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At the 2026 Whole Home in Charleston, designers Maci McGee and Kistna Conely used custom window treatments to balance pattern, light, privacy and visual cohesion. Their advice includes layering treatments, choosing the right proportions and carrying colors or textures between rooms without matching every window.
Interior designers Maci McGee of Ellerslie Interiors and Kistna Conely of House Seven Design have shared how they used custom window treatments at the 2026 Whole Home in Charleston, pairing shades and drapes to manage light and privacy while supporting each room’s design. Their examples show how fabric, texture and proportion can help a room feel complete without requiring identical treatments throughout a home.
In a bedroom designed by Ellerslie Interiors, a velvet bed, mustard check wallpaper and blue ceiling already gave the room a mix of strong colors and patterns. McGee paired patterned drapery with a natural bamboo woven shade, using the quieter shade to add texture and filter light without adding another competing pattern. She said the room’s richness meant the treatments needed to support the design without making it feel heavier.
House Seven Design faced a different challenge: a bedroom window looking onto a busy urban street, where privacy and flexible daylight control mattered. Conely combined a relaxed Roman shade, a bamboo woven shade and linen drapery. She said the layers let occupants adjust how much daylight enters and close a layer when they want more privacy, while adding texture to the room.
The designers also advised linking rooms through a shared color or texture rather than repeating one treatment everywhere. They stressed measuring and planning for mounting height, panel width and fullness; drapery that is too short or narrow can throw off a room’s proportions, Conely said. McGee also pointed to fabric weight, trim and hanging height as details that contribute to a finished look.
How Layers Balance Light and Style
Window treatments affect more than a room’s appearance. The examples show how homeowners can use them to address privacy and daylight while adding softness or texture to a space. Layering gives occupants choices: a sheer or woven layer can filter incoming light, while another layer can provide additional coverage when needed. The source does not specify measured performance or guarantee blackout conditions; results depend on the chosen fabrics, construction and fit.
For a whole home, the design advice offers a way to create continuity without making rooms feel identical. Repeating a color, material or general sensibility can connect adjoining spaces while allowing each room to retain its own pattern and character. Attention to dimensions also matters: ill-fitting panels can distract from other furnishings, while properly planned treatments can relate more naturally to the window and the room.
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Design Lessons From the Whole Home
The House Beautiful report presents the advice through rooms at the 2026 Whole Home in Charleston, South Carolina. McGee and Conely describe decisions made for particular interiors, including a richly patterned bedroom and one where a street-facing window made privacy a priority. The article also mentions treatments in other spaces, including navy ramie bamboo shades in a room by Michael Mitchell, as examples of how materials can vary across a home.
The guidance is based on the designers’ project experience and recommendations, not on a comparative test of products or a report of consumer results. The article identifies specific TWOPAGES shades and treatments used in the featured rooms; those products serve as examples of the designers’ approach rather than proof that one brand or configuration is suitable for every window.
“They help set the mood, soften the architecture, and make a space feel finished in a way that’s hard to replicate with anything else.”
— Maci McGee, Ellerslie Interiors
What the Examples Do Not Establish
The report offers design guidance and examples, but does not provide costs, installation timelines or product-performance measurements. It does not quantify how much light or outside visibility each layer blocks, or establish whether the featured configurations meet specific blackout needs. Those outcomes depend on the window, fabric, fit and installation, so homeowners would need to check product specifications and assess their own room requirements.
The source also does not compare custom treatments with ready-made options or document results across a larger group of homes. Its examples illustrate the designers’ choices at the Whole Home, rather than proving a single approach works for every interior.
Planning Treatments for Your Windows
The report sets out advice rather than announcing a future product launch or scheduled design event. For homeowners applying the guidance, the next step is to identify each window’s needs: privacy, daylight filtering or darker conditions. Then measure the window and decide where the drapery will be mounted, how far panels should extend and how much fullness is appropriate.
Designers also suggest looking at the room as part of the wider home. A recurring color or texture can connect nearby spaces, while different fabrics and styles preserve their distinct character. Before ordering custom pieces, confirm dimensions, fabric weight, lining and operating details with the retailer or installer; the source does not provide a universal specification for those choices.
Key Questions
How can layered window treatments help with privacy?
In Conely’s example, multiple layers let occupants filter daylight through one treatment and close another when they want more privacy. The amount of coverage depends on the materials, fit and window.
Do all the rooms in a home need matching curtains?
No. McGee recommends seeking a shared design sensibility rather than repeating the same treatment. Carrying a color or texture between rooms can create a connection while allowing each space to vary.
What measurements matter when selecting drapery?
Plan where the panels will be mounted, how far they should extend and how much width and fullness they need. Conely cautions that short or narrow drapery can feel out of proportion in a room.
Can woven shades work in a room with patterned wallpaper?
McGee paired a natural bamboo woven shade with patterned drapes in a room that already had check wallpaper. She used the shade as a quieter textural element so it would not compete with the other patterns.
Source: rss
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