Victorian Bay Window With Indian Flair

I know, I know.  Again with the bay window? (Click here to read the beginnings of my decorating dilemma). After all the "window work" was done on that area, it was evident we needed to highlight the bay window area instead of hiding it behind a huge cabinet. Once the seating thing got figured out (click here to read about seating choice)....I asked myself -- what kind of dressing do those windows need?  The room is dark, so I didn't want to block out much natural light.  But the view is cement blocks on the side of a church.  And we need a little privacy. 

 

I am absolutely terrible with curtains.  Maybe because I am not really keen on curtains. 
And the more I thought about:
 -- spending a lot of money
-- NEW curtains (isn't there enough new manufacturing in the world already?   Yes, I often am forced to buy new, but let me at least consider recycling first.)
-- and hating the look and thought of all that fabric bunched up over my gorgeous windows.  Hmm.

What about silk?  I thought about it for a few days.  I like silk.  It is breezy.  It is elegant.  I looked at silk curtains -- are you kidding me?  Super expensive, and not that different looking than other curtains.  But one of the choices on the "silk curtains" ebay search caught my eye.

A vintage sari that someone advertised as having curtain potential. Thin, gorgeous, breezy.  Not white, or neutral (please -- aren't we all secretly tired of decorating with all whites?)  I measured:  one sari = two long curtains for my sidewindows.

Now, what for the center section of windows under the stained glass?  I found a vintage Indian silk "stole" or wrap with rhinestones on ebay (take THAT boring, neutral farmhouse whites!) 
I purchased vintage metal flower "curtain pins" on ebay to hang it.

From there it was a no brainer to look for Indian silk throw pillows for the bench. I bought them from three different sources (in India) and we had to laugh at the fact that I only ended up with two basic colors.

And I found a gorgeous vintage throw rug TWO BLOCKS from my house at a garage sale.  Am I concerned about the Indian vibe in my Victorian house?  No, not at all.  The Victorians were crazy about bringing imports from Asia and India into their homes for a bit of interest.