So I had these very expensive Duponi silk London shades (like a fancier version of Roman shades) I purchased for my very big, very tall windows in the Back Bay ten years ago....the cords on the shades finally gave out, so I went back to the original company. They don't make the shades anymore, and they sent me these AWFUL replacements that were like brown paper bags. I felt like I had dressed a beautiful bride in a garbage bag! Cut to five months later, after so much searching for drapery repair--everyone else said no--I finally found Yelena at Design and Thread. I sent her photos of the original drapes, and she said she could repair them. Not only did she repair them, her installer came and put them back up in under an hour, and then Yelena came herself to my home to make sure the cords were working and arrange the drapes so they looked BETTER THAN EVER. My windows are back in their original dress and I could not be more grateful to Yelena and her crew! She is a magician and an angel....and honestly so soulful too; she and her husband invited me into her home when I brought the drapes to be repaired, and I feel I have new friends. I admire her greatly! If you have big old historical windows--or any need for respectful, ingenious decor design in an historic district, look no further. Yelena is your woman. SO GRATEFUL! PS, Yelena and her installer were masked the whole time they were in my home and whenever we met. I asked her to take off her mask for a minute to snap this photo so you can see who you'll be working with! read more

Design & Thread - London Shades that Yelena the magician/ angel repaired! - Shades & Blinds Near Me - Newton, Massachusetts

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Lena did an incredible job tailoring my wedding dress. She took the time to explain her process and what her recommendations were. On my wedding day I felt very confident and secure in my dress. Despite it being a strapless dress I never felt it slip (even while dancing!). It's very clear to me she is an expert in her craft. I will definitely be going back to Lena in the future for my tailoring needs! read more

Design & Thread - Shades & Blinds Near Me - Newton, Massachusetts

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Yelena made me the most beautiful custom bedroom curtains. She is extremely talented and the curtain fabric is outstanding. I highly recommend her for your custom curtain needs....5 stars...outstanding. read more

We could not be more thrilled! We found Yelena through Yelp and are so incredibly glad we did. We just moved into a new home and she came to our home with tons of options for fabrics, helped us narrow down our color scheme and materials, and was clear about pricing. She is an incredible seamstress and works with a wonderful installer, Kirill. Plus, she's incredibly fun to chat with! They were at our house for the install yesterday, and NINE HOURS of hard work later, we have the most gorgeous silk curtains in our bedroom, plus blinds in all bathrooms and beautiful curtain rods throughout our room and kids' bedrooms. Get in touch with her -- you won't be disappointed! read more

Excellent Service, Professional Installation, and Personal Care I had quite the journey getting my curtains up, but thanks to Design & Thread, everything came together beautifully. Here's how it went: I carefully measured all my windows (back in December 2024) and ordered my curtain fabrics myself -- I actually brought them from Iran! Because my curtains had tapes attached, I wasn't sure which carriers or hooks to use. So, I booked a consultation appointment with Yelena at Design & Thread on June 5th, 2025 at their Newton Centre location (115 Sumner St). Yelena was incredibly helpful and patient. I provided her with my window sizes and showed her the fabrics. Together, we figured out the right types of carriers and hooks compatible with my taped curtains. What I appreciated most was that Yelena accepted my project even though I already had the fabrics -- that level of flexibility was refreshing. When the custom parts arrived -- including rods, brackets, carriers, hooks, ends, and wands -- Yelena promptly updated me and personally arranged for the installer. The installer, Kirill, arrived on time for the July 4th installation. He was professional, efficient, and took great care while working. Kirill patiently worked with me to determine the exact spacing for attaching the hooks to my curtain tapes, ensuring a perfect fit. The hourly rate was very fair, especially given how premium everything else in Boston tends to be priced. Thanks to Yelena's attention to detail and Kirill's expert installation, my curtains look fantastic. I highly recommend Design & Thread for anyone looking for personalized service and quality workmanship. read more

Design & Thread - Curtain Installation - Shades & Blinds Near Me - Newton, Massachusetts

We got in touch with Yelena after seeing all the 5-star reviews, and we were not disappointed! She brought both her expertise and her empathy to the project. It was relatively small project--new curtains for the family room--but she took as much care as if we had a much bigger one. Kirill, the installer, did a careful and efficient job. The price was also quite reasonable--less than we had expected. We love our new curtains and shades! We'll definitely call her if we have other drapery projects in the future! read more

