I get the commercial feel too. Is it a contract fabric?

If you think the plaid is too busy and the other fabulous navy one you have doesnt work, Have you looked at any of the beautiful soft wools that are out now? (i.e., Schumacher's Fabric SKU - 66677). Would be really beautiful with nail head trim & an interesting pillow.

I agree with snookums, lazydaisy and mtnrd.. it works, but it completely changes the rich, gentlemanly vibe that I think is so perfect for your home and your area of the city. You've so beautifully infused that look throughout the rest of your house, I'd want to see the same in the entry room, even if a dining room. The gentleman's parlor or library style seems a perfect fit-- especially given that this is the only living space on the first floor.

I (sadly) understand that the Foxberry may not work--it did read as brown from further away (especially at night). Also liked the herringbones but their patterns were also lost from further away. I think you were on the right path from the beginning-- you just may need to keep looking.

Trust your instincts-- they've served you well.

Kevin, I have been following the threads concerning your dining room makeover. I have to say that you have fantastic taste and I am very, very impressed with your interior decorating skills.

I am going to throw another fabric into the mix, just because so many have suggested you keep the chairs in a white color. There are 8 yards of this fabric on eBay from a seller that I have purchased from numerous times.

Here is a link that might be useful: Textured Fabric

Would your earlier plaid work with this floral in your room? Pillows or upholstery? Is the floral too old fashioned or girly? I thought the colors were perfect with the rug. I do not they would not work this the diamond pattern though. The floral is Kravet 18643 50.
{{gwi:1583590}}

{{gwi:1583591}}

The scale may be off but I put the floral on the chair. I used to sell Ralph Lauren bedding and he mixed florals with plaids all the time.
{{gwi:1583592}}

Here's what looks like a grey or blue grey tartan, with a coral and beige stripe. Wider open pattern, not so busy with the rug.

Pal seems to have disappeared here. I wonder if they've gotten together to work on this.

Here is a link that might be useful: plaid

I think your fist instincts were right. I like the original grey herringbone and I also like the Ralph Lauren fabric. Either one just seems to suit the room. Good luck with your decision, it is so hard to pick when there is so much to pick from.

What are your thoughts on this? It's on clearance on Robert Allen's web site because it's all that's left, but it's just enough to do what I need to do. I can get it all for $75 total. (I'm assuming the windowpane is navy and not black, which I'll have to inquire about.)

{{gwi:1575755}}

http://www.robertallendesign.com/trade/fabric_detail.aspx?product=104869

I also like this one, but it may be too wild (this picture is a close-up). It's four times the price at $33 per yard.

{{gwi:1583594}}

http://www.robertallenoutlet.com/trade/fabric_detail.aspx?product=104301

I think the reds are too blue and too dark in the last two fabrics.

Still loving the navy velvet pattern.

Diamonds are forever!

I'm going to try to find a large sample of the RL plaid locally (the samples you get in the mail are a useless size). The diamonds aren't really velvet. It feels more like those crappy velour blankets (no offense if you own them). But it does look pretty good. Even my sofa fabric would work if I could find it. But that's too boring. And, E, no fruits, flowers, leaves.

The windowpane is called "spice," so I'm thinking its not so burgundy in person. The other one's a bit too primary, at least up close. One of my coral velvet samples came today, but it's terrible. It looks like the floor.

This post was edited by KevinMP on Mon, Jan 14, 13 at 23:20

RL plaid or "crappy velour blanket". I can see why it's a tough choice. :)

All of your choices are lovely. It just comes down to how you want the room to feel.

This post was edited by geokid on Tue, Jan 15, 13 at 0:11

My favorite of all the fabrics so far is the gold and navy diamond pattern. Even though it's quite different from your old curtains, I think it gives the room a lift like they did. The RL plaid is nice, but I think it's going to read brown in a larger sample. You already have a lot of coral and pink in the rug and I don't think adding more coral to the chairs is going to bring anything fresh to the room. I know many here like the curtains, but I'm not feeling the love. I think they're too shiny and the trim looks flat fiber wise up against them. I'd love to see the trim against a less formal solid fabric in one of the neutral colors in the fringe.

