A smiling woman sat on a coral sofa in front of a single sash windows dressed with grey curtains

Live that style with Lisa Dawson

Blogger, writer and brand advisor Lisa uses simple curtain hacks to solve functional problems round her home.

A bar space with patio doors leading outside

Meet Lisa

Lisa lives in a five-bedroom Georgian house in York, which she has brought to life with her vintage, eclectic style. Here, Lisa shares how made-to-measure curtains helped elevate her living room and bar space.

A vibrant gallery wall with a small sash window

Lisa’s style

I'm a huge fan of vintage, both from an aesthetic and sustainable point of view, and I love the juxtaposition of old and new. I like textures and colour, but I like to keep the base of the room neutral so that I'm not restricted in what I'm adding. I'm a big fan of art prints and accessories, but I'm also a hugely transient decorator and spend much time decorating and moving things around!

Curtains are part of the bones of your home and it’s so important that they are measured and fitted correctly.

Patio doors with a long grey curtain pulled to the left

Happy hour

The patio door by the bar had been bothering me for a while as I just wasn’t sure what would work. When we bought our house, the space was being used as a games room so there were lots of plug sockets in odd places, which was unsightly, plus the bar on one side made the space feel uneven. My Hillarys advisor suggested having just one curtain that pulled right to the side, which covered the plug sockets and balanced out the bar. It worked perfectly, and the space finally feels finished.

I kept the curtains quite plain, but I really liked the idea of being able to introduce pattern through the cushions using Hillarys fabrics.

Living room with sash window and full length cream curtains

Room with a view

Initially I had no window coverings at all up at my front window, because I was afraid of obscuring the stunning view we have. I was advised to have curtains on a track that extended past the edges of the window frames, so they can be pulled right back away from the window. The contrast of the stone linen against the other colours in the room works beautifully, but the biggest benefit is that they really enhance the view from the front of the house.