It had dramatic height and an unusual ceiling line.
The finish on the walls and ceiling and the furniture were as they are shown.
My job was to work with the "givens" and make the room beautiful
As it was the room was dark and somewhat gloomy.
I suggested a Canopy to play up the dramatic height.<br>
The canopy had to be mounted 11 feet high to give the room much needed drama and a focal point.A pattern was drawn on paper, traced onto 3/4" plyboard and cut out. To cut down on weight a second pattern was marked on the plyboard and marked about 6" in from the edge.
Keeping in mind that I needed to screw the ceiling piece of the canopy on the top circle piece, a 4" strip running from front to back was planned. The others were to keep it stable.
A second circle was cut with the same outer image as the first. This piece was cut down to be 2 1/2 to 3" wide.
1 X 8" wood was used to attach the two pieces together. Notice that the back and straight side pieces were kept as long as possible to add to stability. Also look closely and see the 1/4" space that was cut out of the back board to allow space for the angle irons needed to attach it to the wall. Because you can't be certain of the positioning of the studs I made the opening about 30"along the back. This would allow me to mount the angle irons to the studs, slide the canopy frame over the angle irons and then slide the frame left or right until it was centered on the wall. Even with all the cut outs to reduce weight it is still heavy enough that it should be attached to the studs and not with drywall anchors. The triangle shaped piece was integrated into the frame to help keep it flat on the wall and true.
Keeping in mind that there would be a "crossed arrow" attached to the front center a 1" X 8" piece was glued and screwed to the front center. Two other pieces were attached in the round part.
It is not necessary to fill the entire space of the circle part. Only just enough to make it stable and give you a place to screw in a hook if needed.<br>
Next use a strong fabric, canvas is best: Stretch it taunt as you staple it to bridge the space between the two main frame parts.
Once that is done a layer of furniture batting is added and the final fabric cover is stapled over it all. Be sure to pull the finish fabric around the top and around the bottom and staple it there not on the face of the canopy.<br>
<br>Here you can get a good look at the frame and see where the 1" X 8" spacer pieces were put.
You can also see the final fabric has been attached along with a rope cord trim.<br>
In this picture a strip of finish fabric about 5" wide has been stapled face down to the frame.
Paper Strippiing has been stapled in place to hold a clean edge. When you strip the rounded part it is necessary to keep the outside edge smooth and let the striping crease as you go around.
With the stripping in place the strip is pulled tight completely around the bottom piece and stapled underneath where the staples will not be seen. This gives you a finished edge on the inside of the frame.<br>
Next a stip of fabric is cut about 10" wide. This fabric is laid face to face with the fabric covering the inside edge of the canopy frame. Stape this fabric on top of the edge you just finished. Staple it onto the the 5/8" thickness of the frame. Come back and staple a cardboard stripping even with the edge of the 5/8" thickness. Now pull the fabric over the stripping and into the frame. Staple the other edge onto the inside top of the frame. Be sure to staple about 1" in from the edge so the staples won't show when you install the "ceiling" panel..
Unfortunately I did not take pictures of how to make the inside "ceiling panel" which is screwed into place after the canopy is mounted on the wall. If you refer to my blog on how to make a unique wooden cornice board, you will see how to make the "ceiling" on a small scale. The way I work the fabric on the cornice insert pieces is how the ceiling panel is made.
For the "ceiling" panel a piece of luan is cut about 1/2" smaller that the dimentions of the inside top of the finished canopy. The fabric is applied as shown in the cornice blog.
When all this is done and the frame is mounted securely on the wall and the :"ceiling" panel iis installed it is time to plan the drapery.
A panel 2 1/2 times the width of the back of the canopy frame will need to be made to reach from the canopy to the floor or at least long enough to be hid behind the headboard. Hem the bottom and hem the top as you would a simple curtain with a 2 1/2" double fold hem. Leave a 1" header when you sew the rod pocket in the top. Since the back will not be seen iot is not necessary to line this piece.
The two tie back panels (one for each side) should be a full width of fabric(54") They should be lined in the same fabric as the back panel. When the two pieces are sewn up the back remember to leave enough open to cover the triangle shaped wall support in the frame.
Gather the tops of the panels to about 18 or 24" . Fold the tops down and sew the velcro 1" down from the top so the header will look the same as the back panel. This velcro will be used to attach the Lining of the panel to the inside of the frame and the outside part of the panel to the outside of the frame. This will ensure the triangle support part is covered.
Cut a piece of oval rod about 2" shorter than the inside measurement ot the back of the canopy frame.
Screw a cup hook in the "ceiling" panel and possibly through the laun into the frame. Gather the back panel fabric evenly on the rod and hook the ends with the cup hooks.
NOW the Neo Classic
To drape the outside of the canopy in the neo classic style I found a good size round finial intended to go on a wooden curtain pole. 4 holes the size of the dowels I used for the shaft of the arrows were drilled in the finial. The holes were drilled in a way to make it appear the arrows went through it.
4 12" lengths of dowel were cut. On two I attached a wooden arrow head made from a soft craft wood. The soft wood allowed me to cut some detail into the heads and feather ends. All four and the ball finial were sealed, painted red and gold leafed.
With the canopy frame attached to my workroom wall I draped and marked the silk to look like it was draped over the arrows. The swag panels were cut selflined and sewn together with velcro at the joining points. Velcro was glued and stapled to the back of the arrows to hold the swags in place,
The larger swag that ended next to the wall was velcroed to the canopy frame as were the jabots on each side.
In order to further play up the shape of the wall and to make the windows look larger and more in proportion to the wall. Larger poles and arrow heads were hung to follow the ceiling line. The swag and jabots were designed to hang on that angle and camouflage the lower corners of the windows.
Done
I hope this was helpful. If you have any questions I'll be happy to answer them.
Bill
This is gorgeous, very nice work!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rhonda. Are you going to make one?
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