I needed window treatment for my windows and glass sliding doors. I loved Yelena's work but almost did not reach out to her because I considered my project small and I was working with a budget. I am glad I reached out to her with the intent to at least inquire. She has a good eye and she was able to give me good suggestions and her draperies were awesome! Colors worked well with my stuff. Her suggestion for the livingroom shades was great --- the material blocked the glare but also a bit see through so that it showed the outside scenery. Made the livingroom look bigger. Posting a picture here. I could only hang my window treatments from the ceiling and I was worried that the draperies and shades will be too heavy. There were no studs where the window treatments needed to hang! She considered this limitation and had light enough draperies yet light blocking which worked well with the glass sliding door in the master bedroom. She worked with a great handyman who was able to build additional support for the shades in the living room and spare room. The overall price for the project worked with my budget. I highly recommeny Yelena and her crew. read more

Design & Thread - Shades in my livingroom. - Shades & Blinds Near Me - Newton, Massachusetts

Yelena fixed my button for me at no charge and did it with a smile. Very pleasant experience. Will definitely request her services in the future :) read more

Love love love our new curtains! We had a challenging project, given the curve of our wall in our living space. Yelena did a wonderful job with working with us to transition our idea into reality, from the planning to the creation of the final product, as well as the installation and cleanup. Absolutely recommended without reservation. See photos we posted! read more

Design & Thread - Shades & Blinds Near Me - Newton, Massachusetts

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Yelena helped us with window treatment throughout our home. She did a fantastic job to alter and fit some drapery we had saved from a previous home, giving the curtains a great and beautiful second life! Yelena also advised us superbly on color and design for the rest of our rooms - she was able to quickly determine our style and make the appropriate suggestions. Reasonable pricing, excellent and quality service! read more

Yelena did a fantastic job helping me choose the right shades and her installer did a wonderful job as well. Yelena has a great design flair and identified the perfect shades to complement my new home. Her prices are extremely reasonable and she gives superb service. I highly recommend her! read more

My wife and I bought a new house that didn't have any window treatments and we hired Yelena to design and install drapes throughout the home. Yelena worked very closely with my wife and was extremely helpful to create designs that looked beautiful while always keeping an eye on the budget for us. We were particularly impressed because the front of our home has a row of multiple large windows and Yelena designed a curtain system that is the centerpiece of the house (also tying it into our dining room). We recently re-hired Yelena to do some additional work on rooms that we hadn't originally completed and again it was a pleasure to work with her. The bottom line is that Yelena takes great pride in her meticulous work and it shows. We strongly recommend Design & Thread after much research and more importantly, our own terrific experience. read more

I have had two dresses altered by Yelena and both times she did a fantastic job! The first dress I brought to her was a full length bridesmaid dress that I needed to be shortened to cocktail length and taken in maybe four sizes down. I was so impressed when I went to pick it up, it looked like it had been a cocktail dress from the beginning and fit perfectly. It was gorgeous! She recently did another bridesmaid dress for me and I was again impressed at how perfectly it looked after the alterations. My mom also brought her mother of the bride dress to Yelena which needed a lot of work and seemed impossible to fix and make it look good just a few days before the wedding. She came up with the perfect solution and the dress looked phenomenal! My mom got so many compliments on it! I would highly recommend Yelena for any tailoring needs! You will not be disappointed! read more

Yelena is a great designer, she is a very talented, professional and freindly person. She did a big, great job in our house. Finally we changed all our blinds, with Yelena's help and we are impressed with the result. I highly recommend her. read more

Yelena is kind and an expert at her craft. She altered my wedding gown for a fair price. I trusted her completely and my gown turned out beautifully. She added boning, took in the sides, added buttons, hemmed the length and train, added cups and more to the gown. She also fitted a separate bolero to match the dress, and pressed the veil, bolero and gown for me. It all came together wonderfully. read more

