realtylinkonline

May 2002

A window of wonder

Decorating your window can set the tone for your room. It establishes whether your style is classic, modern, funky or country.

Here's some common window decorating terms:

Apron - decorative moulding below the windowsill

Austrian shade - a fabric shade that pulls up on vertical cords into a puff of material and falls straight when lowered

Bay window - a window or series of windows with at least three sides that projects from the exterior wall of a house

Bishop sleeve - a deeply curved goblet-like shape created when curtain panels are pulled back, often with special hardware

Box window - a semicircular bay window

Box pleat - a tailored, symmetrical pleat made by folding the material to the back on either side of the pleat to create a box, which is stitched and pressed flat

Buckram - a course cotton or linen used as stiffening for valances and tiebacks

Bump - a cotton interlining used to add body to curtain and drapery panels

Café curtains - short curtains tat hang on the lower half of a window and are usually kept closed; the top part of the window is often finished with a valance or another pair of short curtains to create a tiered effect. First used in 19th century Viennese restaurants so patrons could watch passers-by as they dined

Casing - the top hem of a curtain, left open at both ends so a curtain rod can be slipped through

Basement window - a hinged window that opens either in or our, like a door, operated by a crank mechanism or by hand

Clerestory - a window in a gable or in an outside wall of a room or building that rises above an adjoining roof.

Cornice - a decorative board, often melded or painted, that is attached to the top of a window to create an architectural finish.