Holmby Hills Double-Height Foyer
This project is a conceptual design study created to explore custom window treatment solutions, fabric applications, motorization systems, and architectural integration. Images are illustrative renderings and do not represent a completed installation.
French Pleat Drapery at 22-Foot Drop — a design project in Holmby Hills, CA. The studio's specification practice in design intent, fabric, hardware, fullness, and installation, written from Olga's perspective.
A double-height entry foyer with two 22-foot tall arched windows flanking the front door. The owners wanted formal hand-tacked French pleat at full drop — a specification most workrooms will not accept.
Hand-tacked French pleat in a heavyweight wool-linen blend, interlined and lined, mounted on hand-forged iron rods at the ceiling. Scaffolding required for installation; fabrication required custom 22-foot tabling at the workroom.
Wool-linen blend in a deep parchment, 22 oz./yd. composite weight with interlining, lined in cotton sateen. Weight is non-negotiable at this drop — anything lighter would flutter and read as theatrical.
Hand-forged iron rods, 1.25-inch diameter, fabricated in two sections with a center support. Cast-iron rings, manually-drawn from a hidden floor-level cord-and-pulley system; motorization disqualified by the rod system the architecture required.
Fullness held to 2.5x — at 22-foot drop, more fullness adds visible weight that overwhelms the heading. Panels fabricated and shipped in single pieces (22 feet of seamless cloth) and installed from a tubular scaffold over a single day.
The foyer reads as the estate it is. Each panel weighs roughly 38 lbs. and holds plumb under the central HVAC return. My recommendation for tall drops: specify weight and interlining before you specify the heading. A French pleat at 22 feet is a structural fabric problem, not a decorative one.
- Tall drops
- Double-height foyer
- Hand-forged iron
- Wool-linen
- Scaffold installation