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In the 24/7 craziness of this digital world, where computers, cell phones, and BlackBerrys keep us “on” all the time, homeowners are increasingly looking for ways to retreat, and window treatments can play a role.
“Very powerful people confess to us they can’t take it anymore,” says Alice Busch, president and CEO of Great Falls Distinctive Interiors Inc. “We’re seeing people investing in their nests. People need to come home to a refuge.”
Blackout draperies and noise-muffling shutters are popular now, and by contrast light, airy fabrics that highlight outdoor views are, too.
Customers are not totally shying away from technology, however, as motorized shades are becoming increasingly common. At the click of a button, one can bring the outdoors in or, when the shades go down, take comfort in a designer cocoon. “It’s a lot more popular” than just five years ago, when requests for motorized shades were almost nonexistent, says Ilan Fulop, window coverings manager at Rockville Interiors. “I think that trend is definitely going to continue.”
Keep It Simple
Above all, customers want simplicity in their homes as they turn away from life’s many complications, designers say.
“ ‘Just give me a simple window treatment,’ ” Debbie Wiener, principal of Designing Solutions, says her clients tell her. “People are working longer hours, they have longer commutes. They’re saying, ‘I just want to look out this beautiful window and I don’t want to cover it with fabric.’ ”
To that end, Wiener is ordering no-fuss drapery panels, shades, and shutters. The only embellishment is in the trim and hardware. “[Decorative] finials and rings can take a piece of plain white duck cloth and make it really special,” the designer says.
Busch is seeing a lot of road-weary clients looking for a sanctuary. “People are on technology overload, and they’re not sleeping,” she says. Her clients are asking for blackout draperies similar to those in their rooms at the Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton.
In common areas, however, they want the outside to come in. Roman shades and valances, as well as decorative sheers, fit the bill.
“I’ve been trying to encourage people to use sheers, because they add another dimension to the window” without completely hiding the view, says Roxene Hill, owner of Haute in Middleburg, VA. “They are a softener to the walls and what’s going on outside.”
Convenience Is Key
Just as people want simplicity in their window treatments, they don’t want any complications in buying or using them.
Calico Corners is introducing a quickship program in September that allows you to choose custom draperies from more than 200 fabrics and six treatment styles, and they will be shipped in two weeks. Casa Fiora will ship semi-custom drapes the next business day, offering a choice of five fabrics and a handful of finials and rods. The rest of its inventory can be shipped in just four weeks or less.
For the ultimate convenience in window treatments, motorized shades and drapes are “the next big thing,” says Busch at Great Falls Distinctive Interiors, who orders a lot of them for clients’ vacation homes. “They want to lie in bed, have the room darkening, and then push a button and [the shades] open up to the ocean.”