The less shiny options are arriving today, and I will post pictures of them, but these really look good in person. We'll see. As to the fabric, who knows.

Way back several posts ago, I mentioned gold with blak cording (when you had the plaid drape, which I love).

So, having said that, the navy and gold diamond velvet (crappy velour blanket) is my favorite. I like it even better draped over the chair. Chickadee hit the nail on the head - "it gives the room a lift". Even though the pattern is small, it still stands out in a good way.

This may have already been mentioned (have lost track) but IF you choose the diamond pattern, and AFTER the drapes are chosen, you might consider a small pillow in one of your coral selections, perhaps with the fringe you are putting on the drapes. I LOVE that fringe and have similar on some pillows. Navy, gold, and a little coral.

Scratch that - I think I remember that you don't like pillows??? But still a thought.

I like the blue drapes with the fringe; looking forward also to seeing the new choices. I always want to see what behind Door #2...or #3.

I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think I like that Robert Allen windowpane. I'm not certain, however. I'm scrolling back and forth, and it's hard to visualize. I don't think a darker red and a darker blue on the chairs relative to the rug would be a problem. I think it would work if the reds and blues of chair & rug work together.

I still like the idea of the navy diamonds, but not in "crappy velour blanket"!

I agree with you on no fruits, flowers, or leaves, but not only because you say they're not to your taste: you already have leaves and flowers in stylized form in the rug. Are you averse to paisley? Some paisleys seem very abstract to me, so much so that they don't look like leaves at all. I wonder how they would go with the rug.

Don't know about the colors in that one, but I think a window pane type plaid would work with your rug because it's more open and not so busy.

Well I just found out that the crappy velour blanket is $93 per yard. Even if it weren't velour that wouldn't be happening.

The navy and coral herringbones and the RL plaid are only 25% off for a few days. I've ordered a larger sample of the RL but doubt it'll come in time, and I'm told it'll only be a 6" square anyhow. But here's a close up of a half yard of it that was on display at the marketplace design center (a trade only mall with every fabric made by the major manufacturers that I slipped into today downtown).

{{gwi:1583595}}

This post was edited by KevinMP on Tue, Jan 15, 13 at 15:01

Well, then, since you seem to keep coming back to this RL plaid, this is the one you should choose.

I do not think you can go wrong with that RL plaid.
It goes well with everything and I think will add just the right amount of masculinity.
You will never please everyone, so be true to yourself. You obviously have a good eye.

Do you have a plaid jacket or something in about the same scale that you can drape over the chair even if the colors are off?

And the Restoration Hardware drapes were bad matches, particularly the textured linen. The brushed linen/cotton was closer but still too blue. I took the other drapes to the dry cleaner to have the brush fringe sewn on. It'll be ready by 6:00 and I'll then put them up ironed. Believe or not, I think I do have a jacket that looks like it. Good idea, snookums (although part of me thinks you're saying that to tell me it looks like a jacket)!

Here's the brushed linen/cotton; I think the reason I rejected them is pretty obvious.

{{gwi:1583596}}

{{gwi:1583597}}

These are much better colorwise.

{{gwi:1583598}}

"(although part of me thinks you're saying that to tell me it looks like a jacket)!"

lol, Absolutely not! I can't picture it on the rug. And I want you to be able to see it too to make sure it's what you picture, before rushing into a sale and committing. I think you're on the right track, myself.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Tue, Jan 15, 13 at 18:09

Kevin, I've been a long-time lurker and admirer of your design expertise--classy and timeless yet still affordable. Love your "new" kitchen and the way the diningroom is coming together. Too bad that small velour diamond fabric is so expensive as it was my favorite. Kevin, this is off topic, but if you have time at the end of these posts, was wondering if you have any suggestions as to where to purchase affordable art similar in style to the large painting in your diningroom. My home isn't near Philly, I'm talking about what type of vendors. I've been looking on ebay and etsy.

