English’s Drapery & Interiors, she is quick to
note that around here, “...modern Central Texas
homes happen to retain a traditional look.”
Bohuslav remarks, “Austin may have its liberal
side, but homeowners still surrender to those
darker, more traditional tones.”
Bohuslav directs her company around
the idea that a home’s window treatments
must complement the personal lifestyle of
its residents, in addition to the rest of the
home’s décor. Before making any professional
recommendations to clients, she visits them at
home to assess their individual taste in fashion,
furniture, and artwork. By custom designing her
drapes, Bohuslav aligns the character of a house
with the personalities living inside it.
“Young couples, single professionals, families
of three, with or without a dog, all these traits
inﬂuence the way I fashion different households’
drapes,” she comments from her twenty-ﬁve
year old studio in north-central Austin. “Colors
convey emotions,” she adds, “red, for example,
stimulates the appetite.” Through the tones she
picks and types of treatments she styles, Bohuslav
consistently captures the speciﬁc attitude that
her clients wish to attain: “Many people have
particular ideas about style. These ideas stem
from experiences such as travel, education, and
diverse stages of life. It is important to design
your window treatment to convey your sense
of style, sophistication, and success.”
Three Types of Window Treatments
Window Treatments,
undressed!
with expert Darlene Bohuslav
text & photographs by
Robert Friedman
18 YOUR Address | Summer 2006
My grandfather moved to Texas over ﬁfty
years ago to launch a drapery company, one
that would focus on both commercial and
residential window treatments. Relocating
was anything but simple at the time, yet the
promise of business carries with it the power
to lure people anywhere. Customized fabrics,
shutters, and blinds were slowly becoming a
regular household item, one of both practicality
and décor. Homeowners in the 1950’s were
eager families wishing to settle down and setup shop. More often than not, as the husband
would work long hours outside the home,
wives would mother the children and service
the home.
Times, undoubtedly, have changed. No
longer is it rare to stumble across households
where the father maintains a more domestic
familial role while the mother diligently
scrambles away to work. Single mothers and
childless couples are equally as ubiquitous.
Yet, despite these apparent alterations to the
average household family, the desire to furbish
the home—to be surrounded by warmth and
décor—in a manner that is both functional
and aesthetically gratifying is as prevalent and
focused today as it has ever been.
Ask the Expert: What’s My Style?
Darlene Bohuslav has built a career out
of helping households appropriately fashion
their home. As a licensed interior designer
and successful owner of the well-established
In thinking about which types of treatments
are both fashionable and functional today,
Bohuslav suggests three distinct possibilities:
fabric roman shades, woven wood shades,
or wood shutters. The ﬁrst design retains the
awe of Roman antiquity, but in a manner that
continues to make declarative statements in
today’s home fashion. Made from such fabrics
as regular linen, natural silk ﬁbers, sheer fabrics,
or thick upholstery, “Fabric Roman shades are
very versatile...They ‘stand on their own’ as a
complete window treatment or complement
other window fashions,” says Bohuslav. While
this particular style can work in any room of
your home, the expert believes that their full
potential is manifested in placing them around
French doors or within an atrium.
The appeal of woven wood shades,
however, is just as endless. Made from various
types of materials, such as grasses, bamboo,
and twine, the aesthetic lure of these shades
is undoubtedly in their unique textures. Woven
wood shades hold the capacity to add simplicity
to a casual room or subtle sophistication to a
more formal space: “Their texture compliments
an informal area such as a family room or
breakfast area, yet woven shades combined
with silk drapery panels can create a casual
elegance,” comments Bohuslav. She advocates
this particular type of shade because it has
the easy potential of opening up a room to its
outdoor surroundings, or shutting them easily
out for a more private feel.
The mood created by woven wood
shades depends on the type of material from
which they are made and the manner in which
they’re displayed. When cornices, valences, or
drapery panels are positioned about them,
their presentation is one of distinct class.
Nevertheless, when set-up by themselves,
woven wood shades can add comfort to even
the stateliest of settings.
Wood shutters, on the other hand, make a
more permanent statement than the prior two
types of window treatments. Bohuslav refers to
wood shutters as “furniture for the window”
and emphasizes their longevity, functionality, and
overall value. Often crafted by hand and made
from premium lumber, wood shutters are highend products with the ability to complement
almost any room. They sit completely inside
the framework of the window, an appealing
“architectural feature” she notes, “allowing
decorative molding around the window to
remain unobstructed.” She adds, “Simply tilting
the louvers provides visibility,” an operation that
adds practicality to a style of window treatment
known for its standout quality.
Bohuslav remarks how so many people,
especially here in Central Texas, choose
wood shutters today given the numerous
alternative sources from which these shutters
can be constructed, other than conventionally
lumbered timber. Polywood, composite, and
vinyl shutters provide similar effects to their
original wooden counterparts. Also, actual
wood that has been harvested sustainably (that
is, in a manner that does not damage its natural
environment) exists in today’s more ecologically
conscientious business market, a growing factor
for many consumers.
Above: Beautifully detailed
two-inch wooden blinds add
elegance to any home.
