Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Cottage Lace Dresses Up Green Room Windows


There’s something special about a lace curtain, billowing in the breeze. As regular blog readers know, several months ago I switched the Green Room windows to one and a half inch wood blinds. To complete the look, lace curtains were required. Now finding the right lace curtains is a real challenge. I didn’t want synthetic. I didn’t want cheap. I didn’t want frou-frous. What I did want was quality, sophistication, an old-world feel, real lace, in other words. But did that exist for sale? From the Internet, I discovered a company, located on Cottage Street in Amherst, a few blocks from where my brother lives: Cottage Lace. The curtains are 100% cotton, imported from Scotland and created on a Madras Lace loom. Owner Dan Cooper “has worked with historic lace curtains for nineteen years, providing them to private homes, house museums and film sets.” Sounds just right for Chez Sven! As I discovered, not every window is a standard size. Fortunately, Dan will do custom curtains for a small supplement and even sends “loaners” so a client can try them out prior to purchase. We borrowed several models, finally choosing less lacy and more Spartan: Gingko Leaf. Don’t these windows look marvelous!?