Texas gal, Homegoods (at least in this area, they have more expensive varieties (I think the one in the dining room was $150)).

Snookums, I'll post that after this. I just hung up the drapes, and they're looking damn good (plus I saved about $260 over the Restoration Hardware ones). My dry cleaner only charged $30 to sew on the fringe and press the drapes, and she did it in two hours without notice. The haters can continue to hate these, but I like them (even if the sewing wasn't the best), and most thanks goes to MIA Pal, who gave me the idea for the fringe. Believe it or not, I think the fringe makes this style less fussy, not more (whereas it would have made the cotton/linen panels more appropriate and less casual).

Now, on to the fabric.

{{gwi:1583599}}

{{gwi:1583600}}

{{gwi:1583601}}

{{gwi:1583602}}

{{gwi:1583603}}

This post was edited by KevinMP on Wed, Jan 16, 13 at 22:53

Those drapes look perfect in there. (I don't recall anyone not liking them.) Looks like the left panel, fringe end needs smoothing.

They were only $50 (without the fringe)?

Did they sew that fringe on correctly? It looks like there is major puckering going on. Uh oh. Double check that. Lay the drape flat somewhere and see if the drapery fabric is gathered instead of being flat. I think the color of these drapes were perfect.

The drapes are gorgeous! The subtle sheen adds a little "jewelry" to the room.

Perhaps it will smooth out after it's hung a bit, but I am also concerned about the puckering. Properly done trim should hang without distorting the fabric. I wonder if the dry cleaner used too tight thread tension or too small stitches. That said, I love the drapes and the fringe.

I'm probably repeating myself, but have you looked at windowpane type plaids with caramel/camel as the background color for the chairs? You wouldn't want to go too yellow, but a rich caramel could look very nice against your walls and with the rug (especially with a slate/navy contrast thread running through it). I googled and didn't find anything but you probably have a pretty good idea of what's out there after all your searching. I like the RL plaid up close. Whether it's too dull/brown from farther away is something that you can probably assess IRL better than we can from the virtual peanut gallery. Obviously, a windowpane (suggested by Snookums, I think) would allow the background color to show more clearly.

The stitching looks fine to me from behind (there's only the slight puckering on the front side). And you cannot tell there's puckering looking at it straight on, or laying it flat. It's only noticeable from the eyeball high hat directed on it. I also just pulled on them, and it nearly went away. I'll take them back Saturday morning and ask her to iron them if it doesn't smooth out and if, for some reason, it bothers me (it doesn't now and I really don't care about it). You can only see it from a certain angle, and I suspect it'll get better given that it got better when I pulled on it.

It looks like the left panel needs to be redone. The right panel is hanging nicely, but the left definitely looks puckered.

You also mentioned your mantel and shelves in the topic heading. I know you don't want to spend the money on things like this now, but when you can afford it, it's a good time to start a collection of something you love. The thrill is always in the hunt as they say, and finding what you're collecting at a good price very satisfying. A good friend of ours collects antique snuff boxes, and I can picture something like that on your mantel, shelf or table. Unfortunately, they're not cheap, but definitely worth collecting. This same friend has a collection of British Soldiers that he purchased in England. I don't think they're antique, but they're gorgeous with all the coloring and detailing. I have to see if I can find an example somewhere. These are just a couple of things to consider down the road. In the meantime, I can picture a beautiful burl wood box in your room somewhere, and some nice candlesticks.

Here is a link that might be useful: snuff boxes

I'm telling you it looks better from just pulling on it to loosen it up. The stitches are twice the length of the stitching used elsewhere on the hems, etc.

{{gwi:1583604}}

Can you recess that fold at the fringe line, instead of having it push out along the edge? Seems like that's how the other side lays.

I agree,it will be fine.Perhaps it just needs a bit of fussing to make that edge behave. Or maybe another pressing in a few days if it bothers you. The fringe looks good.

