Modern curtains are definitely back on track, but what is your pick? Curtain tracks or curtains rods? Venetian-like soft drapes or the more contemporary roller blinds? As you can see, there is plenty of choice, although all the latest decor trends agree on one thing: far from being well-worn, traditional home accessories, modern curtains now boast the capability of reinventing and shaking up the space.
A great alternative to partition walls, they easily succeed in fragmenting different habitats and functional areas, whilst providing the environment with a more versatile touch: see the newest folding door collection by Fanoflex, an Italy-based brand specialising in curtains featuring drawn iron wire covered in a wide range of fabrics, including velvet and pleather to enhance flexibility. Already employed by Gio Ponti in his last residence on via Dezza, Milan, and by Patricia Urquiola to create a colour clash of custom furniture for new Milan hotel Room Mate Giulia, these curtains feature a set of embedded magnets to allow different openings.
2018 is the year of linen, too (which was never out of style, actually). A great fit for brightly lit environments with natural light flooding the space and enhancing the fabric texture, linen found a stunning ambassador in Linge Particulier, the French manufacturer of 100% washed linen collections that recently won accolades at Maison & Objet 2018.
A work by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec for Kvadrat, Rennes and Chainette are a sculptural duo of curtains based on delicate embroidery techniques and 3D graphic patterns. Each series share the same motifs, but are different in characteristic and quality: if Rennes unfolds into wide, diagonal, densely-stitched intersecting stripes, which generate and interplay of bold colorful forms, Chainettes shows off a more subtle aesthetic made of thin lines embroidered with braids.
Lastly, UME Studio in partnership with Stockholm-based interior designer Akane Moriyama is author of the Draped Flowers Curtain, an ever-changing living vertical divider comprising more than 100 pockets where fresh flowers can be arranged so to turn the space into a delicate, cozy landscape.
