I'm not a fan of triple swag valances, so - if it were my house - I would change it out to straight panels in a solid or a print with some red in it.

To answer your question, yes, a seamstress probably could change the lining to a different color.

All I know is 1) I want your house, and 2) the mahogany furniture is perfect! Great balance, IMO.

Curtains, I can see a gold/red/cream plaid. They're trendy right now but they'll always be classic. Same as white kitchens.

I would do the curtains first then worry about the rug. If you don't use the rug in the DR, is there another area to put it in? I sure wouldn't get rid of it though.

I personally would not use the swag drapes you have. I would put a white ceiling to floor drape on your windows. I would put a centerpeice on your table...IMHO the candelsticks, while very nice, are just too tall. As for your rug....Not seeing any red in it and I think there should be since your painted your room that beautiful red. And no, I don't think your furniture is too dark.

a lurker popping in to say that if you want your dining room to be trendy now then you would probably want simple straight curtains on a rod. However, the swags are more in keeping with your classic furniture. If you research 18th century furnishings in New England or Virgina you will see that swags and jabots were classic for the time and are still much used and loved there now. Yes, it is extremely easy to have someone change out the lining for you.

Thank you so much for your replies!

Oakleyoak, thanks for the kind remarks. I appreciate it.

grandmaof3, if I go white panels, do they need to match my BM Simply White? Yes, I agree the candlesticks are too tall. They went to Goodwill a while back. It's an old picture - I've been stalled on this room for a long, long time. :)

Most say the swags should go. What's nice about the swag is that it hides the header of the metal mini blinds that are on the dining room windows. In fact, they're in every room upstairs and down that faces the street.

There is no other home for the rug unless we use it in the basement someday when it's finished. IRL, there is a fair amount of red in the rug. My cheapy camera washes out the colors quite a bit. I'm attaching another photo. The part that's reading hot pink is red. There's also green, rose, ivory and a navy blue medallion center.

If I go the cheapest and easiest route which is replace the liner, what color would you pick? Could I do a bronzey brown?

There are many options for the jabot liner. If you would want them to show as only white on the streetside, you can have the seamstress edge the lining just where it will turn in to the dining room-usually about a 4" or so piece. You could then have them edged to pick up another color in the room or your wall red-you could also have them edged with a small print that coordinated with the oriental.

While the swag is nice, some nice panels would make the room look more updated. You could use panels with a swag overtop (see link) or you might consider changing out the blinds with a woven wood shade, that is quite popular right now.

Lovely room.

Here is a link that might be useful:

You have a gorgeous room there and are off to a good start with your beautiful furnishings and rug. The swag and jabot is probably not doing justice to the room. We had a similar custom window treatment in our DR w/ Raspberry Truffle and an oriental rug (a bit more red than yours). I hired a decorator to help me choose the fabric and we enjoyed the jabots, swags and panels for over 15 years. However, even here in a very historic area in MA, it was time to bid them farewell! It's a dated look, as much as I hated to part with them.

Cream panels won't do much for the room. Maybe a small print of some sort. I would not rush into a decision on window treatments. You have your main anchors in place, now the softer fillers come into play. Take your time on this....

boysrus, I hope you don't put that rug in the basement. It's a real persian rug, isn't it? I was going to say I thought the triple swag was too fancy but after I read what seaandsand wrote, now I think they make a lot of sense in your room. Those windows are great!

Your furniture is beautiful and not too dark.

Your home is lovely!

I really appreciate the feedback! It's almost unanimous that I should get panels. Custom drapes aren't in my budget, but I could go with something from half priced drapes or overstock if I knew what color would suit the room. I'm definitely a solid color person or perhaps a strip if it's very understated. I guess I need extra width drapes as it's three windows, but they'll never be closed. Could I do bronze or will that be too dark?

fillagirl, I like the look of woven wooden blinds, but these windows are on the front of my house. If I changed these I'd have to change all the other rooms too. Someday I'd love to have plantation shutters in all my front facing rooms, but I have no budget for that anytime in the near future.

bonniaann925, this curtain/rug/wall color decision has been lingering on for years. When I can't come to a decision, I do nothing at all. I've lived in this house for 10 years with the swags that don't match any of the wall colors I've had.

What's motivating me right now is the fact that I've got a painter starting tomorrow to do the interior trim. I've discussed with DH changing the Raspberry Truffle which I painted myself, and he's said I should do what I'll be happy with. I can ask for a quote to re-paint the room. I'm ambivalent about the wall color because I'm stuck on the drapes. And at times I've even wished we had never bought the Turkish rug as I've struggled to coordinate with it. The rug was a fast decision with a short time on shore from a Greek Cruise. We didn't own a house at that time. The rug is the right size for the room but it wasn't an intentionally planned choice for the room. In other words, there was no vision when I plopped it down. It just fit the space.

