John Fowler and his exquisite curtains

As part of my research into curtain styles for my living room I came across Martin Wood's book John Fowler; Prince of Decorators. Fowler's curtains are so good that it is rather discourging to look at them before embarking on my own. He did of course have the advantage of working on a large scale with matching budgets. Here is an example of the real thing:

What I particularly like about these is the way they echo the carved detail in the chimneypiece and other architectural details. It is as if they had been carved by Bernini - fabric imitating marble imitating fabric.

I wont let it deter me however. I have acquired some patterns for swags and tails from Merrick and Day http://www.merrick-day.com/acatalog/The_Swag_and_Tail_Design_and_Pattern_Book.html and have done a mock up in lining fabric (see pic below). They need to look graceful and spontaneous, yet I fear this requires much judgement, planning and artistry. The risk is that they will look mechanical and feeble. In the finished version there will be tails on both sides and the swags will have fringes so will look bigger. I havn't yet decided about tie backs.

I was surprised to learn that John Fowler and I attended the same school. It seems he was not happy there. Felsted was not a great choice for a sensitive boy with homosexual leanings in the early 1970s, let alone the 1920s when he would have been there. My grandfather was a master at the school and may have taught him.