Drapes for the dining room (and a sneak peek)...

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted! I've been sooo busy getting settled into my house and redecorating the last few months I've hardly had time for anything else. Things are getting close to being squared away, though, which means I can get back to some other things ~ like blogging and re-opening The Pink Home shop.
While in the process of redecorating, I decided to design the fabric for my drapes in the dining room. My dining room has been painted a pale blue-gray with a slight jade undertone (the jade undertone is only visible in certain light). I can't wait to show you the complete before & after once it's finished, but for now, here's a sneak peek (complete with some of my birthday flowers):

In addition to the refinished vintage gray sideboard, I have a large china cabinet with the same finish in another corner. The double window in the room is on the opposite side of the china cabinet and sideboard, next to the little black cabinet.
At first, I was thinking I might go with a slightly darker fabric than the walls, with a hint more jade. I also wanted a pattern that would mimic the large wall stencil I did in the room. I created several designs and had them printed, then narrowed it down to just a couple. I was originally thinking of modifying the multi-colored design to make the jade a bit more blue, but then I thought it was a bit too busy and I would just modify the background in the design at the bottom. But that didn't seem quite right, either. And then I reached back into my pile of fabric and pulled out the gray swatch. I put it on the wall and realized that was what I needed. The design is clean and pretty and mimics the pattern on the wall, while the gray balances out the gray furniture on the other side of the room. It was not what I had originally envisioned, so I didn't even consider that fabric at first ~ I had just designed it because I wanted a nice gray fabric. But if there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's to not let your pre-conceived ideas get in the way of what a room actually needs to look its best. Sometimes what you're envisioning in your head just doesn't work in reality. (My bathroom ceiling is a case in point, but that's another post.)
Anyway, the more I looked at the gray swatch, the more I was sure that was the right choice, so I ordered six yards of it and my dining room drapes are being made as you read this. I can't wait to see them hung and to show them to all of you. When I get my shop re-opened, the fabric will be available there.
And since I've been in curtain mode lately, I'll show you my kitchen curtains later this week. I made those from one of my own fabric designs, too.

Here's an expanded view of the fabric pattern I designed for the dining room drapes:

Since my birthday flowers are pink, I'm linking to Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound. Wishing all of you a lovely weekend...

Photos by The Pink Home