When they are open, especially, the print is absolutely lovely and will be just fine--better than fine. Use it!

Thanks for the replies....I think my hesitation is that it is a calm room, as tibbrix said. I don't think I would use it on chair seats; my chairs are on the small side and the print is quite large; a 26" vertical repeat.

I do love it....just afraid that the colors might be too vibrant. I've been doing more earth tones with black throughout the house. I am wondering; will the splash of color will look out of place surrounded by taupe, beige, olive, black, etc.??

It's a beautiful pattern. I seem to be the odd man out here, though, re: drapes in the dining room.

Do you have a sun room/porch type of room? Maybe drapes or upholstery in there?

I love it! do it do it do it!

Tibbrix, I see your point and I wish I had a sunroom or "garden room"; they would be lovely there. In my home the DR is really the only place they could go.

pretty house, and I think they'd look great in the dining room as drapes!

Your post gave me a giggle. I have four bolts of fabric leaning against my wall and at least ten more folded pieces in my cabinet. We'll figure out something to do with it, right?

I would cut a couple "panels" and lay them on the rods for a few days to see if you can live with it. Otherwise, if you love it that much, the you will find a place for it. Maybe it would even make a great duvet cover....

You actually have very little color in the room outside of the tiny amount in the botanical pieces, the taupe and the rug. I think the drapes would look wonderful and they bring in a bit of blue as in the door. I love a print on taupe walls.

Personally, I would be taking the day off from work to make the drapes! That's how much I like the fabric and think it will compliment the room and add some pattern. I'd love to see a photo straight on to the window in brighter lighting conditions such as the pic where you show the front hall.

I agree that it is beautiful and should add that certain ummph to your rooms. I would buy it. I bought a chair that I had no idea what to do with that had a similar pattern, but in a more Hermes look, on a black background. It was one of those design scope creep things. I still love the chair and I love what I had to do with the rooms in order to make it work. You are going to LOVE this fabric in your home.

jjam, I am most likely very wrong here. If they're the only place they could go, then absolutely do it. And you know, it's panels of fabric. If, after a while you decide they're too much, you can simply take them down, put the old ones, or something else, up, and do something else with the fabric, like make a shower curtain. And if you absolutely love them - which is likely since you had such a visceral reaction to the fabric, then you know they were screaming at you in the fabric store for a reason. It's kind of win-win.

This post was edited by Tibbrix on Fri, Apr 18, 14 at 7:58

What a pretty house. I absolutely love what you've done with the "bar" in the dining room. I am totally stealing that idea someday!

I say go for it, too. If you love the fabric, you will love the drapes. And maybe you'll be encouraged to bring a few "pops" (sorry, hate that term) of color elsewhere.

Pretty house. Beautiful fabric.
I had similar fears with my colorful Jacobean fabric for drapes in my keeping room, adjacent to a very soothing kitchen. It's now working because the room is starting to come together.

Thank you everyone for your replies. I guess there are others out there with a "fabric problem" LOL, so you can relate!

My3dogs, I actually do have a day off today....so your idea is tempting. I have a wonderful seamstress who does such a beautiful job with panels and is so reasonable I will probably have her do them. She is backed up until the first of May so I will have more time to work up my nerve, LOL! Thanks for your input; you've never steered me wrong.....

Here are a couple of photos I took this morning plus one that I brightened a bit:

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

This looks like a step back into color for me; and I guess my main hesitation is that these will open up a new look that will require some tweaking and adjustments in adjoining rooms as well. My biggest question is if these are worthy of the effort.
It helps to hear your views; new sets of eyes are so helpful!!!

Ahhh, again, thanks for the continued input. Sounds like some of you have done something similar and can relate to my hesitation. When something screams "buy me immediately", I usually listen, and in this case, I did. But any time you introduce a new element that is strong, like this one, it affects the balance and mood of the whole house if it has an open floor plan like mine.

So those of you who have done something similar, thanks for your encouraging words. This was an unplanned purchase for sure; wasn't even thinking of my DR when I went to the store!!

First instincts are usually right. And I think I was very wrong. The drape in new pics is beautiful.