Part of the problem with the pressing is that you cannot use a hot iron on this damn material.

If you don't think the fabric is puckered due to the sewing, I wonder if the problem isn't at the top by the rings. Are the clips or whatever holds the fabric to the rings the same distance from the ends on both the panels? If the spacing on the last two rings on the left is off, it may be what is causing the fabric to droop and look puckered. In one of the photos, the fringe on the right looks a tad bit higher on your window trim than the fringe on the left. Recessing the fold like snookums says is another fix for the problem.

Love your draperies, Kevin! Once you get the slight puckering figured out, which I think isn't horrible at all, it will straighten out. Adjusting as you have been, or with a steamer might also help.

Bummer about the diamond pattern fabric price! It is still my favorite, but the windowpane or the RL plaid I hope is still in the running.

The coral fabric is still the best. All the others are just too dark. If you are concerned about too much coral, why don't you have lumbar pillows made in either the diamond velvet or the RL plaid to break up the color a bit.

The coral color makes the rug look like it was truly meant to be there.

Love the new shades on the hanging light, much better and fresher than black. Love the curtain color, the brush fringe, not so much. The fring colors complement the rest of the room but there's not enough blue to really tie them to the curtains .. they definitely look "after market.

Every time I look at your photos that new table looks better and better!

Someone posted this web site link on another thread. I thought Kevin could use this info also.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to pull colors from a rug

Kevin,
Could you repost those last pics but with the coral fabric on the chairs to see what that would look like? I still love that coral in the room...

I've already posted the coral fabric a couple of days ago; see above. It won't look any different with the fringe applied.

I cannot believe no one has commented on my white (but not antique white) windows (or mantel). I have to paint those still. I've been waiting to paint them until I removed the old drapery rod. Now I can do it.

Good news today: Calico Corners extended its 25% off fabric sale through 1/26, so I have time to wait for my samples to arrive before committing to the RL Foxberry plaid. I would get it somewhere else and feel less pressured, but CC's price is more than $20 less than even places in fabric row here in the city because I've been told that CC has special RL pricing (on top of which I can get the 25% off).

I ordered a bunch of memos of the discontinued fabric from Robert Allen today. They have to be sent from SC, so it'll probably take a few business days.

Funny, I kept meaning to ask if your crown molding was intentionally painted an off white. So the color of the crown molding is the plan? It seems to have a beige tone to it.

I think those sales are frequent.

If you post your chair with the jacket, try it at the table on the rug.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Wed, Jan 16, 13 at 21:01

Off-white is the new color (it's not the least bit beige, but it is an antique white although lighter than my kitchen color). The white white was the old, oil-based paint that was literally everywhere (trim, walls, ceilings, toe kicks on stairs, everywhere). I hate it.

The difference is only really noticeable at the window, but that's because the sashes are new, custom windows I had made to meet the historical requirements here, and I had limited options for interior whites. Thus, it's a totally different color and sheen. That was never the trim color.

This post was edited by KevinMP on Wed, Jan 16, 13 at 21:21

Does the blue and gold fabric sample have the maker and pattern name or style number?

It's a Duralee contract fabric 15009-146 (called Diamond Denim, I believe).

What if someone pulls on the curtain while someone else holds a steamer on it to try to straighten it out.

You cannot steam this fabric apparently.

I wonder if that seamstress steamed the drapes (if it was sewn correctly) and stretched the fabric thus causing the puckering.

Really Nice Drapery and Curtain Harware. we had renovation of our home last year. and for all the Drapery hardware and Windows Treatment work we have consulted Orion Ornamental Iron Inc. Orion offers innovative, high quality drapery hardware products to the wholesale trade. we are specializes in custom drapery hardware, iron drapery hardware, wood drapery hardware and contemporary drapery hardware. we are one of the leading suppliers of drapery sets, window hardware components like finials, Curatin rods and poles. you can visit us online at http://www.ironartbyorion.com/