Heritage and period homes deserve window treatments designed with genuine understanding of their architecture. Federation, Victorian, Edwardian and Art Deco homes have proportions, mouldings, picture rails and original windows that modern, off-the-shelf solutions rarely flatter. Done sympathetically, curtains and blinds enhance a period home’s character; done carelessly, they undermine it.
At Hay Interiors, heritage work is one of Annie’s great strengths. She trained as a curtain maker in Southampton, England, where her work included heritage houses and museums — exactly the settings where traditional technique, correct proportion and period-appropriate detail matter most. That background, combined with our in-house workroom, makes us one of the few Perth makers genuinely equipped for sympathetic period work.
Perth has beautiful pockets of period housing — the Federation and Art Deco homes of Mount Lawley, the character streets of Subiaco, Shenton Park and East Fremantle, and grand older residences throughout the western suburbs. Each era brings its own considerations:
Heritage interiors are where our traditional skills come into their own. We make proper, sewn curtains and the decorative blind styles few Perth makers still offer — London Blinds, Austrian Blinds and Festoon Blinds — along with swags and tails, goblet and pinch-pleat headings and tailored pelmets. Each is made in our Nedlands workroom with attention to the proportion and detailing a period room demands. See our curtain headings and styles for the full range.
Authentic heritage work depends as much on sourcing as on sewing. Annie draws on specialist suppliers for period-appropriate fabrics — including classic Victorian-style prints from Slender Morris, a well-priced source of traditional designs — alongside the wider curtain fabrics library of damasks, linens, velvets and trimmings suited to older homes. The right fabric, in the right colour and weight, is what makes a treatment feel true to the period rather than merely traditional-looking.
Annie consults personally, considering the era and architecture of your home, the original windows, how each room is used, and how to balance authenticity with modern comfort — such as discreet lining for insulation or subtle motorised curtains for tall, hard-to-reach windows. Many owners of Perth’s finest period homes, and the interior designers who work on them, come to her precisely because she respects the building and understands what it needs.
The best way to begin is to visit our showroom in Nedlands. You can explore hundreds of fabric samples in natural light, see finished examples, and often watch work happening in the attached workroom. Annie or a member of the team is always happy to talk through possibilities and answer questions.
Alternatively, we can arrange an in-home consultation at a time that suits you. This has the advantage of enabling us to consider your actual windows and provide advice on the best window dressings for your space.
Either way, you will receive honest, expert guidance focused entirely on what is right for your windows and your home.
We look forward to helping you create window furnishings you will love for many years to come.
It depends on the room and era, but traditional pinch-pleat or goblet-pleat curtains, tailored pelmets, and decorative styles like swags and tails or Austrian blinds often suit period homes beautifully. Annie advises in your home, where the architecture can guide the choice.
Yes — Annie sources traditional designs including classic Victorian-style prints through specialist suppliers such as Slender Morris, alongside period-suited damasks, linens and trimmings, so the result feels authentic to your home’s era.
Annie trained in England in settings that included heritage houses and museums, and we make traditional styles by hand in our own workroom — a combination of period knowledge and genuine making capability that is rare in Perth.
