Check out Smith+Noble website.

I like to have a stylish house but sometimes being practical and doing what works best overrides style. Pinch pleated drapes on a travis rod are not trendy but they are classic and they work very well. Mini blinds and vertical blinds are considered out of date, too.

If you are really concerned about not being out of date, you can hang pinch pleated drapes or curtains on a decorative rod and just hand pull them open and closed.

Pinch pleated drapery panels always look good and are timeless; the traverse rod is not always used, they can be on rings so you can utilize a decorative rod.

Chelone has been absent for a while, she works in the field and I'd love to hear if she has noticed a trend of some kind.

To: mitchdesj and happyladi:

I looked at Smith and Noble and one style that's new is the 2" or so grommets at the top of the drapes. They are hung on a decorative rod and when open, they lay in folds like pinch pleats. Anyone have this style and if so, are they easy to open and close by hand? I like the look because it bridges the gap between traditional and contemporary.

Tap curtains are up to date, as well, but I made a pair for my sewing room and they are not easy to open and close by hand and just do not lay very nicely when open or closed without a lot of fussing. Maybe it's the fabric or the pattern I used which causes the problem.

I've had the grommet style a few years ago in another house and I loved them;
they slid very well on the rod. The fabric was a cotton damask of medium weight.

I agree with mitchdesj that pinch pleated draperies are classy and timeless. I do like the look of hanging the rod high with woven shades under them.

Stay away from Smith and Noble. Stay far, far away.

I ordered 6 shades. I paid Smith and Noble to come measure. When the shades arrived, 5 of the 6 were about 1/4 to 1/2 inch too wide for the windows. I asked to return the shades to get my money back. Turns out their "satisfaction guarantee pledge" means that they won't give you your money back, no matter what.

They insist on coming back to re-measure, but a) I can't take time off from work again for this, and b) why would I want to run the risk of further screw ups and hassle?

Their customer service staff come across as Soviet-style bureaucrats. Evidently, Smith and Noble could care less about disappointing their customers and engendering ill will.

I guess my next steps are to file complaints with the BBB and my state's attorney general, as well as dispute the original charge with my credit card company. I'll probably send the shades back to the company's president for good measure.

Keep in mind that Smith and Noble's "partner sites" (i.e. sister companies) include Ballard Designs, Grandin Road, Garnet Hill, TravelSmith, Frontgate, and others. You can rest assured that I won't be giving any of them my business in the future either.

Stay away. Stay far, far away from believing anything posted by user "yoyodyne". This person registered on October 20, 2008 and proceeded to post the exact same copy-and-paste response about Smith and Noble on no fewer than six different discussion threads. Something's fishy. Sounds like a Smith and Noble competitor to me...

We've used Smith & Noble for YEARS, like 20, and have never had a problem with the company or the product.