Outstanding service from beginning to end. Yelena was prompt and well organized. She had many samples to choose from and patiently helped us decide what would work best. We got custom drapes and shades. It took only a few weeks for them to be made. When they were ready -- and they were exactly what we asked for -- they were professionally installed. We love them! Yelena was personable and fun to work with. We'll call her again when we need more work done. read more

Yelena did an amazing job, we could not be more pleased! I needed 11 ft tall sheers which are not easy to do with no seams in them. They hang perfectly with a lovely finish at the bottom. She brought an enormous selection of fabrics and was very helpful and patient while I chose my selections. She also suggested a very sleek rod system that goes beautifully with my decor. read more

Yelena created custom window treatments (contemporary roman shades) for my home office, living room, dining room, kitchen and two bedrooms. Some of the fabric I already had; some she helped me choose. Some of the shades were created with sheer fabric; others with opaque fabric. Yelena was very careful to choose the appropriate lining to bring out the best in each of the different fabrics. Her window treatments finished each room to perfection. All of her work was done perfectly, within the time frame estimated, and for reasonable a rate. I have recommended Design & Thread to numerous friends. Fabulous! read more

Yelena made me drapes for our new home. She is very talented and the end product was more beautiful than I could have expected and really brought our home to life and made it feel like our own. My advice for interior decorating newbies like me is to search for ideas and products before contacting Yelena, as the options for fabric are endless and it will be easier on you when deciding on the perfect piece for you. Yelena is thoughtful and easy to work with and offered guidance where I needed it. I highly recommend her. read more

I brought my wedding dress to Yelena for alterations. It needed to be lifted in the bust, shortened, and I also needed a veil. As soon as I put on the dress, Yelena knew right away what she needed to do and showed me exactly how she planned on doing the alterations. I immediately felt that me and my dress were in good hands. Yelena broke down the cost very clearly and promised me that I will only be taking the dress home when I am fully satisfied. Two weeks later, I came back for the dress and it was lovely. I pointed out a very minor thing and she fixed it right then and there, showed me how to store the dress, and the veil was perfect. Overall, I am extremely happy with Yelena's work and it was all at a reasonable price. I would definitely recommend her for dress alteration! read more

My bridesmaid dress I ordered was WAY too big! I brought it into Yelena and she was able to pin it into place (and it was not easy). The next visit, it fit perfectly! She did excellent work. Her pricing is appropriate and she was very friendly and accommodating. I will certainly use her again. read more

The dining room drapes Yelena designed and made for me look fantastic and totally make the room! Yelena has a great eye for design and her work is impeccable! She helped me find just the right fabric for my dining room which was not easy given the color scheme of the room. The drapes were done way ahead of schedule and installation was not complete until Yelena was 100% satisfied with the finished product! I recommend Yelena without hesitation and will certainly turn to her for other projects. read more

Yelena made drapes for us with european hems. she helped me pick out fabric and the drapes are much nicer, with roll top instead of traditional pleating, that anything i could find elsewhere. Her prices are fair and her installers are quite competent. she solves problems by researching suppliers and getting you the right materials. She is a perfectionist. read more

We recently bought a condo with lots of big windows and started looking everywhere for window treatments. We looked on-line and in stores and did not like what we saw. Finally, we found an ad from Yelena Burdan and decided to meet her. We scheduled an appointment on a weekend, when it was convenient for us. She came on time and brought tons of catalogs, samples of fabric and hardware. At that time we had not moved into the apartment and there was no furniture. Yelena listened to our ideas, showed us many options with different kinds of fabric and hardware. She showed us many photos of her work and we liked what we saw. Yelena explained that if we decided to go with her company she would take care of everything - ordering fabric, hardware and installation. She gave us a time frame when everything would be in place. Needless to say, Yelena spent several hours with us, answered our many questions. The price, she gave us, was very reasonable and we signed an agreement on that day. When the day came for installation, Yelena called us to set up an appointment. We picked a day and time that was good for us. Yelena came to our home with a helper. It took both of them a long time to put everything in place. We have never seen such attention to the smallest details and such accuracy in workmanship. All our window treatments look gorgeous. We receive many complements and we are extremely happy about our decision to work with Yelena. Yelena knows everything about window treatments and she is constantly on the lookout for something new. We would highly recommend Yelena to anyone who is looking for window treatments that will make their home look very beautiful. read more