The Drapery Fabric Library

From open-weave linen sheers that filter daylight to triple-pass blackout fabric that eliminates it. Light control is a function of fabric, lining, and install — not fabric alone.

Daytime privacy and nighttime privacy are different specifications. Most luxury programs live in a layered system — sheer plus blackout — to resolve both.

Heavyweight wools, velvets, and acoustic interlining can shift a room's NRC from 0.10 to 0.75. Standard drapery contributes; dedicated acoustic fabric performs.

In Los Angeles, UV exposure is one of the primary drivers of fabric life. Solution-dyed performance weaves and UV-treated naturals are specified to hold their color and hand meaningfully longer than untreated linen on equivalent exposure; the difference in service life is significant, though the exact multiple varies by fabric, finish, and elevation.

Fabric choice is a long-term decision. Cotton is the shortest-lived of the natural fibers; natural linen holds well when it is not fighting a west or south exposure; mohair velvet and engineered performance weaves are the longest-lived options the studio specifies. Actual service life depends on room orientation, protective layering, and maintenance.

Linen reads as restrained luxury. Silk reads as formal. Velvet reads as ornament. Performance fabric reads as engineered. The brief determines the fabric — not the other way around.

Performance fabric and heavyweight linen are the studio's defaults for motorized programs. Dimensional stability under humidity and temperature cycling is the controlling specification.

Annual professional dusting on-site for all programs. Periodic professional cleaning as the fabric requires, at intervals recommended by the mill and confirmed by inspection — velvet and silk require specialty cleaners.