About that Off-Centered Window

When I was in middle school, living in small town USA, I was enchanted by that new modern living room that took place in my own living room, on the small colored TV screen with a group of people called, “The Jefferson’s.” (I told you it was a small town.) Mary Tyler Moore’s decorating style did nothing for me, neither did Valerie’s… ugh.

Decorating became my obsession. I threw design magazines into the grocery cart whenever my mom wasn’t looking. (Now, I’m sure she knew…) I poured over the pages, trying to figure out how to re-create the look outside of the TV screen. I re-arranged the living room, set-up a reading loft in my own bedroom, and pulled out my mom’s vintage linens to use as draperies and pillows.

There was one decorating trick I learned that I just I loved so much, although it was irrelevant to my house. But I tucked it away in my mind, for “just in case.” That day has arrived – and I knew just what to do.

The window that sits on the only wall where our bed fits is too small to cover the width of the bed – yet too small to be ignored. Below that, or beside that,

there is an outlet, smack dab in the middle of the wall, four feet from the floor. The outlets are great for reading lamps – but come on.

The trick is, of course, to create the illusion that the window is actually as wide as the bed, and long enough to hide the cords.

I hung a curtain rod that spans the width of the bed. From the rod, I hung two white sheer curtains as a backdrop, added a layer of burlap, and with a valance of soft crumpled linen.

Now, you can’t tell where the window starts or it ends!

Those cords, and the outlets are safely hidden…

Here’s another “before” pic… see that pom-pom valance? I loved it… So, I ripped it off the old curtains, oxy-cleaned them,

and added them as fringe to the new curtains.

No, you wouldn’t find this in the Jefferson apartment… but the clean crisp lines there were the inspiration… Love them…