The wonders of shirring tape

I absolutely love this warm buttery yellow color, a hue along the lines of daffodils or summer sunshine, fresh cut lemons, saffron. Here, it's coupled with a creamy fleur-de-lis kind of pattern, putting me in mind of broad south-facing windows overlooking the countryside, a little taste of French Provincial. My mother always talks about how important color is--you can invigorate a dull room, improve the quality of life lived there, the ethos of a space: how can anyone manage to be sad in a room so alive with color?
 







Color is a lifestyle choice, rather than an aesthetic.








These drapes are intended for a bedroom and, to lessen the formality of a floor-to-ceiling waterfall of fabric, we used shirring tape at the top to create an "unstructured pleat." The effect is really quite pleasant. We're going to be redecorating my room soon (in green!)--and I've requested pleats just like this.
 

 

This material, in particular, was brought back from France. It's soft and it lays beautifully, elegantly; you can tell the quality is extraordinarily fine.

Beneath the drapes, we've hung cream-colored sheers. We're going to hang these drapes soon and, hopefully, I'll come back with pictures of them in place with the sheers. Sheers tend to contribute extra privacy without entirely blocking the sunlight, so you can pull the drapes closed and sleep in, or leave them open and wake up with the dawn. They also communicate a certain romance to a space--you just want to open the window and let a soft breeze billow them to and fro.