The business of creating a custom soft window treatment is quite complex. In order to satisfactorily design, manufacture and install a custom treatment, clear and precise communication needs to take place between the client, designer, workroom, and installer. If at any point along in the process there is a breakdown in communication, the result can sometimes be disastrous.

The treatment designers' ability to effectively communicate treatment design to the client in order to set proper expectations is critical, and if this does not happen the client can be dissatisfied with the product once installed. Once designer and client agree on a style, accurate and precise communication of the style must then be transmitted to the workroom, who must accurately convey the message to its workers, in order that the product ends up being produced as designer and client expect. Lastly, the treatment installers need to be made to understand the expectations as well, since if they do not, the efforts of the designer and workroom can potentially miss the mark, and the end result might be a very unhappy consumer who will "never buy custom window treatments again!"

We do not want this breakdown to ever occur, as happy and satisfied customers keep buying again and again, and that is good for our industry. In recent years with consumers wanting more than ever to express individuality in their home decor, the accurate communication of style seems to be getting harder and harder. At Precision Draperies Education, we are introducing our style code numbering system in an effort to combat communication difficulties between consumers, designers, workrooms, and installers. These style code diagrams are only a piece of the big picture, but they are a start toward creating a treatment numbering system and code that can eventually make this communication as simple as entering a series of codes into a computer system. The key to the success of such a system is for professionals in the industry to begin learning the codes, perhaps even helping us to refine them.

In order to facilitate the communication process we have created over 1000 black and white style images and assigned them style numbers. They are categorized and listed here, so that our members can begin putting them to good use in the communication process as described above. We hope you will use these images a lot. Learn to refer to styles by numbers, which can be understood in any language.  They are superior to the use of style names as names can have different meanings to different people. An industry wide accepted standardized treatment style code will improve communication. This is our suggested beginning to that end.

We are always open to comments and suggestions about code modifications and/or new styles from our valued members, so please if you want to comment, contact us.

The treatment diagrams are broken down into the 15 main style categories which can be accessed in the navigation panel to the left, in PDE membership area.

To get to the drawings, follow the steps below:

1. Hover your mouse over "Style Codes"in the navigation menu. A selection box will slide out revealing the 15 main categories.
2. Hover your mouse over the category of interest and a 2nd slide out will appear.
3. Click on the items you want to see and you will be taken to thumbnail views of all the images in that sub-category.
4. Click on the thumbnail image to be taken to an enlarged view of the style.
5. Right click on the enlarged image, then you can save it to your computer.
6. Once the image has been stored on your computer, you can copy it into other drawing programs and use the image in your own treatment designs. You can also print them onto your work order forms so the workroom, sewers, and installers have a picture of the treatment.  (Please review Site Policies regarding image use.)
7. After saving the image, close the window with the large image view, and you can use the navigation bar to continue browsing images.

Go ahead and try it now. If you end up getting lost, you can always select Members on the navigation bars at the top of any website page and the select Style Codes from the left navigation panel to return to this instruction page. You can always access the style code images directly from the left navigation panel anywhere within the member's area.

Feel free to browse around often.  Start by copying and using just a few of the basic styles. Workrooms will find a small diagram of the treatment a handy tool to print on work tickets for communicating styles to employees,  and you can even include diagrams of the desired add on items. Installers will appreciate the visual! Just play with the images and see how a picture really can be worth a thousand words!