Question: I have a single French door in my dining room leading out to the deck that's covered with semi-sheer, cream-colored stretch curtains. Is that look outdated? What else could I put on the door? I don't want to keep it uncovered, which I know is the trend now. The corner windows in the same room about a foot away have drapes. I feel that the stretch look is outdated. Am I wrong? Our house is about 50 years old, but I am not trying to look too midcentury.

Dorothy Harders
Daly City

Answer:After reading shelter magazines and watching home improvement TV shows, we often feel a need to update the look of our homes. That can be a good thing. But sometimes, what we already have is perfect and just needs to be refreshed to make it look nicer.

"Stretch" sheer curtains definitely make their own design statement. If your home's style is traditional and there are curtains on adjacent windows, then you might already have the perfect window treatments.

However, if your objective is updating the look of the house, you must look at the whole space rather than changing it one detail at a time. You should also look at the room as though you're seeing it for the first time.

If you can, invite a close friend to help you. Ask him or her to be honest, not just polite. This helps you see the room from a different point of view. Your friend might concur; the sheer panels are perfect but perhaps need washing. Drapes absorb dust and soot, and a simple washing or professional cleaning might be all they need to make the room look as if it has had a makeover. Obviously, it is the quickest, least expensive thing you can do.

If that doesn't satisfy your need to update the look, then we can go to the next level of change. However, in making this change, we have to be careful that it doesn't make everything else look tired and dated.

There are some questions to consider: Is privacy an issue? What is the view out the door? Is the door used often?

The first solution that comes to mind is to frost the glass in the window so it's translucent, not transparent. The least expensive, fastest way is to purchase a product that's applied directly to the window, much like contact paper. This "privacy film" adheres to the window and cuts its transparency. To add visual interest, this product is available in patterns. And, if you're creative and handy, you can design your own pattern, as if you're making a stencil. An Internet search for "window frosting" will bring up many such products. Some are professionally applied, others are do-it-yourself products.

Frosting the window will definitely give you clean lines and won't be fussy. But, on the other hand, it may be too simple a look, especially considering that there are drapes on nearby windows and that this solution will obscure the view.

If you don't want to block transparency, an alternative solution is a honeycomb shade hung on the door. This product is custom-made so it's sure to fit properly. Select a bottom up/top down shade that has tie-downs holding the shade to the door on the bottom so it won't bang when the door is opened and closed. This type of shade adds translucency and can be opened and closed at will.

A French door can also be covered with a roller shade. This may sound like an old-fashioned style; however, this category has changed profoundly in the past several years.

A roller shade could be a simple white shade that has a decorative hem and pull cord, or it could be a solar shade that allows you to see through it yet blocks sunlight from coming into the room. If privacy is your goal, then a solar shade may not be the best product, because at night you can see into the house as easily as you were able to see out during the day.

One more solution is a natural rush shade. This product can be made with a privacy back attached so there's no transparency at night. It can be pulled up and down, but unless it's a top down/bottom up shade with tie-downs, when the shade is down it will bang when the door opens and closes.

 

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