- 20+ Years of Design Experience — Olga Rechdouni, ASID
- ASID Professional Member
- Custom Design · Fabrication · Installation
- Luxury Homes Throughout Los Angeles
The Knowledge Library
A working reference for homeowners, interior designers, and architects on how luxury drapery is actually designed in Los Angeles.
Why Design Matters More Than Fabric
Pleat style, fullness, length, and stack width dictate whether a room reads tailored or tired — regardless of how exquisite the textile.
Read essay →How Drapery Can Make Ceilings Look Taller
Mounting at the ceiling rather than the window frame can add the perception of one to two feet of height to nearly any room.
Read essay →The Most Expensive Drapery Mistakes Homeowners Make
Buying fabric before understanding what the window is asking for. The fix is rarely more money — it is better thinking, earlier.
Read essay →Fire-Retardant Drapery for Coastal California Homes
What homeowners in Malibu, Pacific Palisades, and the canyons should know about specifying inherently fire-retardant textiles.
Read essay →How Much Does Custom Drapery Cost in Los Angeles?
An honest framework for understanding what custom drapery costs — and why the cheapest quote is almost always the most expensive choice.
Read essay →French Pleat vs Ripple Fold Drapery
Two headings, two architectural conversations. How to know which one your room is actually asking for.
Read essay →Motorized Drapery Buying Guide
What to specify, what to avoid, and why most motorized drapery in Los Angeles is specified incorrectly.
Read essay →French Pleat Drapery Guide
A working reference on the most architectural drapery heading — how it is built, where it belongs, and what separates a hand-tacked French pleat from a tape-formed imitation.
Read essay →Ripple Fold Drapery Guide
The heading of modern architecture — what ripple fold is, how it is engineered, and the rooms it was designed to serve.
Read essay →Motorized Drapery Guide
What to specify, what to wire for, and how motorization should disappear into the home's existing control ecosystem.
Read essay →Drapery for High Ceilings
Ten, twelve, sixteen feet — how drapery should be specified when the ceiling is the most important architectural feature in the room.
Read essay →Drapery for Oceanfront Homes
Salt air, unfiltered west sun, and coastal fire zones — what changes when the home faces the Pacific.
Read essay →Blackout Drapery Guide
True blackout is an assembly, not a lining. What separates a room that reads dark at noon from a room that merely dims.
Read essay →Choosing Drapery Hardware
When hardware should be seen, when it should disappear, and how the finish should answer the rest of the home's metalwork.
Read essay →Linen vs Performance Fabrics
When natural fiber is the right answer, when an engineered performance fabric is, and why most projects use both.
Read essay →The Custom Drapery Process — From Consultation to Installation
Six to twenty weeks, six discrete stages — how a project moves from first measurement to final dressing of the folds.
Read essay →How to Choose Custom Drapery
The decisions that actually determine whether a drapery program reads as architecture — or as decoration applied to it.
Read essay →How to Choose Fabric for Drapery
Hand, weight, weave, and aging behavior matter more than pattern or color in luxury custom drapery.
Read essay →How to Choose Pleats for Custom Drapery
Every drapery heading is an architectural statement. Knowing which one your room is asking for is the most consequential decision in the program.
Read essay →How to Choose Drapery Length
Floor-grazing, kiss-to-floor, break, or puddle — length is a formality decision before it is a measurement one.
Read essay →How to Choose Lining
Lining is the unseen layer that decides whether a drapery panel hangs as designer or hangs as a curtain.
Read essay →How to Choose Drapery Hardware
Hardware is where the drapery meets the architecture — and where most builder-grade programs fail first.
Read essay →Custom Drapery Cost in Los Angeles
What luxury custom drapery actually costs in Los Angeles, what drives the number, and what the studio considers a fair budget for each room type.
Read essay →Cost of Drapery by Room
What custom drapery typically costs by room type in a Los Angeles luxury residence.
