Best Drapery Styles for High Ceilings
Ten, twelve, sixteen feet — which headings carry the eye to the ceiling and which collapse halfway up the wall.
A high ceiling rewards the right heading and punishes the wrong one. The studio's defaults at 12 ft.+ are ripple fold, wave fold, and French pleat — in that order — each chosen for the architecture rather than the textile.
Ripple Fold Drapery
The heading of contemporary architecture — continuous s-curves on snap-tape carriers running a recessed ceiling track.
FormalFrench Pleat Drapery
The most architectural drapery heading — hand-tacked three-finger pleats that fall in disciplined, evenly spaced folds.
Ripple fold and wave fold — the contemporary defaults
For flat-line modern ceilings with a recessed pocket, ripple fold or wave fold on a concealed ceiling track is the only correct specification. The drapery falls from the ceiling plane with no visible mechanism and reads as architecture.
French pleat — the traditional default
Under crown molding, beams, or coved ceilings, French pleat ceiling-mounted on a concealed track introduces the rhythm and discipline the architecture is asking for. We interline every panel longer than 9 ft. without exception.
Headings to avoid at height
Rod pocket, goblet pleat above 14 ft. without proper interlining, and any tape-formed heading. The heading must be specified to carry its own weight.
Still deciding? Walk the room with Olga.
Every consultation begins with the architecture. We will tell you which heading the room is asking for — and why.
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