Pretty windows. I like the china cab, too.

You do not want to remove the mini blinds? Can you maybe just remove them from the windows on the first level facing out? Because the mini blinds themselves make a statement, and then having them forces a window treatment choice.

One thing is that you have presented this as a question about window treatments, but you suggest you might change the wall color and seem to waver a bit on the rug. Before you buy new window treatments, I would make sure you are matching to things you really want to keep?

nancybee, the rug is a real Persian and does fit the room well. It's too small for my other rooms with hardwoods. Our upstairs is carpeted. This is the best place for it without a doubt, but it's made me a bit crazy. :)

mtndredux, I could remove the blinds in the dining room and replace with something white, so the look is maintained from the street. White wood blinds or sheers? Would that be a big improvement?

Will tan or bronze curtains look nice? I was told cream won't enhance the room. White was suggested but will that need to be a perfect match to my trim? I've looked on-line for an understated stripe but haven't found anything. I can't do custom.

How about if you add sheers over the mini blinds, with the panels on the side? This might soften the look of the metal blinds.....OR do you use the blinds? Could you do without the blinds, and just have sheers & panels?

fillagirl, I can do sheers and panels and remove the metal blinds. Sheers are fine for day. Currently at night I keep the blinds at an angle and close the french doors so people aren't looking at me in p.j.'s in the kitchen. The french doors don't latch to each other or the top of the door frame. They're decorative and swing open easily. My beagle loves to do this day and night as well as the kids.

I'll talk to DH about a solution for that.

Boys,

I do tend to think it might be nicer to remove the blinds and use white sheers (for the continuity from the street). Your furniture and rug are lovely and formal and for that reason I might do that.

Also, if you don't have blinds, you do not need a swag anymore. Both because swags are less in style, and because I think simple is better to show off your furniture and rug, I would just use a rod and panels.

No, it does not need to be a perfect match ( nor should it be). Even if you literally had a computer match the colors, they will look different because they are on different surface with differernt properties.

Since you are not going custom and have no strong opinions ( I agree, custom window treatments are quite a budget buster), I think you should start by seeing what's available. Maybe take a paint swatch, the best photo of your rug you have, and go look at samples?

Here is a link that might be useful: something like these are usually a safe bet

For drapes, go to Restoration Hardware & get their linen draperies panel in a neautral on a simple rod Have them "break" at the bottom. These will not be functional - they're there for softness. I would add woven wood roman shades underneath, inside mounted if possible. For the darperies I'd also like to see Parisian hand writing all over them. This is a suggestion:

Here is a link that might be useful: Draperies

Ok, so repainting the room is an option: that's your out! Or should I say "easy" solution? Repaint in a color more in keeping with the gorgeous rug (which is beautiful and valuable on many levels-honeymoon purchase being one of them!). Then your window treatments (panels-maybe) will be a much easier decision.

I'm not loving the panel options mentioned above, which I think are nice, but a tad too informal for the direction you have taken with your room. Plus, they are very trendy, which again is not in keeping with your traditional style. You have heirloom quality pieces there!

The rug and furniture should stay. Paint is cheap (compared to the investment in good quality furniture and the rug)! That's the way to make a significant impact without breaking the bank.

Take a good look at the colors in the rug. On my monitor I see blue as the primary color, but monitors vary. Go to the paint store and bring some sample cards home, narrow it down and then go back and buy some paint samples and splotch away.

In any case, have fun with this project!

bonnieann, thank you for your repeated responses. You're so kind.

I did decide today to repaint! On GW advice, the metal blinds came down this morning and the swag won't be going back up either. I'll put up wider white wood or vinyl blinds with drapery panels on the side. My painter, who is doing a terrific job on my trim, suggested going one shade darker than the BM Bennington Gray that's in my hallway. It's neutral and my rug will coordinate without having to match.

My BM fandeck doesn't show a darker color on that strip, so I'll have to ask at the paint store for suggestions. I'm keeping my mind open to the possibilities.

I think my mistake all along has been trying to "match" to the rug. It should make drapery shopping much easier.

A big thank you to all my GW friends for your help!

Boysrus,

The BM site is very good. They can tell you what one shade darker is, show it in a room, and suggest coordinating colors. see below

Here is a link that might be useful: Bennington Gray variations

mtnrdredux - this is fantastic. I've been on the BM site before and never saw this. Thanks again!

Your choices sound right on the money & I bet you will fall in love with your pretty rug all over again. Excited to see paint pix!

I think re-painting will be a great choice. It will help showcase your beautiful furniture better. How about a soft grayish green that compliments the rug? If you decide to go with a darker gray, you can probably have the paint store mix the Bennington Gray with 25% or 30% more pigment to make it a little darker. Bring in some blue accessories to tie in the rug colors.

Love your kitchen also!