You might want to think about painting the walls a soft gold (I LOOOOVE Karma by c2), which would be stunning with those drapes AND compliment the rug, not to mention create a beautiful, soft warm glow with that chandy you've got.

Are you joking?! I LOVE the fabric! Go for it! :)

I'm not into flowers, but this does look GORGEOUS!!! Go for it!

I'm wondering whether you could extend the curtain rod a bit further, so the drapes leave more of the window open.
(And I'd open the blinds as frequently as possible -- -I need light).

Tibbrix, I'm already thinking paint colors, LOL. That's what I'm a little afraid of.....but I know if I do it, repainting wouldn't be a must, so that's a little comforting. There would likely be a domino effect with adjoining rooms as I already have one warm yellow room (kitchen) and a Ralph Lauren gold; (ayers rock I think) in my FR. But it would look great.

nosoccermom, you are right; the rod could be placed a bit further apart. I would do 1 1/2 widths per panel, and the existing are only one width, so to allow for a little more fullness I think I will have to get longer rods (cha-ching!). I get used to seeing through the blinds but I know I should open them more often; thanks for the suggestion.

YES! Welcome transitional style. :)
This will be wonderful. Please make sure to show us.

LOVE them and the "zing" they will add to the visual eye in the room! Go for it, I think you'll be happy!

Yes, show us when they're up! Also, love, love your blue door.

nosoccermom; thanks for the compliment but actually the door is black. Must be the flash gone awry. It's a cool idea, though.

Thanks again to everyone weighing in; I really appreciate your comments :)

I just fell in love with your fabric all over again. Can't wait to see the final pics!!

Jjamm just wanted to say I saw some saturated colours in your artwork and rug so am thinking this won't be as huge a departure as you fear. Lovely fabric!

Funny, but either way, love your door :)

I too love the fabric. I too have a fabric problem. My name is boopadaboo and I am a fabric addict. I have closets in the basement filled with old barkcloth. I do switch out my drapes from time to time.

Gorgeous fabric! I can see it with navy walls like Sarah Richardson did in Sarah's House Season 4.

Boop, my mother loved bark cloth. When she died she had bolts of it. We only had one thing in our house in bark cloth and those were the LR/DR draperies. She had plans for all that bark cloth. Those plans for 25 years never materialized but I expect she was a lot like me, she could visualize all the drama of completing the projects but never finish.

Unlike me, she was not constrained by a husband who kept her on a budget so she bought fabric, sheets, bed linens and towels. She was a hoarder of china, porcelain, McCoy, ironstone, linens and fabrics, but she never was junky or trashy with it, just overloaded and actually built a large storage house for her fabrics.

neroselover, I have been seeing Navy Walls in there too! I am keeping that in the back of my mind and trying not to get ahead of myself. It will probably be a month before the drapes are finished (assuming I go ahead with them), and then we've got a yard project to complete before taking on anything more. So once they are up, I'll give some thought to re-painting. One reason I may hold off is that with the current wall color I could use either set of drapes in the room; could change them whenever I want. The current drapes do look great IRL, especially at night, and give a rich, warm feeling; great for the holidays. I see the new ones as more lively and bright which I would enjoy during the long hot summer, especially since the room gets a bit darker due to the trees being fully leafed out.

Thanks for your thoughts; I may look up the room you're talking about. I love Navy :)

Love that fabric. I think it would look wonderful in that room.

Patricia, that is exactly it. Someday, I will get to it all. :) I have stopped looking. :( I have to get some projects done first. :) I just love barkcloth and want it all! I bet your mom had some gorgeous fabrics!

I really like the fabric too. I think it works for drapes or chair seats, but both have issues with actually seeing the fabric. I would probably do the drapes and then pull out the inner edge so you see a little more of the pattern. Valances don't seem to be used as much these days, but that would be a way to have a smooth piece that could highlight the pattern.

