12 years ago

What style and color curtains should I use on my bi-fold doors?

I love the light that the doors let into the living room, but I'd like to add curtains for privacy and to warm up the space (literally and figuratively). I am happy to move the couch away from the window to allow space for curtains. The right panel of the door needs to be easily accessible at all times.

The couch and floor are gray, so I'd like the curtains to add some color. I'm not sure which color would go well with the artwork and the rug and since the curtains will cover basically the whole wall, I don't want to get this wrong! Thanks in advance for your advice.

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House Blend Lighting & Design

12 years ago

I like the idea of balancing the classic nature of your art and picture with one of my patterned favorites from West Elm. If you need a strong pop of color I would add something to the coffee table.

http://www.westelm.com/products/ikat-ogee-linen-window-panel-r917/?pkey=cprint-curtains

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Comments (14)

Christine W
12 years ago
Hi. I can't really tell what is in the adjoining area to this room. But you do have quite a few mixtures of styles going on. Also you may want to take a daylight photo so folks can see what your outward facing view is of.

I love your doors. They are in good shape and a wonderful color and the hardware is hot. I would consider those mechanical Honeycomb shades that you could mount above the doors. They can be made to work from a light switch. I think Levelor make those honeycomb duette shade and you can switch them to full privacy or sheer if you don't want to feel so closed off from outside. I would probably face the sofa/sectional to the doors, leaving the barcelona chair where it is and moving that dark brown chair to the left of the doors. Totally lose the coffee table (and rug) and maybe replace them with a lucite coffee table or something with a clear glass top to give a feeling of space. You need a much bigger rug as well or no rug at all because you floor tiles look nice. Unless you live in a cold climate where a rug = warmth. Your large picture is too high so you need to drop it lower and maybe think of creating a picture wall and add other photos. A nice bamboo or ficus tree or plant to hide, (I think) that wall mounted speaker if you don't go with panels. You may want to think about new sofa cushions. I like gray, taupe, blues and for a punch a coral or red or even pink or turquoise.. Love your space. Have fun with it. Good luck.
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jewelgirl
12 years ago
What i see is a modern sofa and classic black chair that work well together...but not on the super traditional carpet. The coffee table is another style as is the painting. I suggest the art, carpet and table be traded for something else, go shopping and find a lined fabric panel that you like and buy enough of them so they are double the width of the wall. put the curtian rod as close to the ceiling as you can. Adjust the panels so that there is an opening at the door you use and put one of those metal curtain holders on the casing so you can open just that few feet of opening and it will work. If you sew then you can find the perfect fabric. super large scale florals are the trend this year.....pick a color from your drapery and do pillows in it or them. You need color in your space so what an opportunity here for you. The carpet is way too small and picture way too high. And too small really for behind the sectional. Love the doors and looks like a good space! Post after pics so we can see :)
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LEONARD MANNO | ARCHITECT
12 years ago
Hello, judging from the picture you posted, i thing that panel curtains would look very nice in this space._Leonardo
inkwitch
12 years ago
This has good basic furniture. Dealing with the space just as the photo shows it, here are a few thoughts:
Shifting the sofa away from the window a bit would give more balance. However, the black/chrome chair is "weighted" and might provide better balance if exchanged with the wood/fabric chair at the left of the photo. Replace the rug with something larger and a different pattern. What color do you love? Red is classic to this color pallette. If you prefer a gray/yellow or gray/orange combo, go with it. Trust your gut and have fun.

I'd change the coffee table to something with something round -- an upholstered ottoman? The light wood doesn't work. Consider several small tables strategically placed as an alternative. Terracota drums, 3-legged stool, ethnic woods, whatever. They can be moved to where they're needed, and that lone chair needs something, along with a floor lamp behind it. I'd tone down the ceiling spots with less wattage.

Curtains: Depending on your color choices, a pale amber sheers will warm the room. Buy one panel and look at it before you commit. It can be tacked up with push pins until you're sure. Fit them inside the frame of the doors, but put draperies on the outside, wall-to-wall. Draperies are a prime opportunity for color and pattern. Go to fabric stores; don't settle for ready-made. Curtains are easy to make, even lined, and you should be able to find someone who does this.

Trust your gut, don't be afraid of "quirky" or unusual. It will add character. Have fun! Good luck.
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User
12 years ago
I would change the rug, the art on the walls and the window treatments. I would play off Barcelona chair and make it make sense. I would use the art with visual dimension to create depth on that large wall and use a couple of those, not one. I would use simple geometric otomans instead of the coffee table.
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User
12 years ago
More pictures-ottomans
Heather Giler
Original Author
12 years ago
last modified: 12 years ago
Thank you for the replies so far, they definitely have me thinking!

