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OPPOSITE PAGE AND ABOVE The relaxed flowing feeling of floor-to-ceiling sheers complements the relaxed vibe many homeowners prefer.

BEHIND THE

By Ellen Ashton Haiste curtain

SAFETY AND EASE OF USE DOMINATE WINDOW COVERING TRENDS

Versatility is becoming a watchword for trends in window coverings. This is being driven by two major factors: an increase in the number and size of windows in today’s homes and legislation banning corded blinds and draperies. 

“More people are doing motorization and with the new regulations it is going to be the trend of the future.”

WILLI VAN DEVEN

DESIGNER AT COVERS DESIGNERS’ EDGE TOP Sheer blinds allow in light but give privacy where needed. BELOW Contemporary, modern or traditional, automated sheers work with any design style.

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We’re here for a good time. Not a long time. So have a good time. The sun can’t shine every day.

TROOPER

That legislation, effective this spring, is set to drastically change the face of window coverings going forward, says Janice Brock, co-owner of Custom Shades of London and Exeter’s Custom Covers. “It’s going to be a huge change for all of us,” she says, noting that it will push the current trend to automation.

“More people are doing motorization and with the new regulations it is going to be the trend of the future,” agrees Willi Van Deven, designer at Covers Designers’ Edge.

Style has not been forgotten in the push to achieve better functionality. Flowing ripple folds are replacing pinch pleats as a popular look in drapes, Brock says. “Sometimes called a wave drape, they’re stylish and contemporary and operate under a decorative rod.” These have the advantage of being hand-drawn as opposed to operating with a cord.

According to Brock, sheers are making a comeback.

“They are hot, hot, hot,” agrees Van Deven. The updated versions are often lined, offering the softness of fabric and the practicality of light control. ● FOR MORE INFORMATION

“Sheers with light filter linings look gorgeous. You get the look and also more privacy.”

Layering drapes is out, Van Deven adds. “When layering, it’s a blind and a drape or a blind and a sheer, depending on the desired degree of opacity or privacy.”

Shades and blinds with dual function are gaining in popularity, Brock says. She cites the example of sheers with a built-in roller shade. “At night the roller shade can come down to provide privacy or darkness and during the day there’s a soft look with the sheer fabric.”

Banded – or ‘zebra’ – shades are popular since they are attractive, versatile and available at a lower price point, adds Brock. These feature solid and sheer bands, attached to a bar at top and bottom, allowing a continuous roll-over to control the amount of light.

Both Van Deven and Brock note that drapery colours are warming up, a change from previously popular cool greys. Van Deven sees more taupe tones, with punches of colour, while Brock thinks textures and prints will be more popular.  COVERS DESIGNERS’ EDGE 297 Exeter Road 519-652-0222 www.coverscanada.ca

CUSTOM SHADES OF LONDON 1422 Fanshawe Park Road West 519-601-4443 www.customshadesoflondon.ca

hen 2020 rolled in, we Automated blinds work well when safety is a concern for families with young children, and are easy to use when mobility can be an issue later in life. Wthought the roaring ‘20s were back. Many people celebrated by throwing themed

New Year’s Eve parties with friends dressed as flappers and gangsters.

We were happy to have some of the events of the late teens behind us: a troubled White House for our neighbours to the south, New Zealand’s worst mass shooting and locally we dealt with the fallout of Elizabeth

Wettlaufer’s crimes to name a few.

So, 2020 was a numerological beacon of hope, signalling a turning of the corner for many. But the rug was quickly pulled out from under us in March when the world came to a screeching halt.

Now that we are rounding the corner and have accepted that COVID will join colds and the flu as something we have to take precautions against each year, the light beckons again. We will soon be halfway through 2022, and it is time to let the ‘20s roar again.

I always include a pertinent, and hopefully inspiring, quote at the top of this space in each issue. And this one is no different because the words of

Canadian hair band Trooper shed light on my favourite lesson of the past two and a half years – celebrate both normal and extraordinary things every day.

The beginning May, in southwestern

Ontario, is always worth celebrating since it signals the end to boot-and- CUSTOM COVERS coat time and the beginning of shorts- 415 Main Street, Exeter and-sunhats season. This summer will 519-235-2444Jill Ellis-Worthington be especially sweet and enjoyable as we www.customcoversontario.califestyle.editor@writedoton.com

feel more confident visiting with larger groups of family and friends, sitting on restaurant patios, hosting big backyard barbecues or block parties, attending festivals and generally getting back to all of the usual warm weather activities.

Money set aside for the past two summer vacations can be used to explore the province, the country or the world. My husband and I have had to cancel numerous trips abroad that were planned and now we are beyond excited to be able to start planning new adventures.

While Trooper’s words ring true, the pandemic has taught us something else: take nothing for granted and be ready to change direction quickly. In the past we may have planned a trip to Europe with no thought to the idea that we might not be able to go. It is our right as free people to go wherever we want whenever we want, right? So, taking the tenuous state of geopolitics and ongoing pandemic issues into consideration, we plan but we do not emotionally invest. I am not getting ‘married’ to the idea of taking a plane ride until it is actually taking off.

I am ready to let 2022 roar as I dig back into everyday activities that we can no longer take for granted. Are you?