Three Classic Approaches
•Contemporary approaches frequently use
vertical blinds that are streamlined and simple.
•Traditional décor varies between the use of
drapery, valance, or cornice styles, ranging from
swags, cascades, and complex draperies, to
opulent brocades and tapestries, presenting a
mood of historical elegance.
•Eclectic styles can be tropical or from the 60’s,
making a room light and fun.
Darlene Bohuslav is the owner of English’s
Drapery & Interiors in Austin and can be reached
at (512) 459-6982.
YOUR Address | Summer 2006 19
Left: As proven in this
bathroom, a valance
can add ambience to
any room.
Central Texas Window Treatments
Above: The contrast between
wrought iron and ﬁne fabrics
often ﬁnds its way into
Central Texas home decor.
Left: Handmade woven
wood shades are fashionably
complimented by additional
window treatments.
Right: Customized designs
gives these fabric Roman
shades contemporary appeal.
20 YOUR Address | Summer 2006
When I asked Bohuslav how the Central
Texas region distinguishes itself in the world of
fashionable window treatments, she had much
to say: “The Hill Country has been a deﬁnite
inﬂuence in interior design; leather cornice
boards with decorative nail heads and casual
linen casement draperies with iron hardware
are examples of window dressings.” In Texas,
the unmistakable popularity of leather should
come as no surprise—this is home to cattle
country! Plus, such emblems as the famous
lone star of Texas or prized shape of the Texas
Longhorn continue to permeate every corner
of decorative apparel.
What you won’t ﬁnd hanging in most
people’s homes today are aluminum blinds,
“balloon” shades, or brass curtain rods. More
fashionable approaches and materials have
replaced these outdated window treatments.
According to Bohuslav, several fabrics that have
recently ﬂooded the interior design marketplace
are faux silk, suede, and leather. As the original
materials become widespread, the demand
for less expensive and, at times, more durable
alternatives spreads too. Made completely
from polyester, faux silk comes unusually close
to having both the look and feel of its actual
silk counterpart. Bohuslav notes how “polyester
will not deteriorate with sun damage as silk will
over a period of time.”
Additionally unique to Central Texas homes
are high ceilings, which in turn set the stage for
windows positioned high above one another
on a single wall. While these large, spacious
rooms may create a grand and powerful effect,
approaching the treatments of these high
windows is far from straightforward. Bohuslav
suggests that “taking stationary drapery panels
up to the top of the highest windows has a
very dramatic effect.” In terms of functionality,
opening and closing these high window
treatments requires motorization—“it’s a
must!” she concludes. Otherwise, these out-ofreach windows become more of a hindrance
than the awe-inspiring feature they can be.
DIY? Be Careful.
In an age deﬁned by Do-It-Yourself
(DIY) projects and the popular media that
supports them, professionals in the ﬁeld seem
less threatened than they do sympathetic
to its effects. Bohuslav respects the fact that
homeowners have become more in tune with
their immediate living environment as a result of
HGTV, for example. In her expert opinion, the
unfortunate aspect to the current wave of DIY
culture is that people, in an attempt to ﬁx-up
their homes and make them more aesthetically
pleasing, overlook basic factors to interior
decorating: “Simply throwing six yards of fabric
over some tie backs does not provide window
fashion that adds value to your home.”
Bohuslav also comments on the value of
practicality. Most DIY programs undermine
the potential usefulness of window treatments,
instead focusing wholly on their meager
appearance, “Functionality of the window
covering is not always considered—it is a very
important aspect of making the best decision.”
In addition to limiting their usefulness, DIY
programs tend to work within a conﬁned
budget, narrowing a world of high quality
materials and approaches. Bohuslav admits that
fashioning windows can be a major expense but
believes that the investment in high quality and
impressively designed treatments will ultimately
endure the wares of time and “truly add to the
overall value of your home.”
The rewards of hiring a professional
decorator to dress your windows quickly display
themselves. Customizing window treatments
to correspond with the rest of the room, other
adjoining rooms, and, most of all, the people
living in them, is no easy task. DIY projects risk
the unfavorable possibility of not intertwining a
home’s countless components, which ultimately
provide its distinctive character and warmth.
Residents who decorate their homes without
any professional assistance are many times
forced to revisit their original ideas and redesign
areas. Such courageous acts often prove naïve,
as well as costly.
Bohuslav ﬁrmly supports the notion that
“a few hours of advice from a professional is
money well spent. Window treatments are a
long-term investment in your daily comfort and
the overall value of your property.” If budget is
a factor, she suggests pinpointing your priorities
and then proceeding in stages, so you will still
beneﬁt from quality décor that lasts.
How will you dress your new home’s
windows? What types of treatment will
complement your living room, dining room,
or kitchen? How elegant or relaxed do you
want each room to be? These questions are
necessary to determine the personality of your
house. How can the perfect feel of your old
home translate into the new walls and windows
that now surround you? Decorating your new
home’s interior is a daunting task, but with
some professional assistance it can be what it
should: a rich reﬂection of you and your family’s
presence here in Central Texas.
YOUR Address | Summer 2006 21