if you want to! The context is that I'm going for an Art Nouveau look in my new flat, since it's in a building originally constructed in 1903, and this is what I've established so far by browsing online for suitable curtain materials.
Likes: An overall light appearance, large patterns, floral-based designs, dusky pinks or purples, creams or ivories (for backgrounds) and greens (for flower stalks), not too many competing colours in one fabric. Blues are also acceptable, but pinks / purples preferred. Rennie Mackintosh-type designs actually seem to meet these criteria more often than Mucha-style ones, and while I still prefer the latter overall, the former are actually perfectly acceptable if it means getting the kind of colours I want for a reasonable price.
Dislikes: Fabrics which are too dark, lots of competing colours, overly fussy patterns, any shades of brown, beige or gold (too 'Nanna-ish'), patterns which are too naturalistic and not very symmetrical, anything Arts & Crafts-y.
Examples of both (nabbed from all over the place with no consideration of cost - actually often astronomical):
Realistically: I can order samples of the following two designs from Sherwood Fabrics in Great Malvern. The one on the left costs £19.90 a metre, and the one on the right costs £23.90 and is available in a variety of colour combinations. Of course, we might find something much nicer by browsing in fabric shops in Leeds - but what do you reckon?
And finally: OMG, see this?
You'll have realised by now that this fabric pretty much hits all the buttons on my 'hate' list. It isn't really Art Nouveau at all, but Arts and Crafts (did I mention I hate Arts & Crafts?). But I just thought you should know I came across one pair of vintage curtains in this material, with a drop of 1m 97 and a width of 2m 40, being sold for £325! Tell Dad to look after his set!
Likes: An overall light appearance, large patterns, floral-based designs, dusky pinks or purples, creams or ivories (for backgrounds) and greens (for flower stalks), not too many competing colours in one fabric. Blues are also acceptable, but pinks / purples preferred. Rennie Mackintosh-type designs actually seem to meet these criteria more often than Mucha-style ones, and while I still prefer the latter overall, the former are actually perfectly acceptable if it means getting the kind of colours I want for a reasonable price.
Dislikes: Fabrics which are too dark, lots of competing colours, overly fussy patterns, any shades of brown, beige or gold (too 'Nanna-ish'), patterns which are too naturalistic and not very symmetrical, anything Arts & Crafts-y.
Examples of both (nabbed from all over the place with no consideration of cost - actually often astronomical):
| Good | Bad |
|---|---|
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
Realistically: I can order samples of the following two designs from Sherwood Fabrics in Great Malvern. The one on the left costs £19.90 a metre, and the one on the right costs £23.90 and is available in a variety of colour combinations. Of course, we might find something much nicer by browsing in fabric shops in Leeds - but what do you reckon?
And finally: OMG, see this?
You'll have realised by now that this fabric pretty much hits all the buttons on my 'hate' list. It isn't really Art Nouveau at all, but Arts and Crafts (did I mention I hate Arts & Crafts?). But I just thought you should know I came across one pair of vintage curtains in this material, with a drop of 1m 97 and a width of 2m 40, being sold for £325! Tell Dad to look after his set!
