Curtains and Fabric

This post has had three different titles and themes...Basically, I have been looking for fabric for curtains as I thought I would potentially make my own.  

However, I soon realized that I would not be saving any money (and especially time) by making the curtains myself. First, I'm not a wonderful sewer. I have tried, I even have a nice sewing machine. I am not exaggerating when I say that my husband can sew better than I (add that to the list). This is because his mother was an avid sewer and as the baby of six children, he was her helper. 

As soon as I realized I would not be needing to find fabric for curtains, nor could I afford to pay someone to make them for me, I began a search for pre-made curtains. This occurred on the eve before the Labor Day sales came to an end - which left me up late into the night.  The three curtains panels draped over the door in the photo above are just a few of the results from this effort. 

It wasn't until many weeks later, as I contemplated which of my various ordered curtains would work and which would not, that it occurred to me....

...Our downstairs front rooms have very tall windows which make the window trim go straight to the bottom edge of the crown molding. This leaves no room for drapery hardware, without somehow obstructing the glass, and the natural light. 

The other  challenging factor is that there are three windows in these same rooms that are adjacent to chimneys, also contributing to drapery challenges. 

The previous owners installed valances to remedy these issues but we love the height of the windows and in no way want to shorten them or diminish the natural light coming through them. 

So very long story short, for these reasons we will not be using curtains in the two downstairs rooms after all. We are instead going to do shutters - which is actually what I had planned on using in the very beginning. 

Isn't it funny how often we come back to our first intention? 

My search for fabrics for our other projects has mostly occurred online, late at night, while the house was asleep. But I started to feel as if it would be more productive to see and feel the fabrics in person. 

So off to Zimman's we went. It's been highly recommended by many and I've been eager to see what they had. The photo was taken by my assistants (four year old dumplings). 

Here is another documentary photo taken by my helpful assistants. 

Tatyana (captured by my assistants) helped us navigate the thousands (upon thousands) of fabrics. It was really quite amazing. 

It was also wonderfully organized by style and color.  One (I) could truly spend hours in Zimman's but my assistants needed to move on. 

Zimman's also has a remnant table in the basement. I was so hoping to find something bold, brave and luxurious that I couldn't leave without, but had no such luck. 

Although I loved going to a fabric store in person, as I full time mom with two energetic dumplings, I think I prefer to shop for fabrics when the house is quiet. 

Any wonderful recommendations to offer?