Custom Fabric Decor for Homes in Berkley, MA

Rooms That Take Light from Two Directions

Berkley’s lots are generous, and the houses on them, capes, ranches and newer colonials off Padelford and Myricks Street, are usually set with open ground all round. The result is that most rooms get daylight from two sides, which is the first thing to think about when planning custom fabric decor in Berkley, MA. A fabric that looks one way at the front window can look quite different with the afternoon sun coming in from the side.

Light from two directions also means the soft furnishings are seen in cross light for much of the day. A sofa between two windows, a bed in a corner room, a chair beside a side window: each picks up light from more than one angle, which brings out the texture of a cloth and shows up its colour more strongly. At the edge of town, the houses near the Assonet Bay waterfront add reflected light off the water to the mix.

• Pillows, duvet covers and some upholstery to go with your drapes and shades
• Colours chosen for rooms lit from more than one side
• Cloth to compare by daylight at our Swansea store

The Pieces We Make

Pillows that work in cross light

A woven or textured cloth comes alive when light reaches it from two windows. We help you pick pillows that look their part at every hour.

Covers for corner bedrooms

Many Berkley bedrooms have windows on two walls. The duvet cover sits in the middle of that light, so its colour matters.

Drapery to lead the room

Matching panels on both walls of a corner room keep it balanced, and they give the pillows and bedding a fabric to follow.

Custom drapes in Berkley

Planning Custom Fabric Decor in Berkley, MA

The question we ask first about custom fabric decor in Berkley, MA is simple: where does the light come from in this room, and when? In a house with light from one side, you can choose a fabric by looking at it with your back to the window. In a room with windows on two walls, the same cloth is lit from the front in the morning and from the side in the afternoon, and a colour that seemed soft can turn strong, or a pattern that seemed bold can wash out. Thinking about that before choosing saves surprises later.

Colour that holds up from more than one side

Some colours shift more than others as the light moves. Warm tones such as gold, coral and terracotta glow when the sun hits them directly and go quiet when it moves away. Cool tones such as blue and grey stay more even but can look chilly in the morning. In a room with two walls of windows, colours in the middle, such as sage, oatmeal, soft rust or a warm stone, tend to look right at more hours of the day.

That does not mean every room must be neutral. A bold colour on a few pillows, set against a calm sofa and drapes, works well in a bright corner room, because the light makes the accent sing without the whole room shouting. The key is to choose the lead fabric with the room’s light in mind and let the accents be the brave part.

Fading from two directions

More light means more sun on the fabric. In a corner room, cushions and bed covers can catch direct sun from one window in the morning and another in the afternoon. Over time, some cloths soften in that light faster than others. A few habits help: turning pillows and swapping them between chairs now and then, drawing lined drapes on the sunniest side in the strongest part of the day, and choosing a slightly lighter colour for the pieces that sit closest to the brightest window. When you choose fabric in the showroom, tell us which way the room faces and we will point out the cloths that cope best.

Gardens and trees in the view

On a big plot, the view from a two-sided room is usually green: lawn, garden beds, a line of trees along the boundary. Those colours come into the room through the glass and change with the seasons, fresh in spring, deep in summer and gold in autumn. Fabrics that sit comfortably beside them, greens and naturals with an accent picked from the garden, make a room feel connected to the plot. A bright pillow in the colour of a flower bed outside the window is a small touch that people tend to notice.

Trees matter too. A side window shaded by a big maple gets soft, dappled light, while the front window may get full sun. In that case, the fabric near the shaded window can be a little brighter or lighter, so the room does not feel lopsided.

Evenings in a room with two walls of glass

After dark, two walls of uncovered glass can make a room feel exposed, even on a large lot. Many owners draw lined drapes on one side, often the side facing the road or the neighbours, and leave the other side open to the garden. When that happens, the drawn drapes become a large block of colour in the evening, so it is worth choosing them in a cloth the pillows and chairs can echo. A room that looks balanced at noon should still look balanced at night.

Capes on Generous Lots

Berkley’s capes often have rooms that run from the front of the house to the back, with windows at each end, or corner rooms with windows on two walls. The downstairs living room in a cape is a good example. Light comes in from the front windows and from a side or back window, and the sofa usually sits somewhere between them.

In a room like that, matching treatments on every window keep it calm, and the sofa pillows can take the lead colour into the middle of the room. If the front and side windows are different sizes, as they often are in a cape, using the same fabric on both in different forms, a pair of full panels at the front and a shade or valance at the smaller side window, still reads as one choice.

Upstairs in a cape, the bedrooms are tucked under the roof with windows in the gable ends or in dormers. A gable-end bedroom with windows on two walls gets beautiful light, and a duvet cover in a soft colour takes full advantage of it. A heavy, dark cover can look out of place in a bright little room under the eaves.

Ranches off Myricks Street

The ranches around Berkley tend to place the living room across the front with a broad window, the kitchen and eating area at the back, and the bedrooms at the end of a hall. On a large lot, the end bedrooms usually have windows on two walls as well.

