The styles your Curtains and Drapes should be wearing right now.
The great and the good of the interiors world, headed to London Design Week in March to get a taste of the styles, patterns and colourways that are shaping our homes for the foreseeable future. This festival isn’t about fleeting looks – that are in one minute and out the next – more a showcase of classic designs coloured with both new and familiar colourways.
Curtain designs and ideas were everywhere. From exuberant floor-to-ceiling drapes to clean and contemporary tailored styles, window treatments were eye-catching and ever-present.
Here we round up the Curtain looks we saw that will stand the test of time now and forever.
Arts & Crafts
Our love for archival block prints continues apace. The reason? As founder designer William Morris himself said, ‘There is no excuse for doing anything which is not strikingly beautiful.’ We think his perpetual popularity is down to his stylised designs depicting nature, including roses, sunflowers and honeysuckles.
For Spring colour schemes, designs on neutral grounds are particularly popular thanks to their ability to easily update buff, cream or oatmeal bases. Head to the vintage blue, rose, and honey hues for a light and interesting window treatment that will bring feel-good and uplifting vibes to any space, especially living rooms and bedrooms.
The magic of these designs is that they sit perfectly in modern and character homes alike. Go for full-length Curtains on contemporary living room windows with an eyelet heading, or for more traditional properties choose a pencil or double pinch pleat.
Animal prints
Wild paws and patterns are a fashion go-to. This season they are prowling into interiors too. And we think they are here to stay thanks to the growing confidence around maximalism, where glamorous designs work in harmony to create fantastical rooms to escape to.
‘Curtains in feline designs, such as leopard and lynx, are a good starting point for a sumptuous bedroom or dressing room where a little bit of extravagance is your guiding light,’ says interiors expert Rhoda Parry. ‘Choose silvers, greys, soft blacks and teals as your moodboard colour scheme and then start layering that look to soft furnishings, bedlinen, and accessories.’
Add to the shine with metallic surfaces on bedside lights, furniture and fittings. Curtains for TV rooms or teenage dens also work well with this vibe and tick the boxes for wild-at-heart tastes.
Abstract
Geometrics, in the form of angular zig-zags, blocks and cracks, set the scene for contemporary interiors. These lines are all about clean and dimensional pattern and make a powerful statement on Curtains.
Large-scale and striking, these are the designs to start a scheme rather than add to an existing one. Use them as a colour block starter in deep blues and blue-green teals offset by a neutral, such as white, to pack a punch. Stick to the unfussy headings such as eyelet and wave so that the fall allows you to enjoy their spatial complexity.
Drapes in these designs work particularly well in modern apartments and new builds where cool lines abound. Keep to furniture and fittings with harder edges, such as metals, glass and stone, that will complement rather than fight with abstracts.
Exotic Birds
From parrots to hummingbirds, the exotic bird is in full flight in the world of interiors. Hovering in branches and surrounded by exuberant and unfurling flora and tendrils, the allure of these arboretum-style patterns is their reference to the explorer’s notebook and the discovery of new and exciting flora and fauna from far-flung lands.
Thanks to their geographic reference points, it’s the clean, crisp colours of lime, fuchsia, turquoise and orange that will spark joy on window treatments this spring. These fantastical patterns that speak of warm climates sit well on light and airy living room Curtains or in garden room spaces where they make good starting points for a room refresh.
Tease out the multi-colourways onto homeware accessories, with pops of similar colours on cushions, throws and rugs.
Small prints
Dots, dashes, ditsy florals and trellises sum up the current love affair with small prints. They are so versatile on Curtains. They work well for spring schemes in the colours of the cottage garden – daffodil, lavender, pinks and sage.
The magic of small prints is that they happily sit alongside each other, so combine a spot with a floral with a trellis for instance. Choose multiple colourways (three maximum) and then echo them throughout the space.
Small prints are at home in kitchens, pantries and open-plan living areas where their joyful designs complement light wood furniture and crafted ceramics at the table.
Decorative stripes
This season sees straightforward stripes losing their edge in favour of more curvaceous and pulsing lines. Everyone loves a Curtain stripe thanks to its ability to create height or width in a space. Vertical stripes will visually trick the eye to make your room look taller, while horizontal stripes give a broader illusion.
You still get the design trickery of length or width but curving foliage trails, dancing leaves and paintbrush effects lead the eye this season. These modern and more casual fabrics give you an opportunity to play with rhythm and mid tone colour combinations.
Use these stripes on Curtains in easy-going everyday rooms where you want a nod to decorative but the practicality of a stripe, such as door Curtains, office spaces, guest rooms.
The English countryside
Inspired by the pastoral scene, hedgerow birds, woodland deer and leaping rabbits speak of our appreciation of Britain’s wildlife. Depicted in illustrative and hand-painted lines, these Curtain designs make real show stoppers in period properties and are the perfect window treatments to frame country scenes from inside to outside.
The palette is knocked back and earthy with nutty neutrals, woody browns, forest greens and thistle purples. This harmonious palette makes it sympathetic to rooms that enjoy dark wood floors, antique furniture and classic tastes.
Spring is about renewal, so these designs are the perfect way to revive windows or kick-start a room makeover. Whatever, your style, take your pick from our Curtain looks roundup and lift your home into a new season!
