FULL FRAME: Technology

Custom Motorization of Soft Treatments: Part 1

BY O’D MCKEWAN

With all the focus on motorization and the increased popularity with soft window coverings, I thought it would be a good time to explore the custom motorization of two of the most popular soft treatments: drapery and roman shades. Over the years as motorization has become an expected offering for window treatments, workrooms and manufacturers have focused on providing motorization capabilities of soft window coverings.

However, I’m seeing the recurrence of several challenges with these window treatments once they are installed. Here are some suggestions of how designers can explain these challenges to their clients, as well as some insights of how manufacturers and workrooms can alter their processes to eliminate these challenges. For Part 1 of this topic, I will focus on draperies. Part 2, with a focus on roman shades, will appear in the Full Frame: Motorization & Tech column in the November/December issue.

DRAPERIES

When it comes to motorization, draperies are one of the easiest additions to motorize; however, there are a few challenges that regularly occur when draperies are motorized.

The first is with stacking. Due to the type of carriers and belt drives used for a motor system, the average stacking of motorized draperies is more than nonmotorized. The addition of a motor to the drapery causes the stacking to generally need an additional 4 to 5 inches than a manual drapery.

Another key challenge with a motorized drapery is with the end pleats. These are the pleats that wrap around the motor; they are fixed and do not move, just like return pleats. So, when the draperies are fully opened, all of the pleats will be compressed except for the last pleat that covers the motor. It stays expanded and, depending on the fabric and style of pleats, this can be obvious and easily noticed by the homeowner. And on a split-draw drapery, it’s quite noticeable and even may cause the two draperies to not look alike.

Split draw is another common challenge for motorized draperies. Unlike manually operated draperies, split-draw draperies may require giving an extra tug to the draperies to close the light gap. This is due to the fact that most motorized draperies have electronic limits that are established by the motor’s set torque limits.

So, when the master and overlapping carriers connect, they each tend to rebound slightly during the limit-setting process to protect the motor. This is what may cause the slight light gap. This is very apparent with butted carriers, which is why most motor manufacturers recommend the use of overlapping carriers.

This problem is exacerbated when hanging ripplefold draperies where it’s extremely difficult to eliminate this gap. Even if with the limits reset to allow the butt carriers to completely touch, the light gap continues to be an issue. As an aside, ripplefold draperies are not the best to use if a client is very concerned about the light gap, because not only does the gap present a challenge, but there’s also always too much light allowed in from the top of these draperies due to an S-shape design, which keeps the fabric far away from the mounting wall.

Although ripplefold-designed drapery is by far today’s most popular drapery style, it’s the most challenging drapery design to use with motorization. This is due to the drapery’s S-shape that causes the

An example of motorized ripplefold center opening butted draperies.

ORNAMENTAL IRON, INC.

Custom Color Your World

We know designers LOVE their creative freedom. That’s why we offer our Custom Palette Program for the Iron Art, Design Art and Wood Art collections. It’s easy- choose the perfect color for your drapery hardware from Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams. Or send us a fabric swatch or paint chip and we’ll match it. Choose your topcoat sheen from glossy, semi-gloss or matte. We’ll send you a strike -off for your approval before it goes into production.

We can not only match your color we’ll add any of our 11 accent Design Art finishes or highlight your color with gold, silver or bronze. All our paint finishes are done by hand and to ensure consistency all the components in your order are painted together.

Look what happens when the motor cord isn’t long enough to reach the electrical outlet. Appearance matters. This shows how lovely it looks when the drapery properly covers the power cord and electrical outlet.

track to have to be mounted farther away from the wall and/or window, which gives a larger projection into the room. This, in turn, means the need to use longer brackets, longer returns and a larger halo effect.

Another challenge with ripplefold drapery is due to the fabric that hangs below the drapery track. If you don’t upgrade to a decorative track and continue to use a recessed track or some form of top treatment, most standard motorized tracks don’t offer an appealing design aesthetic. There are several drapery track manufacturers that offer decorative motorized tracks.

Other drapery designs that cause issues with motorization include puddled drapes because they do not have enough fullness and require the use of tiebacks. Motorized draperies are designed to be automated, and if the homeowner has to manually dress and tie back the drapes to make them look good or to release the tiebacks in order for the motorized drapery to operate properly, then it’s important to consider what’s the point of using motorization in this type of drapery design.

Thus, when it comes to drapery, it’s critical to have some forethought and to take into consideration not only the design of the drapes but also what occurs when the draperies are motorized and installed. V

An example of how end pleats are not able to compress where the drapery covers the motor.

O’D McKewan is the product coach for Window Covering World and an expert on motorization and industry leader in the field of motorized window coverings. He has extensive hands-on experience with motorized window coverings, including fabrication, installation and selling. » WindowCoveringWorld.com