Rutger Hopster Design

These beautiful rooms in a 1870s building are in the process of a complete make-over. The rooms have had some earlier architectural changes made to them in the 1930s it seems. Four windows give out onto a wide street with less nice buildings.

The brief is to decorate these reception rooms in a restraint formal style. But how to get sufficient light in whilst distracting from the view?

I am thinking about pelmets, but with sides in wood as well. A sort of casing to the floor. It would neatly incorporate the radiators, painted in an understated colour. Here are two sketches of how the curtains could hang; the one on the left probably taking away too much light.

The shape of the pelmet is up for discussion. Two models I think of: either flat at the top, like a door frame  (see picture below), ...

 ... or something with a medallion, to reflect the arches in the room and soften the lines a little bit. A voir, as they say in french.