Custom Drapes and Curtains in Attleboro, MA

Bays, Transoms and Made-to-Fit Fabric

The older houses near downtown Attleboro and up on Oak Hill were built with windows that never had a standard size: generous bays pushing out from the front parlour, and transoms set above doors and tall windows to pull extra light into the hall. No curtain sold in a packet fits a bay of three angled sashes or works around a transom. That is why custom drapes in Attleboro, MA, made to the exact shape of the opening, make such a difference in these houses.

Drapery is the specialty at Window Works, and we make it from the fabric up. You choose the cloth first, and we work out the lining, the heading, the hardware and the length around that cloth and the window it is going on. The split-levels off Route 123 and the ranches of South Attleboro ask simpler questions, but they deserve the same care.

• Drapes made from the fabric you choose, shaped to bays and tall openings
• Every angle and height measured at your house
• Hung, levelled and dressed by our own team

Fabric Treatments We Make

Valances and top treatments

A fabric piece across the head of a window that finishes the top neatly, useful on tall Victorian openings and across a bay.

Rich, heavy drapery

Velvets and dense weaves that suit a formal parlour or dining room and hold a deep fold over a long drop.

Pillows for the window seat

Cushions and pillows in fabric chosen with the drapes, for a bay window seat or the sofa beside it.

Dressing a Bay Window

A bay is three or more windows set at angles to each other, projecting out from the wall. It brings in light from several directions and often creates a nook for a seat or a table. It is also one of the trickiest openings to dress well, and it is where custom drapes in Attleboro, MA earn their keep.

There are three main approaches, and which suits best depends on the bay and how you use it.

Drapes that follow the bay

A rod shaped to the angles of the bay carries drapes around all its windows. Panels can sit at each corner and at the ends, so each window is framed separately, or a pair can draw across the whole run. This keeps the bay feeling like part of the room and works well when the bay has no seat beneath it.

Drapes across the mouth of the bay

A straight rod across the opening where the bay meets the room hangs drapes in front of the whole bay. Drawn closed, they turn the bay into a separate alcove; open, they frame it like a stage. This approach works well when there is a window seat, because the cushions stay accessible, and it suits a formal parlour.

Side panels with a shade behind

Stationary drapes at each end of the bay, with a shade on every window inside, give soft framing and practical light control. The shades handle privacy and sun, and the drapes are there for warmth and colour.

On the measuring visit, we record every angle as well as every width, check the height of the ceiling inside the bay, and note any seat, radiator or trim that affects where the fabric can go.

When the bay has a window seat

A built-in seat changes the plan. Drapes that follow the bay’s angles have to stop at the seat cushion, so they become sill-length or are tied back clear of it, which can look fussy. More often, we suggest drapes across the mouth of the bay, so the seat stays open to the room by day and becomes a cosy, closed nook in the evening. The cushions and pillows on the seat can then pick up the drapery fabric. Getting the seat, the shades and the custom drapes in Attleboro, MA to work as one design is something we plan together on the same visit.

Transoms above Doors and Windows

Transoms, the small windows above a door or a tall window, were put there to let light travel into a hall or a room even when the main window was covered. In many of the older Attleboro houses they remain one of the nicest features.

Most of the time, the best thing a drape can do for a transom is leave it alone. Hanging the rod just below the transom, at the top of the main window, keeps the transom clear so it can go on doing its job, filling the room with light even when the drapes are drawn. That also preserves the trim around it, which is often detailed in a house of this age.

Where the transom and the window below are treated as one tall opening, the rod can go above the transom instead, with floor-length panels framing both. Drawn back, the drapes leave the whole height of glass on show; drawn closed, they cover everything. This makes the window look grand, but it does give up the transom’s light when the drapes are shut.

We will talk through both options with you, room by room, because a hall transom and a bedroom transom often deserve different answers. Where privacy matters, for instance a transom over a bathroom door or a bedroom window that faces the street, a shade fitted into the transom itself can cover it while the drapes below stay as they are.

Victorians and Colonials near Downtown and Oak Hill

Beyond the bays and transoms, the older houses near the centre share tall windows, generous ceilings and detailed trim. Drapery here should be in proportion to the rooms.

High and wide

A rod mounted close to the ceiling or the crown moulding makes the most of the height. Running it past the trim on each side lets the drapes open onto the wall rather than covering the glass. On a tall, narrow Victorian window, that keeps the room bright and makes the window look wider.

Fabric with some weight

Long drops call for fabric that hangs straight and settles into even folds. Heavier linens, velvets and dense weaves suit these rooms well, as do lighter fabrics given body by a lining. A valance or other top treatment can finish a very tall window and hide the rod.

Colonial symmetry

In the colonials, the front rooms usually sit either side of a central hall, with matching windows facing the street. Matching drapes on all those windows keep the house balanced from outside and inside. A formal dining room is the natural place for a pleated heading and a richer cloth.

Close to the sidewalk

Many of the houses near the centre stand close to the street, with front rooms only a few steps from the pavement. Tall windows bring in a great deal of light, but they also put a parlour on show. A sheer or a fine voile hung on an inner rod screens the room by day without dimming it, and the heavier drapes on the outer rod close it completely at night. In a bay that faces the street, a sheer across all the windows keeps the bay usable all day.

