Roy Morgan, Portière Workroom
There’s a particular weight to draping a Frank Lloyd Wright home. The house asks for respect, and the work isn’t just fabric. It’s stewardship.
When I was asked if there was anything left unsaid about this project, my answer was simple. No, not really. I’d rather let the rooms do the talking. Still, the story behind them is one I’m proud to tell.
My part in this home started years before the draperies. Almost 18 years ago, I began at the company I work for as one of the only hardwired home automation specialists for Hunter Douglas in the area at the time. The family wanted a hardwired system that worked no matter who was running the shades. No batteries.
We quoted out and mocked up a whole hardwired home automation system. An architectural firm rebuilt some of the frames so the roller shades tuck away out of sight when they’re up. When the family wants the windows open, it still looks like the original Frank Lloyd Wright windows. They told me that with the shades down in the summer, their big family living room was comfortable and usable again.
On the table, then tied and ready to hang
The draperies came later. I met a local designer, we made a great connection, and Portière Workroom made custom draperies for the designer’s own home. When the family hired that designer for a Frank Lloyd Wright home in Oklahoma, they wanted the drapes to look just as they did when Wright was there. In some rooms the original fabric was too damaged to save. We replaced it with an open-weave linen look, or an embroidered fabric close to Cherokee red on a neutral background, which we used in the upstairs child’s bedroom.
Room by room
The Rooms
01
The Upstairs Child’s Bedroom
Cherokee red, pressed and ready for pleating
The fabric in the upstairs child’s bedroom is close to Cherokee red, in bold geometric bands on a neutral background. Each panel was pressed flat on the table before it was pleated. Now the pinch pleats run wall to wall and floor to ceiling, wrapping right around the corner next to the warm wood built-ins.
02
The Upstairs Playroom
Open-weave linen look, ready for lining
In the upstairs playroom, we used the open-weave linen look with a dim-out lining. Every seam ran through the machine, and the hems were finished by hand, stitched to the lining one pull of thread at a time.
03
The Upstairs Primary Bedroom
Gold tree fabric, hung in the upstairs primary bedroom
In the upstairs primary bedroom, we were able to reuse the face fabric that was picked for the house originally, a warm gold with dark embroidered trees and branches. The moment I remember most is when we hung the first round of repaired drapes in there. With the window behind them, the fabric just glowed.
Still to come
In the works: two downstairs bedrooms with pinch pleated drapes, and a hall bath with the same repeated treatment.
In the works, not finished.
Downstairs Guest Bedroom One
In the works, not finished.
Downstairs Guest Bedroom Two
Planned, quote in progress.
The Hallway Bathroom
When the rooms were finished, it felt like Frank Lloyd Wright had been in the room and picked those drapes himself. The only real difference is that he would have left them unlined, or used a standard lining. We lined ours with a dim-out fabric, so the family can sleep in, enjoy the home during the holidays, and keep it safe from the UV rays that come in all year.
Every job matters
People ask me if working on a Wright house made me more careful. Honestly, no. It doesn’t matter if the job is one tiny window in a single room or a skyscraper full of draperies. Every job is just as important as the next.
A word for owners of historic homes
If you own or manage a historic property, here’s my advice. Be prepared that some things can’t be repaired, and there may need to be a little adjusting to make things work. That’s part of caring for an old home the Wright way.
Working on this home is one of those jobs I’ll carry with me. I’m grateful Portière Workroom got to be a small part of its story.
Roy Morgan, Portière Workroom
More projects are in the works. Check back soon.