How do you ensure that your window dressings are truly unique? You use one-off vintage fabrics to create your curtains and then have them made to your own design by the team at Katherine Brown Curtains and Blinds.
Nuptown House is an extraordinary property located in Warfield, Berkshire. This eight-bedroom, 13th-century property has its own formal gardens, a paddock, a fishing lake, stables, and outbuildings.
Inside, the owners wanted to embrace the English country lifestyle throughout and appointed us to create the window dressings for every room (yes, 30 of them!) and design and make the soft furnishings for key rooms such as the sitting rooms, bedrooms and boot room.
Not only was this a huge project, but there was one unexpected twist: The owner loved vintage fabrics and had already purchased many of them for the window dressings.
A curtain designer’s dream scenario – the ultimate creative playground!
With 30 rooms to dress, there was ample opportunity to experiment with lots of unusual styles and techniques. From four-poster bed curtains to a cottage heading curtain and stagecoach blinds. This project really got us excited from the word ‘go’.
I’ll admit we were a little sceptical when we heard about the requirement, and when the client handed us an armful of vintage fabrics, we were stopped in our tracks—some were almost threadbare!
The next day, Sara and I gathered the fabrics, measurements, and photos we’d taken at the property. This is where the magic happens – the property and the fabrics created an inspiring mix, and we were off!
Sometimes, it comes down to spotting a lovely trim here and an opportunity to use it with that fabric on a certain window. Ultimately, we felt like we had opened up a treasure trove of wonderful detailing from yesteryear that we could re-purpose.
There was certainly something enchanting about using fabrics and trims that had been lovingly made many decades ago. It brought magic to the project that you simply cannot generate using brand-new items.
The benefit of using vintage fabric is that, in a period property, it conveys a sense that it has always been there, which can be an absolute godsend if that’s your desired look.
However, it’s important to know that using vintage fabrics is not a cost-saving exercise. To start with, you have to carefully take things apart, consider an extremely good-quality lining, and hire an excellent seamstress to create the final pieces.
· Try the big antique fairs for the best choice and quality
· Make sure the fabric is the right size to ensure it will work for your application.
· Don’t look to simply alter vintage curtains – remaking is the key to success.
· Good quality lining is vital to giving old fabrics a new lease on life
Sometimes, projects and creativity just need to be allowed to flow. Typically, our projects are planned in great detail in the early days and then implemented. This one wasn’t like that!
Once we had established a trusting and collaborative relationship between ourselves and the wonderful interior designer Clara Rasore and her client, we created a brilliant team, which meant this project could be less structured than some but no less effective.
There’s no doubt that planning is vital for any big design project but sometimes, as here, the magic happens when you’re open to ideas and you see opportunities as work moves along.
The wooden bench in the picture wasn’t even there when we first visited the property!
We’d planned the stagecoach blind to frame the view of the courtyard garden (also, because our client couldn’t decide which fabric to use, so, we came up with a way of using both).
But the bench appeared, and we all wanted the perfect cushions to complete the look. At this point, a poor choice could easily have killed the room’s aesthetic. Everything had to look natural—as if it had always been there. It also had to be functional and comfortable for family living.
The resulting bench cushions look like they were installed with the bench in 1450 and they give me so much joy. Knowing that we had specified the precise amount of feathers to create the look is a detail that most will never appreciate.
This may seem trivial, but the greatest projects are made up of 100s of such decisions that may all seem small but add up to creating a huge success when done correctly.
Despite using many vintage fabrics in this project, we still managed to create this dramatic pop of colour—here using a new fabric with a frill taken from the vintage fabrics.
The resulting look delivers impact without clashing with the exposed beams and the English Countryside look of the rooms. For me, it is warm, whimsical, romantic, and utterly inviting—the perfect bedroom for a young girl to grow up in.
In the master bedroom, we turned our curtain-making skills to the bed itself – a wonderful antique four-poster bed set as the focal point for the room. We don’t often make curtains that are not designed to be drawn, but in this case, the curtains are there purely for decoration, as are the decorative pelmet and headboard.
This room was all about maximising the use of the space, creating a relaxed and casual room that could contain many children or adults when required! So our job was to turn a bespoke fitted bench into a comfortable and inviting sofa with a deep base mattress and soft but structured back cushions whilst leaving ample space for a whole medley of soft scatter cushions.
Despite everything being new, it all blends together perfectly without seeming out of place, and we finish the look of this room with a pair of bamboo blinds.
One thing that stands out when we look at this project now is how many different techniques we used to capture the right look for every placement. We used them all, from pinch pleats and cottage-headed curtains to Parisian and stagecoach blinds.
Whether you are an interior designer looking for strong support or a homeowner looking for a completely unique look and feel for your home that reflects your personal style, then get in touch today, and we’ll be delighted to help you achieve it.