Split-Levels off Route 123

The split-levels built in the sixties off Route 123 are a world away from the downtown Victorians. Their windows are standard sizes, mostly, but the house spreads across short flights of stairs, and one window often catches people out: the tall window over the stair landing between levels. It is seen from two floors at once, it is often hard to reach and it brings light down into the middle of the house.

Long, fixed side panels suit that landing window well. They frame it, soften the stairwell and never need to be drawn, so nobody has to lean over a stair rail to reach them. A fabric in a colour that sits between the two levels’ schemes ties the house together.

The rest of a split follows its levels. The living room’s wide front window benefits from a high, wide rod and floor-length panels. Bedrooms up the half-flight want privacy and darkness. The lower family room wants light, so its curtains should be pale and clear the glass fully when open.

Ranches in South Attleboro

South Attleboro’s ranches keep everything on one floor and are generally straightforward to dress. Their main questions are about height and consistency.

Ranch ceilings are often lower, and a rod mounted close to the ceiling with floor-length panels makes rooms feel taller. A long living and dining area under one roofline looks calmer with the same fabric and rod height throughout. Windows facing the street read as a set from outside, so matching them, even if the rooms behind use different linings, gives the house a tidy face.

Many ranches have a slider or a door to a patio. Drapes there need to draw well clear of the opening, so the rod runs past the frame on the side where the fabric stacks.

Bedrooms in a ranch are usually lined up along one side of the house, with windows that are wider than they are tall and set at a height that suits a bed or a dresser beneath. A sill-length curtain can work neatly above a dresser, but floor-length panels usually make a small bedroom feel more finished, provided the furniture leaves room for them to hang. A darker lining on the bedrooms that face the morning, behind a face fabric that matches the rest of the house, keeps the outside consistent while letting each room sleep the way it needs to.

Choosing the Fabric

Every pair of custom drapes in Attleboro, MA begins with the fabric. In an older house, it needs to suit the scale of the room and the age of the woodwork. In a newer one, it often sets the room’s whole character.

For Victorian and colonial rooms, think about weight and richness: velvets, damasks, heavier linens and woven patterns all look at home, with lining to give body and protect the fabric from the sun.

For split-levels and ranches, a relaxed linen, a cotton or a textured weave usually suits better, in colours that work with the floors and furniture already in place.

For bays, remember that the fabric is seen from inside and outside, and from several angles at once. A plain or small-patterned cloth is easier than a large print that has to be matched around corners.

The Swansea showroom has the fabric range to see and handle. Bring photos of the room, the bay or the transom if you can, and anything you want the drapes to work with.

Keeping Long Drapes Looking Their Best

Tall drapes in an older house reward a little care. Running a soft brush attachment down each panel every few weeks stops dust from settling in the folds, which shows more on dark velvets and heavier weaves. Drapes in a bay, where the sun comes from several directions, benefit from being drawn partly closed in the brightest hours, which slows fading across the whole panel.

Lined drapes, and anything in velvet or a heavy weave, are usually best cleaned by a professional, since washing at home can shrink the face and the lining by different amounts and leave the hems uneven. When you order custom drapes in Attleboro, MA we will tell you how the fabric you chose should be looked after, and if a panel ever stops hanging well, we are a phone call away.

Ordering Your Drapes

You will hear from us at each stage, from your first enquiry until the drapes are hanging.

1. Get in touch through the call button or the form, describe the rooms and any bays or transoms, and we arrange a free quote.
2. A specialist measures at your house, recording widths, heights, bay angles and the position of transoms, radiators and seats.
3. You choose the fabric, lining, heading and length at the showroom, with our help on how each cloth will look on a bay or a long drop.
4. Your quote comes through room by room.
5. The drapes are made to the measurements and angles taken in your home.
6. Our installers fit the hardware, including any bay rod, hang the drapes and dress the folds so every panel falls evenly.

Shades and Drapes in a Bay

A bay is a natural home for two layers. A shade on each window inside the bay controls light and privacy, angle by angle, while drapes at the ends or across the mouth add softness and warmth. Cellular shades with lined drapes make a bay much cosier on a winter evening, because a bay has more glass than a flat wall and loses heat faster.

Because Window Works makes shades, blinds and shutters as well as drapery, the shades and the drapes are planned together and measured on one visit. If the bay has a seat, the cushions can be made in a related fabric through custom fabric decor in Attleboro.

Visit the Showroom

The Swansea showroom is where most drapery orders really start, with the fabric in your hands. Window Works has been there since 1988, a family business now run by the second generation, and drapes have been its specialty for more than 37 years.

• Specialists who have dressed plenty of bays and tall windows
• Measuring at your house, then installation by our own staff
• Warranties are offered on the products we sell
• We keep in touch with you until the work is complete

The custom drapes page covers our drapery as a whole, and the Attleboro window treatments page lists all we make for the city.

Visit the showroom

Book Your Free Quote

Get the ball rolling with a free quote. A tap on the call button puts you through to the Swansea store, which can set a date to measure at your house or go over installation. Or send the form and wait for our reply. If a bay or a transom has you puzzled, bring a photo to the showroom; the contact page explains how to find us. Window Works is rated 5.0 on Google.