Some people clip and save recipes. Some save coupons. For years, I clipped and saved window designs. Even before I opened my first decorating studio, I had shoeboxes full of window-treatment clippings that I thought were too pretty to put away and then forget about. Pouring over these crumpled magazine and newspaper clippings time after time gave me countless ideas for designs in my customers' homes. The shoebox was my source of inspiration. To be sure, most of the clippings never made it to the window in their original form. Somewhere along the way the designs were modified or elaborated upon to fit individual situations (pocketbooks) and choices of lifestyle. They all turned out beautifully however, and so it will be with you. It's all a part of the art of window designing. No matter what the shape or size of your window, its location, its limitations or your present economic situation, you will learn how to fit your design to all of the elements of need and still attain your ultimate aesthetic goals. The bulk of this book is "how-to." All of the designs have been tested. Some are extravagant.. some minimal, a style that's popular today. All are focused on simplicity in construction and ways to cut costs. My hope for this book is that by taking the best of these ideas out of the shoebox and placing them before you in an organized, simplified, and instructive manual, I can help resolve some of your decorating dilemmas up front and enable you to cut through the trial and error stages that so many of us have to go through. Hopefully, too, this book will instill in you confidence in your designing abilities and dispel any myths that you might have that window designing belongs solely in the domain of the experienced decorator or the professional workroom.I have discovered that many decorating books are big on photographs to inspire, but inadequately illustrated to show you how to achieve those beautiful results. So this book contains photographs of finished installations sand over 400 illustrations on how to measure, make, and install just about every conceivable window treatment-the easy way. Charts and checklists will help you avoid costly figuring mistakes. Easily understood instructions will eliminate fabricating guesswork and frustration.Many of your decisions by necessity, will be based on the window itself-its operation, size, shape and style. For that reason this book opens with the anatomy of the window, its replacement and repair and some food for thought for unusual window styles. Other basics covered are the characteristics of fabrics and materials, the principles of color, texture and pattern; and period designs.