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    Eight home interiors where full-length curtains add a touch of drama

    From a glitzy Parisian apartment to a converted garage in Buffalo, New York, our latest lookbook collects eight residential interiors where floor-to-ceiling curtains inject a theatrical feel.

    Curtains aren’t just for covering windows. A set of statement drapes can be an easy way to significantly change the mood of a room, particularly in apartment renovations.
    The selection below features curtains in stage-like living rooms, rough-edged bedrooms and cosy working nooks.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring interiors with statement carpets, furry walls and colourful bedrooms.
    Photo is by Luis Díaz DíazReady-made Home, Spain, by Azab

    Duck-egg blue curtains help to create a flexible open-plan layout at this apartment in Bilbao that was overhauled by architecture studio Azab, running the length of the living-dining-kitchen area to conceal storage space and a bathroom.
    “The curtains have theatrical and playful connotations and invites the inhabitant to perform with it, to change the space and to play with the mysteries, contradictions and paradoxes that privacy offers us beyond morality,” said the studio.
    Find out more about Ready-made Home ›
    Photo by Rory GardinerRuckers Hill House, Australia, by Studio Bright
    In this extension to an Edwardian family home in Melbourne, architecture practice Studio Bright raised the sitting room on a curved plinth, giving it a stage-like quality.
    Enhancing the effect is a heavy green curtain hung from the ceiling, which can be drawn across to turn the space into an impromptu theatre for the children to play in.
    Find out more about Ruckers Hill House ›
    Photo by Félix Dol MaillotAvenue Montaigne apartment, France, by Uchronia
    Sheer, rainbow-effect curtains cover the balconies of this opulent Haussman-era Parisian apartment, renovated by local studio Uchronia.
    Even the walls echo the curtains’ gradations of colour, while the brightly toned furnishings are designed to resemble pieces of jewellery.
    Find out more about this apartment ›
    Photo by Michael SinclairGas-holder apartment, UK, by Roksanda Ilincic
    Fashion designer Roksanda Ilincic brought her proclivity for bold colours and shapes to this London penthouse inside a former Victorian gas holder.
    Pale pink Kvadrat curtains over the full-height windows cast a rose-tinted hue over the rooms, where the colour palette is kept mostly neutral apart from some pops of bright yellow.
    Find out more about this apartment ›
    Photo by Florian HolzherrBig Space, Little Space, USA, by Davidson Rafailidis
    Peeling paintwork, uneven concrete floors and distressed wooden beams lend a distinctly rough-and-ready feel to this home-slash-workspace in Buffalo created out of a garage conversion by design studio Davidson Rafailidis.
    For the most part, the space is minimally furnished, apart from a set of high and wide drapes that introduce a luxurious twist.
    Find out more about Big Space, Little Space ›
    Photo by Norihito YamauchiLandscape House, Japan, by FORM/Kouichi Kimura Architects
    Upon entering Landscape House in central Japan, designed by Japanese studio FORM/Kouichi Kimura Architects, one is greeted by a lengthy corridor lined entirely on one side by a full-length silver curtain.
    The fabric echoes a raw concrete feature wall on the opposite side of the corridor, as well as referencing the extensive use of metal throughout the building.
    Find out more about Landscape House ›
    Photo by ONI StudioPops, Poland, by Furora Studio
    Furora Studio wanted the design of this holiday apartment in Kraków to be slightly more outrageous than the standard residential interior.
    A velvety, salmon-pink curtain dresses an entire wall in the open-plan kitchen and living room, adding to a plethora of sugary colours and rounded edges.
    Find out more about Pops ›
    Photo by Maxime BrouillettMaison-Boutique Coloniale, Canada, by Michael Godmer and Mathieu Turgeon
    Most of the spaces inside Maison-Boutique Coloniale in Montreal – renovated by designers Michael Godmer and Mathieu Turgeon as their own residence and studio – are pared-back and neutral.
    But in an office space on the basement level, plush orange curtains line the walls, combined with dim pendant lighting and a black table arrangement by Muuto and &tradition for an intimate effect.
    Find out more about Maison-Boutique Coloniale ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring interiors with statement carpets, furry walls and colourful bedrooms.

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    Lovers Unite wraps Bar Chelou in Pasadena with expressive drapery

    Late artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude influenced the dramatic drapery around this restaurant in Pasadena, California, designed by Los Angeles studio Lovers Unite.

