Drapes and Depression

When I moved here, three years ago, I was delighted to finally be able to hang a pair of drapes that I loved, but had been unable to use. They were a big flowery print, in shades of dusty rose and burgundy, with a beige/off white background.

Since the walls here are builder beige, and I have so many dark colored bookcases, I liked the spot of print and color. My sofa sits in front of the picture window, a soft green that coordinated with the greenery in the print.

I hung a set of champagne colored sheers, and added the flowered drapes, but found that they were not wide enough to cover the window and could only be decorative side panels. Well, damn.

Not willing to give up the color, I switched the sheers for solid white rod pocket drapes. Not as nice as the sheers, but the new drapes allowed me some privacy, especially at night. The problem with rod pocket drapes is that you can't open and close them on the rod, you need to tie them back.

My drapes came with matching tie backs, and I inserted the hook to use them. I didn't take into consideration how much it hurt my back, leaning over the sofa, trying to tie the white drapes back, and doing it all behind the pretty side panels.

I gave up and stopped opening my drapes. I made my world smaller, and for that time that my back was such an issue, it was already quite restricted. This kind of situation can affect you more than you realize.

When my daughter moved, her living room drapes didn't work in the new house, and she offered me the old ones. It was a generous offer, but then she's a generous person, who hates flowery prints. The new-to-me drapes were a soft green, with a tone on tone design, and they looked great with my sofa.

I changed the drapes and changed my world. Gone were the solid white, the showy flowers, and in their place I had drapes I could open and close at whim, using my handy grabber, as the tops were those large grommets rather than pleats and hooks.

I have let the sun in, or my view of the winter's snow. I can see that there is a world out there, see the comings and goings of my neighbors. I realize I had shut myself off, in more ways than one.

With summer almost here, I'll need to close my drapes again, to shut out the heat. The downfall to a window that faces the sunset. But I found a solution. I bought a new pair of drapes, and hung them under the green, on a tension rod. Both sets have the grommet tops and can be moved easily across the rods.

The new ones are a light brown, to match my chair. When closed, I can view the outside, and though light and semi sheer, they give me a break from the too bright afternoon sun. When it gets hot outside, I can close both sets, and hope to keep my place a shade of cool.

Never again will I let myself live in the doom and gloom, it's too depressing. Let the sunshine in.