Window treatments need three things in a drawing set that most sets do not have: a window treatment schedule with a mark for every opening, mounting heights dimensioned on interior elevations, and pockets, blocking, and power shown on the reflected ceiling plan and electrical drawings. Everything else is fabric selection, which is the easy part. The failures happen in coordination, not in taste.
I oversee commercial projects here, which means I spend a lot of time reading other people’s drawing sets. Most of them treat window treatments as a finish, something to be selected late and installed last. Occasionally that works. More often it produces a phone call in month nine that starts with “so there’s no power at the pocket.”
This is what we need from a set, why each item matters, and where things go wrong. It is written for the people who draw, not for homeowners.
The window treatment schedule
Treat it exactly like a door schedule. Every treated opening gets a mark, and every mark gets a row. Without this, a workroom is reverse-engineering your intent from elevations and a fabric memo, and we will guess wrong somewhere.
Minimum useful columns:
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Mark (WT-01, WT-02) | Ties the schedule to the plan, elevation, and detail |
| Room and window tag | Cross-references your window schedule so we can verify against built conditions |
| Quantity | Openings per mark, not panels |
| Product type | Roller, solar, cellular, Roman, drapery, blind, shutter |
| Mount type | Inside, outside, ceiling, recessed pocket |
| Fabric | Manufacturer, collection, pattern, colorway, SKU, width, repeat, railroaded or not |
| Lining and interlining | Drapery only. Changes yardage, weight, and hardware |
| Openness factor | Solar shades only. Drives glare and view retention |
| Header style | French pleat, goblet, euro, ripple fold with percentage, flat panel |
| Fullness | 1.5x, 2x, 2.5x. Changes yardage and stack |
| Length finish | Kiss the floor, break, puddle, sill, apron |
| Hardware | Track or rod, finish, bracket type, return depth |
| Control | Manual, chain with side and position, motorized with system and power type |
| Stack or draw | Left, right, center open, one-way draw |
| Roll direction | Standard or reverse. Roller and solar only |
| Bottom rail | Type and finish |
| Fascia, cassette, or valance | And whether it is our scope or millwork’s |
| Notes | Anything the row above cannot carry |
Two of those columns get skipped constantly and cause disproportionate trouble.
Roll direction. A standard roll drops the fabric off the back of the tube and a reverse roll drops it off the front. Reverse roll clears a deep sill or a handle, but it holds the fabric further off the glass and widens the light gap. Standard roll sits tighter to the glass but will foul on anything projecting. Somebody is deciding this. It should be you, in writing, not the installer on the day.
Stack or draw direction. On a wall of drapery, which way panels open determines what your client looks at and how much glass stays covered. Left, right, and center open are three different rooms. Unspecified means we choose, and then somebody does not like it.
What belongs on the elevations
Window treatments should appear on interior elevations, and the critical dimension is finished floor to top of track, rod, or fascia. Not to the window head. Not to the ceiling. To the top of the hardware.
That dimension is what coordinates the treatment against crown, cabinetry, art, wall sconces, and the ceiling plane. If it lives only in someone’s head, three trades will each assume something different.
Also show on elevations:
- Extents of the treatment beyond the opening on each side, for outside mounts
- Stack position when open, so the client can see how much glass is covered
- Where multiple windows of different heights share a wall, whether bottoms align or each falls to its own sill
That last one deserves a note. When a wall has windows of differing heights, you have a choice: align the head and let bottoms fall where they will, or align the bottoms and vary the drop. Both are defensible. Neither is obvious. Pick one and draw it.
The reflected ceiling plan is where projects are won or lost
If you take one thing from this article, take this. Window treatment coordination is an RCP problem long before it is a fabric problem.
Pockets. A recessed drapery or shade pocket has to be dimensioned in the RCP and detailed in section. It has to be wide enough for the track plus clearance, deep enough for the fabric roll or the drapery header, and accessible for service. A single ripple fold track and a dual track for a sheer plus a drapery are meaningfully different pockets, and a large-diameter roller tube for a wide opening is deeper than most people assume. Get the dimension from your fabricator before you draw it, because it varies with span, fabric, and hardware, and a pocket that is an inch too shallow is a demolition item.
Everything else in the ceiling. Pockets compete for the same real estate as sprinkler heads, HVAC diffusers, lighting, and structure. Sprinkler coverage in particular is not negotiable and it is not your call, so involve the fire protection engineer early rather than discovering the conflict during coordination.
Blocking. Heavy interlined drapery on a long track imposes real load. Blocking behind the gypsum board has to be located before the walls close. Once board is up, the conversation becomes about toggle capacity and everyone is unhappy. Show blocking on the framing drawings with the same seriousness you would for a wall-hung vanity.
Access. If a motor or a track fails in five years, somebody has to reach it. A fully closed pocket with no access panel means cutting the ceiling. Detail the access.
Power is not a fabric decision
The single most common failure I see on motorized projects: the shades are specified, the pocket is drawn, and there is no power at the pocket on the electrical drawings.
Motorized treatments need a power strategy chosen early, because each option has different drawing implications:
- Line voltage needs a junction box located at the correct end of the pocket, and “correct end” depends on which side the motor sits, which depends on the draw direction you specified above
- Low voltage needs the transformer or power panel located, and cable routed
- Battery avoids the electrician entirely but commits your client to replacing or recharging batteries at height, which is a maintenance decision they should make consciously
- Control systems need hub location, keypad locations on the electrical plan, and in most cases network access
Whichever you choose, the electrician needs it on their drawings before rough-in. A note in the finish schedule is not a drawing an electrician reads.
