By Stacy Downs
After more than a decade, draperies are finally getting their curtain call.
For years windows were unadorned, except for subtle shades or wooden blinds. Now fabric is back, even in minimalist interiors.
"Draperies add elegance while softening the room, making it cozier," said interior designer Sherry Worth of Overland Park, Kan. "They also hide ugly views and create privacy. I think people have come to realize bare is boring, and when windows are naked, they're truly naked."
The main reason Worth appreciates draperies: For $300 or so, they can transform a room.
"That's the least expensive thing you can do besides paint," she said.
The majority of today's styles are timeless side panels that merely frame the window. Gone is anything fussy.
People are also reading…
"Customers want transitional, something that's in between traditional and modern," said interior designer Chrissy Roellchen, who works in a drapery showroom in Overland Park. "They're going for simple styles."
FORM AND FUNCTION
Although panels typically are used for enhancing the mood of a room, draperies can be used to solve problems. Hanging in front of windows, they can keep a room warm or cool, insulating us from the outside temperatures. They also can darken a room from blinding sunlight in the morning.
For those issues, Roellchen recommends lining draperies with feltlike fabrics.
Draperies can disguise architectural flaws, too. For example, strategically hung curtains can conceal the problem of a window installed off-center in the room.
COLOR AND PATTERN
Worth cautions clients about being too trendy with draperies, because the price can add up.
"You don't necessarily want the latest color or pattern, because you don't want to change them out every three years," she said. "Stick with classics, maybe even solid colors, unless you can sew. If you do want something trendy, buy a pillow or candle in the hot color."
How about height?
Worth recommends hanging a drapery rod at least 4 to 6 inches above the window trim - ideally just below the ceiling trim - to make a room appear grander yet create a cocoonlike coziness.
Roellchen thinks the bottoms of drapery panels should skim the floor or come just above it.
"You definitely don't want yards and yards of puddling," she said. "That would be a throwback."
DRAPERY SHOPPING: THE 5 ESSENTIALS
1. Fabric samples such as a furniture arm cover.
2. Paint swatches of the wall colors.
3. Photos of the room, especially the windows.
4. Pictures from design publications showing drapery looks you like.
5. Measurements if you're buying ready-made draperies.
RESOURCES
• Ballard Designs, www.ballarddesigns.com
• Pottery Barn, www.potterybarn.com
• The Silk Trading Co., Los Angeles, www.silktrading.com
• West Elm, www.westelm.com
• Z Gallerie, www.zgallerie.com