g Experts Offer Top Tips On Design Trends (NAPSA)—From simplified elegance to earth-friendly style, there are several trends that are guiding interior design choices this year, such as: e Simplified Elegance. Roderick Shade of New York City, selected by Architectural Digest as one of the top designers, thinks one of the most important trends in home design is “paring down.” People want fewer but finer things. Gone are yesterday’s McMansions. A terrific complement to this new tailored design is brand-new Pirouette window shadings from Hunter Douglas with soft fabric vanes that float over a sheer backing. The vanes can look crisply straight-edged to add an architectural element to windowsorsoftly rounded to achieve the mood you want—closed and cozy or open and energetic—obtained by a gentle pull on a single cord. It is one of the most versatile window coverings on the markettoday. e Splashes of Color. According to Shade, people are yearning for color in refined “shots,” such as “a couple of green chairs or an eggplant-shaded area rug against a neutral setting.” For fashion-forward color at the window, Pirou- ette shadingsare offered in a total of 44 fabric/color combinations. e Shine, Shine and More Shine. Amy Lau, New York City interior designer and co-founderof the Design Miamifair, says one of the most important trends is shine and mirrorlike images. This calls for metallic finishes and surfaces on everything from walls to furniture to vases, in a dazzling yet refined manner. Haute High-Tech. Lau also thinks anything that makes people’s ever-faster lives easier to manageis “in.” But not just anything will do. The design has to be Fashion-forward window treatments like Pirouette window shadings add shimmering color at the window as well as harness the powerof natural light. both fabulous and functional, such as the new countertop devices that create a shopping list and with a click have everything delivered to your house, or entire walls of window fashions that open and close, raise and lower with the touch of a button. e Earth-Friendly Style. “Great design stimulates all of the senses,” according to Erik Kolacz, co-partner of the Chicago-based Contrast Design Group, “including the environment welive in.” One way to incorporate this theme in the homeis with Duette Architella™ honeycomb shades, which feature more air pockets than traditional honeycomb shades, thus dramatically increasing resistance to heat loss in colder months and protecting against heat gain in summer. Another treatment for those in tune with nature is Greenscape. This new line of residential screen fabrics is PVC-free, earth-friendly and recyclable with no off-gassing. To learn more, visit www. hunterdouglas.com or call (800) 274-2985.