Also worth specifying: whether the shades integrate with a broader control system, whether they need to respond to a scheduler or a sun sensor, and who commissions the system. Commissioning is frequently nobody’s scope until the punch list, which is the worst possible time to discover it.
Where specs go wrong
The recurring ones, roughly in order of how much money they cost:
Specifying off drawings instead of field measure. Drawings show design intent. Windows get built to tolerance, prewar openings are rarely square, and floors are rarely level. We measure the drop at multiple points across every window and cut each panel to its own finished length. Nothing gets fabricated off a drawing dimension.
Measuring too early. The correct sequence is after windows are in, after finished floor is down, and after any millwork at the opening is complete. Measure before flooring and every length is wrong by the thickness of the floor build-up.
Assuming blackout fabric produces a blackout room. It does not. Light comes around the panel, not through it. A genuine blackout condition needs side channels, a closed pocket or a header treatment, and an adequate sill detail. If your client’s brief says blackout, that is a detailing scope, not a fabric selection, and it needs to be drawn.
Ignoring return depth. Outside-mount treatments need to wrap back to the wall to close the side gap. That return has to clear casing, trim, and anything mounted nearby. It is a dimension, so dimension it.
Forgetting operable windows. Casement cranks, tilt-turn hardware, and window washing access all conflict with treatments that were drawn assuming fixed glass. Check the window schedule for operation type on every treated opening.
Not resolving pattern repeat across a wall. On a run of windows with a patterned fabric, the client will expect the pattern to relate window to window. Whether that is achievable depends on repeat size, fabric width, and whether the goods are railroaded. Resolve it at specification, not at fabrication.
Fabric availability. Confirm the fabric is currently available in the required width and quantity, with a lead time that fits the schedule, before it is in the set. Discontinued goods in an issued drawing set generate change orders.
New York coordination items
For anyone drawing outside the city and working here, or drawing here and forgetting:
Certificates of insurance. Most co-ops and many condos require a COI naming the building, the board, and the managing agent, filed before anyone with a drill enters the lobby. Build the lead time into the schedule.
Work hours and access. Many buildings restrict work to weekday business hours and require the service elevator. This directly affects install duration and therefore cost.
Alteration agreements. These frequently specify what may be mounted at the window and often require that anything visible from the street reads white or off-white. A dark drapery in a landmarked co-op needs a white liner, and that is a specification item, not a surprise.
Landmarked buildings. Facade and window alterations range from constrained to impossible, which pushes more performance onto the interior treatment.
Curtain wall and new construction. Floor to ceiling glazing often gives zero reveal depth and nothing to mount into, and sometimes a developer-installed ceiling pocket. Verify the pocket dimension in the field. Developer pockets are not always built to the dimension shown on the base building drawings.
What to send us for a quote
A complete package speeds everything and produces a number you can rely on:
- Floor plans with treated openings marked
- Interior elevations showing mounting heights
- RCP with pockets, and section details if pockets exist
- Window schedule, including operation type and glazing
- Window treatment schedule, even a draft one
- Fabric selections with manufacturer, SKU, colorway, and memo if available
- Electrical drawings if anything is motorized
- Building rules, alteration agreement, and COI requirements
- Target install window and any building access constraints
If the schedule does not exist yet, send the rest and we will draft one for you to review. That is usually faster than three rounds of clarification.
Sequence, honestly
A realistic order of operations:
- Schematic. Product type and mount strategy decided. This is when pockets get born, and it is the last cheap moment to add them.
- Design development. Pocket dimensions confirmed with the fabricator, blocking located, power strategy chosen, control system selected.
- Construction documents. Schedule issued, elevations dimensioned, RCP and electrical coordinated.
- Before walls close. Blocking verified in the field. Pocket dimensions verified in the field.
- After windows, floors, and millwork are complete. Field measure.
- Fabrication. Roughly four weeks for a typical residential scope, longer for specialty fabrics, oversized openings requiring scaffolding, or restricted building access.
- Install, then commission any motorized system, then punch.
The steps that get skipped are two and four. Both are free at the time and expensive later.
Frequently asked
Can you quote from drawings alone? We can budget from drawings. We cannot fabricate from them. Expect a budget number at DD and a firm number after field measure.
How early should the workroom be involved? Schematic, if pockets or motorization are in play. Once the RCP is coordinated and the walls are closed, the options narrow to what fits the space you built.
Who owns the pocket, us or you? Usually millwork or GC builds it and we supply the dimension. Make the scope split explicit in the drawings, because pockets are a classic gap between trades.
Do you work with designers on a trade basis? Yes. We have been making our own drapery and shades in New York since 2009, and we work with Hunter Douglas, Hartman & Forbes, MechoSystems, Coulisse, and Comfortex on specification. Get in touch and we will walk through how we handle trade projects.
What if the client changes fabric after the drawings are issued? Fine if the replacement matches the original in weight, width, repeat, and railroading. Not fine if it does not, because those properties drive yardage, hardware, and sometimes the pocket. Send the substitution to us before it is approved.
Working on a set now
Send the drawings. We will tell you what is missing, what will not fit, and what to fix while it is still a redline rather than a change order. There is no charge for that conversation and it is the cheapest hour on the project.
Get in touch, or see our commercial work. Showroom at 447 W 50th Street.
Moria Leiderman is a principal at Alluring Window, the custom window treatment workroom her family has run in New York City since 2009, where she oversees commercial projects. The company works with interior design firms, architects, hotels, offices, and construction companies across the five boroughs.
