Toile Curtains & Valances
Toile curtains & valances lend gorgeous French flair to any room!
This shop (in partnership with Amazon) offers a selection of curtains and valances in French toile. Browse by color: Black / Red / Blue / Other
If you just want to jazz up a simple linen curtain with some toile de Jouy fabric, check out these 7 ideas for simple, authentic-looking French country window treatments with toile de Jouy.
Black (And Cream) Toile Curtains & Valances
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If one of the toile window treatments shows in the 'wrong' color, you'll find that this French toile curtain comes with several color choices.
Red Toile Curtains & Valances
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If one of the toile window treatments shows in the 'wrong' color, you'll find that this curtain in French toile comes with several color choices.
Blue Toile Curtains & Valances
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If one of the toile window treatments shows in the 'wrong' color, you'll find that this French toile curtain comes with several color choices.
Toile Curtains & Valances In Other Colors
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Several of these toile window coverings come with multiple color choices.
Country French Curtains #1:
How To Use Toile de Jouy For Window Treatments
Even though toile de Jouy has a worldwide reputation of being "quintessentially French", I haven't seen it used prominently for French window treatments in France.
The French tend to combine toile with other fabrics:
Throw pillows or sofa cushions come in an easy, elegant mix of unbleached linen, ticking, and toile, and French country window treatments may combine linen, ticking or lace with some toile detail.
You're unlikely to see entire toile curtains at every French country window!
To illustrate some ideas, here's a series of "how to 'do' toile window coverings". The first example is a medium weight linen curtain with French toile at the bottom:
Linen curtain with a wide toile de Jouy border at the bottom
Rather than attaching the toile fabric as a curtain extension, layer it on top to create a heavier, more substantial drape.
Toile 'puddle' on a
white linen curtain
The above curtain would also look great if it ended in a 'puddle':
Just make each panel 6 to 8 inches longer, so that the toile border drops onto the floor in glamourously casual folds ...
... they will attract even more attention than the plain toile border in the pic above. (They'll also look much better than this photoshopped illustration, I promise ;-)
The next toile window treatment looks particularly good when you draw the curtains at night and the toile borders meet in the middle to form a stripe down the center:
Linen curtain with a central toile de Jouy border on each panel
If you would like to draw the eye up instead, use toile de Jouy at the top of the curtain. Here, the toile border is accented with a solid-color ribbon:
Linen curtain with a toile de Jouy border and contrast ribbon at the top
There are many more ways to use toile as 'eye candy' at the top of a plain curtain. For example, if you have a curtain made of sheer linen, cheesecloth, bleached/unbleached linen or translucent cotton, just add a layer of toile de Jouy as ...
- a valance,
- a pelmet (see below!), or
- a top section that has toile de Jouy bows instead of curtain rings.
Toile Curtains #2:
Eye Candy Toppers
Linen curtains with (fancy) toile de Jouy pelmets
Linen curtain with simple toile pelmet
The relative simplicity of flat pelmets suits toile de Jouy designs:
♦ It displays the beauty of a toile pattern without distorting it, and
♦ You can use a pelmet to evoke the simplified, graceful shapes of the Louis XVI period (1760-1789) when toile de Jouy was first invented.
To let more light in, replace the heavy linen with lighter, more translucent fabrics or sheers:
◊ voile / organza
◊ light weight linen
◊ cheesecloth
◊ lace (and similar).
If privacy is not an issue, why not use a toile-covered pelmet sans curtain? You could also play with more fanciful pelmet shapes to make up for the missing layer of curtain fabric. Be bold ... toile de Jouy is always good for a BIG statement :-)
More Toile (And Not Just Curtains):
- French Country Interior Design is not as much about decorating with toile de Jouy as most people think. Learn how to achieve an authentic country French look!
- Try the fun, frugal country French decorating ideas in French Country Decor On A Shoestring (you can always add toile curtains).
- Want to turn a so-so space into a French country vacation oasis? With French Country Colors you'll be halfway there.
- Provençal Bedrooms are a goldmine of easy-to-copy country French decorating ideas!
- Beyond toile curtains and other toile de Jouy ideas, the page about French Country Interior Decorating offers creative country French decorating ideas for living rooms, bathrooms, bedrooms and walls.
- Create tons of French flair for your home with the help of French Wall Art (buy it ... or fake it!)
- Use toile curtains as part of a French Interior Design approach that is quirky, elegant, outrageous and seriously chic.
- Neutral Color Schemes - The
Book:
Learn more about using neutral color palettes with French country fabrics. Understand what makes neutral color schemes look their best, and what happens when you inject 'real' color into neutral color palettes. It's FREE!!
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