Ranch living rooms with a long front window and a smaller side window benefit from a fabric that ties the two together. Panels at both, with pillows on the sofa in between, connect the walls. In the eating area, which often has a slider or a window looking over the back yard, a cushion on a bench or a pair of pillows on a window seat can repeat the fabric of the shade or valance above it.

Ranch bedrooms are usually simple, regular rooms, and the bed is the main fabric in each one. Corner bedrooms with two windows get more light than they first appear to, and a cover with some pattern or texture looks lively in that light without being busy.

Newer Colonials on Larger Plots

The newer colonials in Berkley often sit well back from the road on big plots, with windows on all four sides. The family room at the back may have windows on two or even three walls, plus a slider to the yard. That is a lot of glass and a lot of light, and it changes how the soft furnishings are chosen.

In a room with windows all round, a strong pattern at every window can make the space feel busy. A simpler window fabric, used consistently, gives the room a calm frame. The pattern and colour can then gather on the sofa, the chairs and the cushions, where the eye rests. In the formal front rooms, a richer drapery fabric suits, with pillows that repeat it.

The main bedroom in these houses is often large enough for a sitting area by a window. A pair of chairs, if they are upholstery we can take on, or simply a bench piled with pillows, can pick up the cover on the bed and the drapes, making the bedroom feel finished from every side. Children’s rooms in these houses are often corner rooms too, and a cover in a sturdy, washable cotton with a cheerful pillow or two is usually a better choice than anything precious, since it will be laundered often and sat on daily.

Near the Assonet Bay Waterfront

At the edge of town, the houses near the Assonet Bay waterfront add one more source of light: the water. Reflected light off the bay is bright and moves through the day, and it reaches deep into rooms that face the shore. Combined with windows on a second side, these rooms can be the brightest in town.

For fabric, that calls for cloths that handle strong light gracefully, and it argues for keeping the deepest, richest colours to lined drapes or to rooms on the landward side of the house. Pillows in the bay-facing rooms can pick up the greys, blues and greens of the water, with one warmer colour to stop the room feeling cold on a grey day. Damp air near the water is another reason to choose covers that can come off and be cleaned. A porch or sunroom on the water side, if the house has one, is often where people want the most cushions and the least fuss, so cloths that shrug off a bit of moisture and a lot of sun suit it far better than a delicate weave would.

What Happens After You Call

From your first call to the finished room, we keep in close touch. A typical order for custom fabric decor in Berkley, MA goes like this.

1. Use the call button or the form and ask for a free quote.
2. A specialist comes out for measuring in your home, notes which walls each room takes light from and looks at the furniture you are keeping.
3. At the showroom, you choose the window cloth and the decor cloths together, by daylight.
4. We send the quote, with each curtain, shade, pillow, cover and agreed piece of upholstery listed.
5. Everything is made, our team installs the window treatments, and we follow up until you are pleased with the result.

Matching, coordinating or contrasting

There are three broad ways to relate the decor to the windows. Matching means using the same cloth for the drapes and the pillows or bed cover, which gives a strong, unified look and suits formal rooms. Coordinating means choosing a different fabric that shares the drapery’s colours, such as a stripe or check alongside a floral, which is softer and suits most family rooms. Contrasting means picking a deliberate opposite, such as a deep pillow colour against pale drapes, which adds energy in a bright room.

In rooms lit from two sides, coordinating often works best, because the variety of light flatters a mix of cloths. We can lay out examples of all three at the showroom.

Pillows, duvet covers and some upholstery

Every pillow is made to your choice of cloth, size, shape and edge finish, and you decide how many go on each sofa, bench or bed. A duvet cover can be cut from the drapery fabric, from a companion print or from a plain weave with the pattern left to the pillows. Tell us the bed size and how often it is washed, and we will suggest a suitable cloth.

We take on some upholstery as well, linked to the fabric at the windows. Pieces vary, so describe yours or bring a photo to the showroom first, and we will tell you plainly if it is something we do.

Why Berkley Works with Us

Window Works has been a Swansea family store since 1988, now in its second generation. Over 37 years it has served homes in Berkley, across the SouthCoast and over into the Rhode Island East Bay.

• Experienced window treatment specialists, used to bright rooms on open lots
• Measuring done in your home, at every window
• Installation by our own team
• Constant contact with you from start to finish
• Warranties offered on the products we sell

Where to read more

Every service for the town is gathered on our Berkley window treatments page. For the window side of the job, see our cellular shades in Berkley page, useful in the brightest rooms, and the main custom fabric decor page covers every pillow, cover and upholstery option.

Judge the Cloth by Daylight

The showroom in Swansea is the place to see how a fabric changes as the light moves. Hold a pillow cloth up near the window, then step back into the room, and compare it with the drapery cloth beside it.

Bring along anything from the room that is staying, and our specialists will help you settle on a set of cloths that suit it from every side.

Visit the showroom

Getting Started

Custom fabric decor in Berkley, MA begins with a free quote. Press the call button to reach the Swansea store, where you can talk about the rooms you have in mind, set a time for measuring in your home or ask about installation. You can also leave a note on the form and we will answer it. For anyone who would rather start with the cloth, the showroom is open to visit, and the contact page shows the way. Google reviewers rate Window Works 5.0.