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Shade-
A fabric that pulls up on vertical cords into swags and appears
ruched in soft gathers when lowered.
Balloon
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 project
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.
Bow
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 coarse cotton or linen used as stiffening for valances and
tiebacks.
Café
Curtains-
Short curtains that 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.
Casement
Window-
A hinged window that opens either in or out, 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 molded or painted, that is attached to the
top of a window to create an architectural finish.
It can be used with or without a curtain.
Double-hung
Sash Window-
A design invented in seventeenth-century Holland comprising two
panels that slide up and down in vertical grooves with the aid of
cords or chains concealed in the window jamb.
Dormer
Window-
A window that is set under a sloping roof.
Finial-
The fixture at the ends of a curtain rod, either attached to it or
added as decoration.
French
Door-
A casement window that extends from the ceiling to the floor and
features glass panes that run it’s entire height. It is also
called a French window.
Holdback-
A decorative wood, metal, porcelain, or glass ornament attached to
the woodwork on each side of the window, used for holding curtains
back when they are pulled open.
Interlining-
Soft material sewn between a curtain panel and the lining to add
weight to the panel and give it a more substantial hang.
Lambrequin-
A stiff, shaped valance that extends down the sides of a window,
sometimes to the floor, and forms a theatrical frame around the
windows.
Mullion-
A vertical strip of wood dividing the panes of glass in a window.
Palladian
Window-
A window with three openings, the central one arched and taller and
wider than the others.
Pinch
Pleats-
A popular finish for curtain headings consisting of symmetrical,
stitched-down triple pleats, separated by flat areas. Also called
French pleats.
Return-
The part of a curtain or valance that wraps around the sides of the
window.
Roller
Shade-
A simple cylinder containing a spring mechanism, around which the
shade coils when raised up by means of a pull cord.
Roman
Shade-
A fabric shade with narrow horizontal rods at the back so that the
shade forms a series of softly tailored, nearly flat folds when it
is raised.
Spring-Tension
Rod-
A rod, usually adjustable, that fits inside the window frame and
operates with an internal spring butting up against the window jamb
on each side. Often
used for café curtains and sheer treatments that hang close to the
window panes.
Swag-
A piece of fabric elegantly hung between two fixed points at the top
of the window and draping down in the center.
Tail-
A piece of fabric that cascades from the end of a swag.
Tieback-
A sash, tasseled cord, or separate length of straight, decorated, or
shaped fabric that holds back a curtain panel.
Undercurtain-
In a treatment incorporating at least two layers, it is the curtain
closest to the windows.
Valance-
A finishing touch that runs across the top of the window. It can be
either a short drape of fabric or a facing of wood or metal.
The English often refer to a fabric valance as a pelmet.
Venetian Blind- The classic design
of wooden slats joined by tapes and manipulated by cords, which
dates at least as far back as ancient Egypt and has been improved
upon slightly in modern times by the development of lightweight
aluminum and plastic slats.
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