I should have been more clear in my original post -- that coffee table is definitely going to be replaced, as are the light wood table next to the sofa and the black and brown chair in the foreground.

The living room is part of an open plan design that also includes small dining area and kitchen. I've added a photo taken from the kitchen. The kitchen has dark wood counters and glossy white cabinets, as can be seen in the island in the foreground of the new photo. We plan to replace the light wood dining set with dark wood and chrome, and to get rid of the bookshelf. I still haven't decided what to do with the rugs scattered around the floor.

One of my ongoing dilemmas is that my husband and I have inherited impressionist paintings, persian carpets, and antique occasional tables, but our taste runs towards clean modern lines and/or moroccan/indian inspired pieces. I'm trying to find a way to blend these various styles. We have so many persian carpets that I can't justify buying a new rug, so I'm trying to find a way to work with what we have. Unfortunately the one near the couch is the largest one.

Thanks again for all the great ideas!
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User
12 years ago
Well, this picture helps more. Then remove Barcelona chair and put it in a different location in the house, warm up the room with wood rods and nice panels made of earthy tones, I would do almost solid drapes. group a couple of art pieces over the sofa eg. objects, eclectic, cultural pieces and put the existing painting on the opposite wall. Put the rug not so straight but a little angle. If you need a chair by the TV, use something within the existing style.
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Mona Ives
12 years ago
I like the barcelona chair and oriental rug together. You just need a more eclectic drapery fabric to make sense of the look. I love the classic element of the painting juxtaposed against the more contemporary couch and chairs. I'd suggest a more ethnic/eclectic styling - maybe an ikat pattern on the panel curtains. I would suggest beige/peachy/gold tones you have in the rug to warm it up. A more ethnically inspired coffee table could bring it together better. Brunschwig & Fils has some beautiful Ikat linen/cotton prints that if you had made into custom window drapes would be fabulous and tie together the look. You could also add a couple of pillows in coordinating colors - some plain, some geometric, and something classic like a floral or chintz to tie in the disparate elements.

I have had a couple of clients who had a modern aesthetic who inherited heirloom rugs and art work and had to incorporate them. Just moving the stuff to another room doesn't solve your problem, it will just create a problem in another room. And you just can't throw away all that great stuff.

Hard to tell color of the rug exactly, but here's a few fabrics from Bruschwig and Kravet that I think would be nice...
TanCalGal
12 years ago
You have and are you are also so very fortunate to have beautiful carpets and art. The carpets and art should be the focal points in every room in your home. Egads, not the drapes! Choose drapes the color of the wall and let the drapes blend into the wall. Allow the drapes to serve their utilitarian functions of adding softness to the wall and both kinds of "warmth" to the room. You have beautiful art-objects you want to draw attention to, not the drapes. If you had a huge room, some drape pattern might be appropriate even with the carpets and art, but not in smallish living spaces. You were wise to choose a gray sofa and black chair so the carpets and art can be the stars! I love all of your furniture. I think the Barcelona chair is great right where it is, and I like the 2 black chairs diagonally across from one another. I see an unusual chair to the right of the TV. An "odd" chair like this one can absolutely make a room! Not only for sitting, but as a sculptural form of art. Sister Parish (one of the best designers ever) said these were "personality chairs" and she thought every room should have one. Try placing a few books on the chair to see if that looks better than the pillow. The carpet in front of the sofa, I think would look better if it was turned the other way, so the fringes were pointing to the bi-fold door and the dining room. I have many Persian carpets and I love them scattered about the floor (I even have one in the kitchen) and sometimes I hang them on the walls. Make templates of the artworks and masking tape the template forms to the wall above the sofa, I think a cluster of this fine art would be wonderful as a grouping, rather than scattered here and there about the room. Your rooms are wonderful with the combining of the old and new!
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TanCalGal
12 years ago
last modified: 12 years ago
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jewelgirl
12 years ago
hi. Lots of great ideas. Sounds like you have a great art collection that will all go togeather if in same frames or very similar and matting. The carpet does look too small but you can layer them with the others you have or buy a large neutral sisal for under the one thats there. just my idea.
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DrapeStyle
11 years ago
You've got some great bones and windows. You need some colors and texture.

www.DrapeStyle.com