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Berlin Houzz: How Statement Window Furnishings Charmed a Home
A designer dressed this home's stately windows with colourful curtains and subtly sophisticated blinds in just six weeks
Catherine Hug
29 June 2022
Receiving the request just six weeks before the owners’ planned move-in date did not leave German-based interior designer Tatjana Peter (Sorokina) much time to outfit the windows of this family home with curtains and blinds. The house, located in the north of Berlin, Germany, was still a newly built shell when she first visited, but the flooring had just been installed and the design plan was already completed.
“We saw the planned decor only in the form of a collage. Added to that were a few wall colours to use as reference points, and we had to select the fabrics in light of the current plan,” says Peter. As quickly as possible, Peter and her team proposed appropriate window trimmings and created them in their own atelier.
“We saw the planned decor only in the form of a collage. Added to that were a few wall colours to use as reference points, and we had to select the fabrics in light of the current plan,” says Peter. As quickly as possible, Peter and her team proposed appropriate window trimmings and created them in their own atelier.
Photos from Tatjana Sorokina Design Consultancy.
House at a Glance
Who lives here: A family
Location: A family home in Berlin, Germany
Interior design: Tatjana Peter (Sorokina) of Tatjana Sorokina Design Consultancy
Peter quickly found common ground with the owners, who spotted her profile and portfolio on Houzz. “We had good chemistry right from the beginning,” she says. “The clients wanted primarily natural materials, but were otherwise very open to our suggestions.”
Peter found the best solution for each room and complemented the existing decor concept with custom-made curtains and blinds using high-end fabrics from various manufacturers.
House at a Glance
Who lives here: A family
Location: A family home in Berlin, Germany
Interior design: Tatjana Peter (Sorokina) of Tatjana Sorokina Design Consultancy
Peter quickly found common ground with the owners, who spotted her profile and portfolio on Houzz. “We had good chemistry right from the beginning,” she says. “The clients wanted primarily natural materials, but were otherwise very open to our suggestions.”
Peter found the best solution for each room and complemented the existing decor concept with custom-made curtains and blinds using high-end fabrics from various manufacturers.
In this soft berry-coloured room, Peters framed the windows with curtains on each side in a somewhat darker shade. She describes the plain satin from JAB Anstoetz in Germany as “A fabric with a very light shimmer and fine cloth structure”, which sets itself apart from the somewhat restrained decor. The fabric harmonises beautifully with the room’s sheer curtains, also from JAB Anstoetz, which are made from pure linen.
In the entrance, Peter used the large work of art, which adds an extra dimension to the space, as her reference point when designing the window furnishings for this area.
She optically extended the petrol-coloured wall that has such presence in the entrance with curtains in the same shade. The Vert D’Eau fabric from Thevenon in France serves as a fitting extension and a successful play on space and finish. “It is a nearly matte velvet, which exhibits a light pattern,” she says. Peter and her team not only made the curtains, but also trimmed them on location.
The conditions on-site were challenging. “Since we had to do this during the ongoing renovation works, we had to kick the craftsmen out of the room we were working in. That was the only way to leave the dust outside as much as possible,” says Peter.
Is your home in need of custom window furnishings to improve its style and insulation? Find local shutter, blind and curtain specialists near you for expert advice
She optically extended the petrol-coloured wall that has such presence in the entrance with curtains in the same shade. The Vert D’Eau fabric from Thevenon in France serves as a fitting extension and a successful play on space and finish. “It is a nearly matte velvet, which exhibits a light pattern,” she says. Peter and her team not only made the curtains, but also trimmed them on location.
The conditions on-site were challenging. “Since we had to do this during the ongoing renovation works, we had to kick the craftsmen out of the room we were working in. That was the only way to leave the dust outside as much as possible,” says Peter.
Is your home in need of custom window furnishings to improve its style and insulation? Find local shutter, blind and curtain specialists near you for expert advice
The living room, like the library and the dining room, open out onto the street. However, a front terrace and the garden gift the room with a beautiful green vista. All three areas are open to one another and marked with earthy tones and elegant furnishings. Peter matched this with pure linen curtains that now frame the windows in the living and dining areas – a rich natural material from the Belgian manufacturer Wind, which Peter had prepared before installation.
“As a rule we pre-wash all natural materials. This is especially necessary for pure linen, as it loses up to 10 percent of its length in the first wash cycle,” says Peter. You can see the fabric reserve at the bottom of the curtains, pooling lightly on the floor.
From the perspective of craftsmanship, the Roman blinds Peter commissioned for the library were especially challenging. “At over four metres wide and two metres high, making it out of pure linen was not so easy, and our colleagues in the sewing atelier had to be very creative,” says Peter. She used the hue of the two armchairs as a reference point for the somewhat darker sand colour (also from Thevenon).
“The sun shines in the bay window almost the entire day, so in this case the material had to also double as protection against the sun,” says Peter. This is why she selected this colour, which clearly stands out from the curtains in the dining and living areas.
Browse more beautiful homes with subtle and statement Roman blind designs
Browse more beautiful homes with subtle and statement Roman blind designs
The Chivasso plain satin from JAB Anstoetz, which was also used in the berry-pink room, also fit in beautifully in the bedroom above, without the need for any additional blockout blinds. “This was not necessary, as there are shutters throughout the house,” says Peter. Exterior roller shutters that can be rolled up and down with a rope or at the touch of a button are commonplace in Germany.
In the dressing room, on the other hand, the owners had only requested a discreet privacy screen. A pleated blind from Kadeco fulfils this function. The slight off-white of the window furnishing complements the white built-in joinery and the rest of the decor in the room.
To prevent views into the upstairs bathroom, Peter turned to the same pleated blinds that she used in the dressing room. The blinds complement the photographic art from Lumas and their light mint colour brings a soft daylight into the room.
Peter tells us that her client was more than satisfied with the result. “As creative as it is artisanal,” was what the homeowners wrote in a comprehensive review of this project on Houzz. The project was successful in every respect and the client says that collaborating with Peter was a great experience.
Peter tells us that her client was more than satisfied with the result. “As creative as it is artisanal,” was what the homeowners wrote in a comprehensive review of this project on Houzz. The project was successful in every respect and the client says that collaborating with Peter was a great experience.
Your turn
Which window furnishings in this home are your favourites? Tell us in the Comments, like this story, save the images for inspiration, and join the renovation conversation.
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