Boulder Designer Collaboration: Pinch Pleat Curtains and Motorized Shades
Project Overview
This Boulder residence showcases the kind of project that emerges when a designer and workroom have an established, trusting relationship. The designer had worked with Roseworks on two previous projects and understood our capabilities, communication style, and quality standards. That trust allowed her to specify a more ambitious treatment plan than she might have attempted with an unfamiliar workroom.
The project combined formal pinch pleat drapery in the main living spaces with motorized roller shades throughout the rest of the home, creating a layered approach where the most visible rooms received the highest-impact treatments and the supporting spaces received clean, functional automation.
What Was Specified
Living room: Two-finger pinch pleat drapery in a silk-linen blend, floor-length with a 1" break at the floor. The fabric has a subtle sheen that catches light differently throughout the day. Blackout lining was specified to protect the silk fibers from UV degradation and to provide complete light control when the panels are closed.
Hardware: Lafayette collection poles in antique bronze with acorn finials. The bronze tone pulls from the fireplace surround and the dining room chandelier, maintaining the home's cohesive metal story.
Dining room: Three-finger pinch pleat drapery in the same silk-linen blend but a deeper colorway from the same collection. The additional finger in the pleat creates more volume and formality, appropriate for the dining room's taller windows and more ceremonial function.
Hardware: Same Lafayette collection, same finish, but with a larger diameter pole to match the taller window scale.
Bedrooms, office, and family room: Motorized roller shades on Lutron Caseta motors. The designer specified a light-filtering fabric for the office and family room and blackout fabric for the bedrooms. All shades integrate with the home's Lutron ecosystem and are programmed into daily schedules.
The Collaboration
What made this project stand out was the design development process. The designer brought us a concept board and fabric samples during an early-stage workroom visit. We discussed:
- Whether the silk-linen blend would hold a two-finger pleat cleanly (it does, with interlining support)
- How to handle the weight of silk with blackout lining on the specified hardware (we confirmed the Lafayette pole's weight capacity was sufficient)
- Pattern alignment across panels in the dining room, where the three windows are different widths but the fabric pattern needed to read as continuous
These conversations happened before the specification was finalized. By the time the formal order was placed, every detail had been discussed and confirmed. There were zero change orders during production.
The Result
The living and dining room drapery anchors the home's interior design. The silk-linen catches morning light from the east-facing living room windows and glows warmly under the dining room's evening lighting. The pinch pleats create structured vertical lines that complement the home's architectural trim.
The motorized shades throughout the rest of the home provide effortless daily function. The homeowner operates everything from a bedside keypad and a phone app, with automated schedules that lower the bedroom shades at sunset and raise them at sunrise.
Project Details
Location: Boulder, CO
Scope: Pinch pleat drapery (living room, dining room), motorized roller shades (3 bedrooms, office, family room)
Drapery fabric: COM silk-linen blend, two colorways
Shade fabric: COM light-filtering and blackout roller fabric
Lining: Blackout with interlining (drapery), integrated (roller shades)
Hardware: Lafayette collection, antique bronze, acorn finials
Motorization: Lutron Caseta
Timeline: 5 weeks fabrication
Working with a designer on a multi-room project? Contact us to discuss how we can support your specification process from concept through installation.
Related: Understanding Pleat Styles: A Trade Professional's Reference Guide | The Definitive Guide to Drapery Hardware