Read essay →Cost of Drapery by Fabric Type
How fabric category drives the largest single cost variable in custom drapery.
Read essay →Cost of Motorized Drapery
What motorization actually adds to a custom drapery program, and why hardwired DC is worth the difference.
Read essay →How to Budget for Whole-Home Drapery
A framework for budgeting a complete drapery program across a luxury Los Angeles residence.
Read essay →How to Measure for Custom Drapery
Why on-site installer measurements — not client-supplied dimensions — are non-negotiable in luxury custom drapery.
Read essay →What Happens During Drapery Installation
A walkthrough of installation day — hardware, panels, dressing, and commissioning.
Read essay →How to Maintain Custom Drapery
What the studio recommends — and does not recommend — for long-term care of luxury custom drapery.
Read essay →Motorized Drapery vs. Motorized Shades
When the room is asking for motorized drapery, when it is asking for motorized shades, and when it is asking for both.
Read essay →Smart Home Compatibility for Motorized Drapery
How the studio integrates motorized drapery with Lutron, Crestron, Savant, and Control4 — and why the integrator matters as much as the motor.
Read essay →Battery vs. Hardwired Motorized Drapery
When battery motors are honest, when they are not, and what the studio specifies in each case.
Read essay →How to Specify Drapery for Hospitality Spaces
Inherently fire-retardant fabric, motorized layered systems, and the discipline that separates great hotel drapery from average.
Read essay →Best Fabrics for Commercial Drapery
Which fabric categories meet the commercial bar for durability, IFR compliance, and luxury finish.
Read essay →Noise Reduction in Commercial Interiors
How acoustic drapery measurably improves the conversational and operational experience of hospitality, dining, and office spaces.
Read essay →Motorized Drapery for Commercial Spaces
Why motorization is baseline expectation in hospitality, office, and event-space drapery — and how the studio specifies it.
Read essay →Best Fabrics for California Homes
Belgian linen, performance sheers, wool, velvet, and inherently fire-retardant weaves — chosen for the specific light, climate, and architecture of Los Angeles residences.
Read essay →Drapery Fullness Explained
Why 2x, 2.5x, and 3x fullness are not interchangeable — and how the right fullness ratio is the difference between drapery that looks specified and drapery that looks skimped.
Read essay →Blackout vs Room Darkening: What Actually Goes Dark
True blackout is an assembly, not a fabric. The difference between 'room darkening' and 'blackout' is whether the room is dark at noon — and how the system was specified at the edges, not just at the face.
Read essay →Measuring Windows for Custom Drapery
Why every dimension is measured to the sixteenth, by the installer, on site — and the seven measurements that have to be on the spec before fabric is cut.
Read essay →Ceiling-Mounted Drapery Systems
Recessed pockets, surface ceiling tracks, and how to specify drapery that appears to fall directly from the ceiling plane. The architectural detail that separates designed drapery from applied drapery.
Read essay →Commercial Drapery Requirements
NFPA 701, California Title 19, ADA operation, acoustic ratings, and the cleaning and warranty requirements that distinguish hospitality, restaurant, office, and event-space drapery from residential work.
Read essay →Yacht Window Treatment Guide
Marine-grade hardware, IMO-certified fabrics, and the salt-air, vibration, and UV conditions that govern every drapery decision on a yacht — from sportfishers to long-range expedition vessels.
Read essay →Coastal Los Angeles Window Treatments Guide
How the studio specifies drapery, sheers, and motorized systems for Malibu, Pacific Palisades, and Santa Monica residences — UV load, salt air, performance fabrics, solar control, and the considerations unique to oceanfront homes.
Read essay →The library’s long-form essays sit alongside three lighter references the studio keeps in regular use: the working guides on pricing, installation, and motorization; the drapery glossary; and the frequently asked questions. Field notes from Maison & Objet, the European mills, and the hotels worth studying appear in the designer’s journal; the consolidated index of every reference lives on the resources hub.