The Library · Glossary
A working glossary of custom drapery.
The terminology the studio uses every day — drawn from our specifications, our workroom notes, and the conversations we have with interior designers, architects, and homeowners across Los Angeles.
- Custom Drapery
- Drapery specified, fabricated, and installed to the dimensions, architecture, and use of a specific room — measured on site, hand-tacked in the workroom, lined and interlined, and finished with a weighted hem.
- French Pleat
- A hand-tacked three-finger pleat — the most architecturally disciplined heading in residential drapery.
- Euro Pleat
- A two-finger pinch pleat tacked at the very top of the heading — quieter than a French pleat, more tailored than a ripple fold.
- Ripple Fold
- A continuous S-shaped fold on a recessed track — the studio's default in contemporary architecture.
- Wave Fold
- A softer, hand-finished variant of ripple fold typical of European hardware systems.
- Goblet Pleat
- A decorative cup-shaped pleat reserved for formal dining rooms and libraries.
- Cartridge Pleat
- A rounded cylindrical pleat softer than a French pleat — preferred on silk and silk-blend drapery.
- Fullness
- The ratio of cloth width to finished panel width. 2.5x–3x is the studio's default; less is skimped, more is compressed.
- Stack-back
- The horizontal distance the panel occupies when fully open. A specification, not an accident — it must clear operable glass.
- Lining
- The sewn-in back layer that protects the face fabric from UV, gives the panel uniformity from the back, and holds shape over time.
- Interlining
- A soft middle layer between face and lining that gives the panel weight, body, fall, and acoustic and thermal performance.
- Three-Pass Blackout
- A blackout fabric with three layers of pigmented coating, fully opaque, with virtually no light penetration through the cloth itself.
- Side Channels
- Slim vertical tracks at the wall edge that eliminate side light around a blackout panel — required for sleep-quality blackout.
- Sheer Layering
- A two-track specification pairing a performance sheer with an over-drapery so the room can handle day, evening, and full closure independently.
- IFR
- Inherently Fire-Retardant — fabric whose fire resistance is built into the fiber rather than applied as a topical treatment. Required on every commercial drapery installation.
- NFPA 701
- The national fire-code standard governing fabric in commercial installations across the United States.
- Motorized Drapery
- Drapery operated by a concealed DC motor along a recessed track, integrated with the home's keypad ecosystem and addressable in scenes.
- Hardwired DC
- Direct-current motor specification powered by a low-voltage hardwired run from a transformer — the studio's default over battery.
- Lutron Sivoia
- Lutron's hardwired DC motorized drapery and shade system — the studio's most-specified motorization platform.
- Somfy Sonesse
- Somfy's quiet DC motor line for residential drapery and shades — compatible with multiple integration ecosystems.
- Crestron
- A whole-home control ecosystem common in estate-grade Los Angeles residences; the studio integrates motorized drapery directly.
- Recessed Ceiling Pocket
- A drywall pocket framed into the ceiling to conceal the drapery track. Specified before drywall close-in; not retrofitted.
- Outside Mount
- Drapery hardware mounted on the wall or ceiling above and outside the window frame — the studio's default specification in most residential rooms.
- Inside Mount
- Drapery or shade hardware mounted within the window frame itself. Reserved for shades; rarely correct for drapery.
- Kiss-to-Floor
- The studio's default drapery length — the panel meets the floor cleanly without pooling.
- Puddle
- A drapery length specification in which the panel extends beyond the floor, gathering in a soft pool. Reserved for formal romantic interiors.
- Trade Program
- The studio's pricing and process structure for interior designers, architects, and builders working with their own clients.
From Vocabulary to Specification
Translate terminology into your room.
A studio consultation turns the language above into a written drapery specification for your home — pleat, fullness, hardware, and motorization decided before fabric.