Love the navy walls idea. I also thought your entry door was blue and was going to say "but you do have color in the adjoining room." Well, you know where the undertones are! LOL

Seriously, if you want more color to tie in, you could simply switch out the entry rug. Want more color -- play with an accessory or two in the rest of the entry to create a little transition. It doesn't have to be a total room change that leads to another, that leads to another......

lascatx, thanks for your insight. I HAD a navy runner and rug for the entry for years and finally tore it out for more neutrals; lol. I honestly never thought of a navy door though and will give it some thought; maybe the very dark navy that is almost black would be a good choice.

I agree that the fabric seems to invite more Navy; my guess is that will lead to another thread here about the pros and cons of very dark walls. They always look stunning in photos; but the reality can come off kind of morose; or heavy, to say the least. I like drama but want my house to be a happy place; and therein lies the dilemma!

I wish the drapes were finished now!!

Just wondering if you could share the name of the fabric if you have it. I am in love with that. Beautiful colors also

eagertopaint,

Sure, it's called Whipporwill by Richloom.

The photos make the background look very white; IRL it's not yellow, but more ivory than white.

They also make it in a tea-wash type colorway. It is also gorgeous, but I was looking for an infusion of pure, true colors.

Here is a link that might be useful: richloom whipporwill

You have the white wainscoting and crown, a crystal chandelier, light through the windows -- how is that going to be morose? LOL

I find navy and blues in general to have a surprising amount of life to them and to play well with other colors -- even if just white, as well as your wood tones. My dining room is blue with mahogany furniture, dark wood floors. I don't have the wainscoting you do, but I have wide door trim, baseboards and a deep ornamental crown -- and that crystal chandelier added a year or so ago. My walls are more of a deep blueberry than a navy.

My previous house had a DR with navy wallpaper, white trim and wood floors. It was a very striking entry since it was right of the foyer too. Most of the house was done in with the rose to burgundy and green of the 80s -- even the "off-white" walls proved to be a pale rose or mauve when the PO's things were removed. That navy dining room was the only room in the house we didn't touch and may be at least part of the reason I painted this DR in blue.

lascatx, thanks so much for your insight. I tried a light blue in this DR once; with disastrous results. It was re-painted within a week. I swore off blue after that, but I think the problem then was the coolness of the light blue. I've seen some stunning Dining rooms since in blue, but they've always been a darker, warmer version. I do think the wainscoting and chandelier will help keep this from being too depressing.

Yours sounds wonderful; would love to see it!!

I think the fabric is really pretty. One thing I liked is that it didn't seem to me you'd have to do a thing to the rest of the room. I think they'd fit right in.

LOL, yes, probably getting ahead of myself here. The drapes will go in and nothing else for awhile. I'll live with them and decide if I want more contrast. If I do paint it the goal would likely be to have it finished for next Thanksgiving. I always seem to have a "next" project in mind.....

This place does custom embroidery on linen.
http://www.linengb.com/?gclid=CL-D7sOf8r0CFcyhOgod3UgAbA

Or you could add trim to white linen.

Sorry about above post and edit isn't working. Wrong thread.

LOL I don't have a good picture of the room that I can think of and can't take one right now. My DR is currently a temporary storage area for things we've had to move in from my parents. I also have plans to have it ready by Thanksgiving. ;)

My plans stretch into the next 20 years. I'll be 68 in Oct. I'm worried.

Hi guys, sorry for the confusion; I started a new thread with photos of my new drapes once I realized I had deleted my original "before" photos here.

There's another thread with photos of the new drapes; says "drapes are done"

Thanks; I'm still learning the ins and outs of posting photos!

This post was edited by jjam on Tue, Sep 30, 14 at 18:46

I think this is absolutely FANTASTIC. I'm from the school that if you have busy draperies, then everything else needs to be serene or else too busy.

Your beautiful drapes liven up an otherwise solemn room. I totally love it. As to paint, you can go either dark or light. it just depends on the mood you want to create. dark would be very intimate, light would say, everyone come in here. Just depends on what you want.

You have made excellent choices so far so let that instinct carry you to the next level.

whoops, I forgot I had deleted photos from my original post...not much point in scrolling through so many posts; I'll start a new thread

Stunning!!!

once again, new thread on this. Sorry for the confusion.

new thread says "drapes are done"