Designer knockoffs often lesser quality product

“Why spend so much for a new and attractively designed piece of furniture when knockoffs will be available soon for a lot less money?”

I hear that all the time. And, of course, there’s logic to it, but this reasoning doesn’t take account of a couple of important considerations.

First, the higher price of an originally designed home product reflects not only the research and development that went into it but also the generally higher quality of its materials. Knockoffs are cheaper in part because they’re often inferior goods. You do more or less get what you pay for.

Second, some elegant new items will never be mass-produced by the copycat specialists. You can wait and wait for an affordable version, but it just may not materialize.

Q: We’re planning a casual design for the two-story living room in our new home. Decorative rugs will be used to add color to the limestone floor, and we’ll hang some fabrics on the off-white stucco walls.

A large window with a curved top poses an unsolved problem. It offers a beautiful view, but we need to add some kind of window treatment for the sake of privacy. Any ideas on how to cover a picture window with such a shape?

A: I assume you’re referring to something like the Palladian style window shown in the accompanying photo. A window of this sort is usually left without a covering, in part because it is indeed difficult to fit one to its shape. In cases where privacy concerns are paramount, one common tactic is to hang under-curtains and add a stationary fabric lunette for the curved upper part.

This sort of treatment can be quite attractive, but it’s more elegant than the rest of the design you describe.

In a casual setting, whether contemporary or traditional, the best option might be to emphasize the shape of the window with fitted wooden blinds or shutters. Depending on the actual size of your window, wood blinds may be easier to operate and will allow for more flexibility in regard to the position of the vanes. You can open the blinds fully in order to enjoy the view or close them top-to-bottom in order to ensure complete privacy.

The Country Woods blinds shown in this model are newly designed by Hunter Douglas. They can be adjusted manually, but if your own window is really large you may want to consider a motorized system. Battery-powered and hard-wired options can readily be found.

Rita St. Clair is a syndicated columnist with Tribune Media Services Inc. E-mail general interior design questions to her at rsca@ritastclair.com.