THAT IS THE QUESTION.
I wonder if Shakespeare ever asked himself that question?
I think that the trend in interiors is definitely towards the more 'clean line' look, with less embellishment and less 'stuff', but I AM one that likes details (and "stuff") -- and a lamp shade or curtains without trims look somewhat unfinished to me.
So how do we achieve a 'streamlined' embellishment? I think that gimp, tape and ribbon are the new tassels, fringe and bouillon.
Here are a few examples from my own home...
WHAT'S THE QUICKEST AND EASIEST WAY TO FRESHEN UP YOUR HOME? UPDATE YOUR LAMPSHADES...
I have a pair of these John Richard urn lamps, and they came with nice shades. They were nice, but nothing special. I had some square linen shades made and used a coordinating ribbon on the top and bottom edges. I think it changed a 'nice enough' lamp into a really 'spectacular looking' lamp.
THESE ARE MY SONS' DESKS. Yes, he is serious about James Bond 007. Another square shaped shade on these two similar lamps make a simple zinc finial look quite modern.
And then two ribbons, one flat and one braided - glued on the top and the bottom - tie in the colours of the lamp and the room as well.
IN THE SAME ROOM... there are two long lamps across from the workstations.
The one above is an old finial from a building and it has an almost circus-like quality to it. A simple drum shade looks great on it, but the tiny sliver of wine-coloured ribbon peeking out from the shade's lip makes it look special.
The other lamp in the room is an antique wallpaper roller, and it has the same colours as the adjacent finial lamp. This one also has a linen drum-shade, but it is a subtle tri-coloured ribbon that makes the shade unique.
IN ONE OF MY SON'S ROOMS.... there is a pair of these great fragment lamps that I purchased at an estate sale. They already had this linen oval-drum shade complete with two-layered trim: flat cotton ribbon with a cord on top.
I FOUND THESE FRAGMENTS FROM A NEW ORLEANS BUILDING and had them made into lamps for my other son's room. We had a simple linen drum made, and to make sure that the shade could 'hold it's own' to the heavy iron base, we used a grey silk ribbon as trim on both edges.
IN ANOTHER ROOM... I have two similar lamps, with similar shades.
I purchased enough of this trim, which I LOVE because it has the most delicate box-pleat AND velvet, for the bottom only and used craft glue to attach it to the shade.
The lamp on the opposite side is much more simple.
IN MORE FORMAL ROOMS.... I use metallics.
This is a more traditional room so I used a traditional braid.
But I mixed shapes of shades in this room. I tried to keep it from being stuffy, since it is a formal library, by using rough-textured linen and modern drum shapes for some of the shades, such as this one above.
In another formal room, I used silk as the fabric for the shades. We created a little kick pleat at the corners of each angle, and still added some cord on the top and before the drop.
OF COURSE WE'VE ALL SEEN TRIM ON PILLOWS...
AND ON CURTAINS... but the trim on the curtain panel above was actually used to correct a mistake. The panels were made 12 inches too short. So I found a bouillon trim that was as long as the void and glued it on the bottom with a hot-glue gun. Usually trims are hand-sewn on curtain panels, but necessity is the invention of ...what is that saying exactly? All I know is that it worked. I think, right?
AND AS SOON AS I SAY SIMPLE IS IN AND TASSELS ARE OUT... here is a bench that I decorated with velvet tassels. I glued the trim on the top instead of the bottom of the ottoman. Sometimes I am tempted to take scissors and cut off the tassels, but I really like the lavishness of it. I think it works.
This is one of my favourite trims I've ever found. It is the most elegant silk pleat with a velvet band at the top. It is like a dress-makers detail! And I glued it to hide the staples used to upholster this gilt stool.
AND IF TASSELS ARE NOT YOUR THING.... this is a great example of a simple and modern trim. It is a leather gimp, sewn on the inside of the curtain panel's hem. It is a great way to add subtle detail and the mix of textures is always interesting.
AND IF TRIMS ARE NOT YOUR THING... then you can use the fabric for the shade as the embellishment itself, like this shade above. A flounce was made at the top and something as simple as doing this can make the shade interesting without having to add any trim at all.
AND I BET YOU'RE WONDERING... If I have ANY shades at home WITHOUT trim, aren't you? Yup. Here she is. And it causes me some discomfort looking at her. But someone once said that every room has to have a little tension to make it interesting. Well, here's my tension.
(...What O.C.D?)
