PORTIÈRES · AND · APPLIQUÉS
As early as the year 1012 B.C., straight hanging portières for connecting doorways were employed in the temple built by King Solomon. In a modern house, portières are almost as important as doors. Aside from the ready-made portières, which are manufactured in a variety of patterns and materials, the demand for portière curtains specially adapted to various rooms has resulted in a profusion of made-to-order styles, a few of which we illustrate.
Among the fabrics most used are tapestries, brocatelles, damasks, velvet, plush, plain and figured velours, armures, fancy reps and serges, and for Summer furnishings, the lighter-weight fabrics, such as taffetas, art tickings, cretonnes, denim and sateen, in almost endless variety of shade and pattern.
In many cases the carpets and wall coverings are chosen and in place before the portières are considered. This is unfortunate for the drapery man, as it not infrequently happens that the unadvised or overadvised purchaser has chosen colorings that bear no relation to one another, so that to select a material for portières that will harmonize with the carpet at its base and also with the side-wall which it divides is a difficult proposition. Frequently the best that can be done is to employ an unassuming neutral color that will not offer a very decided contrast to either floor or side-wall, and then introduce the colors of these other furnishings in a modified form in the trimmings.
Where walls and floor are in harmony, or where the furnishings are chosen together, it is a safe plan to build from the ground up, allowing the portières to be slightly lighter in tone than the carpet, and the over-draperies and side-wall in lighter tones still. This applies equally whether the scheme be one of contrast, or analogy.
Considerable care must also be exercised as to the general effect of plain or patterned fabrics in relation to floor and side-wall. As a general rule avoid upright stripes for long, narrow doors, since the stripes accentuate the slimness of the portières. Likewise avoid cross stripes on short openings, as they decrease the height and increase the width. Plain self-colored materials look larger than figured materials unless the expanse of color is reduced by appliqué trimmings. Study the effect you wish to produce and plan accordingly.
Some of the fabrics mentioned above are reversible, having a finished surface on each side. These, as a rule, do not require lining unless too light in weight or out of harmony with the colors of the adjoining room. Other goods should be lined and—unless the goods are heavy enough without it—interlined as well.
Figure [113], on the next page, illustrates the most common type of portières made of a figured material and trimmed with a cord on one side and bottom of each curtain.