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Big Picture

by Cheryl Strickland

The first in a series of articles examining today's popular design trends.

Until recently, the geometric shape that dominated the window coverings arena was the triangle. Its influence affected every segment of the industry and lasted for several years. You still can see remnants of its delightful effect today in pointed swags and triangular-shaped valances, for example. There's no question, however, that another geometric shape has taken over. In today's design field diamonds are a girl's (and guy's) best friend. Only now, instead of us wearing the diamonds, it's the windows that are wearing them. As with diamond jewelry, diamond window adornments can be formal or informal, ostentatious or subtle, large or small. Diamonds are working their way into every facet (pun intended!) of the interior fashions industry. Besides window coverings, you'll find them in furniture, rugs, wallpaper, fabrics and accessories. Carol Sobieski-Gall, the owner of Creative Interiors, a very enterprising drapery workroom in Mt. Pleasant, MI, recently hand-crafted custom-designed diamond-shaped buttons for a window treatment that match the shape and color of the diamonds in a customer's wallpaper. Let's take a look at a few of the exciting and innovative ways this fashion newcomer is being put to use in window coverings. Fabrics Diamond shapes are being used in a wide variety of ways within the design of fabric prints. Some of the diamonds have equal sides, while others have short sides combined with elongated sides. Some have slightly curved edges that give them a rather surrealistic look and a feel of movement, making them seem to fly across the fabric. You'll find very small, small, medium, large and even huge diamonds. You'll find various sizes incorporated into the same print or used in coordinating prints. Some fabric print designs are composed solely of diamonds, while others use diamonds combined with other geometric shapes. You will find diamonds combined with flowers, plants and leaves. In some designs you will find diamonds used inside other diamonds. Another current trend that is very popular in print design is stripes. Because both of these trends are so strong, it should be no surprise to find the marriage of the two shapes. You'll find diamonds used within stripes and used by themselves in rows, creating the illusion of a stripe. Valances Effectively using the diamond shape gives window treatment designers new opportunities for pleasingly unusual valances. Several diamonds can be connected together at their left and right points. Each point of a diamond can be overlapped onto an adjacent diamond's points for a layered look. The points of diamonds can be fused together using iron-on products or stitched in place. The points can be grommeted together, with a rod run through the gommets. A valance can be made by using one flat piece of fabric shaped to look like several diamonds overlaid. Even when actual diamond shapes are not being used, you may find the illusion of diamonds being created in some interesting valances. In an attractive valance created by ADO, a soft cornice with a pointed bottom edge is combined with a pointed Austrian valance used as an overly. The two together form a very pleasant diamond shape. An innovative three-dimensional adornment resembling earrings has been created by döfix by using a diamond-shaped cut out. Other three-dimensional looks a can be created by using diamond-shaped appliqués on valances, cornices, draperies, tiebacks or just about any other window treatment you can imagine. Hardware Even drapery hardware has been affected by this bauble's influence as seen in many diamond-shaped finials today. As you can see, this gemstone shape is being used in a wide variety of ingenious ways to create window treatments as special and unique as the Hope diamond itself. Although diamonds are forever when it come to love and jewelry, diamonds won't be forever on your customers' windows. Won't it be interesting to see what the next trend in geometric shapes will be? Editor's note: Next month Strickland continues her look at current window covering and interior fashion trends focusing on 1998-99 colors. Cheryl Strickland is owner of Professional Drapery School, Swannanoa, NC, and is an internationally acclaimed speaker with 20 years experience in the window coverings industry. She is the publisher and editor of Sew WHAT?, an international monthly newsletter for professional drapery workrooms. Strickland also is the author of A Practical Guide to Soft Window Coverings and the Designer's Sketch Pad, which are available through Draperies & Window Coverings magazine.