    Conceived by chef-owner Douglas Rankin as a take on a Parisian bistro, Bar Chelou opened earlier this year in a building in a Spanish Colonial Revival plaza next to the Pasadena Playhouse.
    Natural muslin is draped around Bar Chelou, emulating the works of Christo and Jeanne-ClaudeLovers Unite had just a few weeks to transform the space into an operational dining room, so looked to ways it could make maximum impact with minimal time.
    The studio found inspiration in the legacy of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, who famously wrapped some of the world’s most recognisable monuments in giant swaths of fabric – most recently the Arc du Triomphe in Paris, which was realised a year after Christo’s death.
    The duo’s seemingly effortless but meticulously planned drapery is echoed on a much smaller scale around the Bar Chelou space, which was formerly a Baroque-themed restaurant called Saso.

    The restaurant in Pasadena features copper-topped tables that reflect light from an amber glass chandelier”We felt the spirit of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work was a good conceptual fit for a project, which is supposed to evolve over time, but we’re able to be referential while being playful with our approach,” Lovers Unite told Dezeen.
    “Translating the gesture of the wrap to a human scale and a hospitality context changes the meaning and impact of the gesture — it’s not necessarily an artwork but it’s evocative and surprising.”
    Patrons enter via an arched doorway, and are immediately met with the sight of natural muslin fabric hung around the walls and above the bar.
    Curtains surround the dining room and offer glimpses of the kitchen in places”Upon entering, one might feel as if they are visiting an expansive and uncluttered artist’s studio in a transitory state; hints abound that change is coming,” said the Bar Chelou team.
    Lifts and pleats in the curtains created by thick ropes reveal the chefs at work in the kitchen, as well as framing views of the arched windows seen in mirrored panels.

    Great White Melrose in LA offers outdoor dining on a pink-plaster patio

    A dark shade of green was chosen to contrast the natural muslin and is used across the dining room floor and built-in leather banquettes.
    Similarly coloured tiles clad the front of the walnut-topped bar counter at the front, which is slightly lower that the main dining area and offers additional seating.
    A dark shade of green chosen to contrast the fabric covers the front of the bar counterThonet-style bistro chairs accompany polished copper cafe tables, which reflect the light from a custom, amber glass chandelier that spans the length of the room.
    Walls were painted to match the hue of the curtain fabric, and the window frames are bright green.
    Light pours into the bar area through arched windows with frames painted bright greenPasadena located is northeast of Los Angeles, where many new restaurants with notable interiors have opened over the past few months.
    Among them are the retro-futurist 19 Town designed by Jialun Xiong, and Great White Melrose, which offers outdoor dining on a pink-plaster patio.
    The photography is by Chris Mottalini.

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    Domino Architects divides reusable sales showroom with fabric walls

    Sheer curtains that look like translucent walls were used to divide up the structure of this temporary showroom space in Japan created by Domino Architects.

    Shortlisted in the large retail interiors category of Dezeen Awards 2022, PROUD Gallery Gotanda aims to offer a solution to the wasteful practice of producing condominium showrooms – temporary structures near new developments that are used as a base for sales teams.
    The showroom was created by Domino ArchitectsThe showrooms, which are usually built and then demolished within a matter of years once the units are all sold, typically contain a customer reception and seating area, as well as rooms for meetings and presentations. These are all styled with the target customer in mind.
    “It’s like a theme park with effects to motivate people to buy,” said the architecture studio.
    “As entertainment, it is very interesting, but we wonder if this method of spending a large amount of energy each time is really appropriate for this age.”

    Arches were constructed using mesh curtainsDomino Architects worked with HAKUTEN and Nozomi Kume from Studio Onder de Linde to create a more sustainable alternative for Nomura Real Estate Development and its PROUD condominium brand in Tokyo.
    Built using the prefabricated skeleton structure of an existing Nomura showroom, the layout of PROUD Gallery Gotanda is easy to change, expand and reconstruct.

    Beyond Space drapes one kilometre of fabric across Amsterdam office

    The steel structure is wrapped with light curtains while the partitions inside the business meeting space are made from “foldable walls”, which are curtains with a wall-like thickness.
    These foldable walls have arched openings and can be repositioned so that the layout can be easily changed according to purpose.
    “By carefully examining the sheen, curves, and colour overlap of the curtains, we were able to create an elegant and light space that does not feel like a rugged prefabricated structure,” the studio said.
    The arches can be moved and repositionedThe materials and samples used in the planned condominiums are subtly incorporated into the interior as part of the showroom’s furniture and fixtures.
    The idea is to allow the buyer to imagine a space rather than be entirely dictated to.
    In Amsterdam, design studio Beyond Space has created an office interior in Amsterdam that uses rippling laser-cut fabric to form cave-like spaces for working.
    The photography is by Gottingham.

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  • Ljubljana apartment by Arhitektura d.o.o features mobile steel furnishings and silver curtains

    Arhitektura d.o.o has fit out this apartment in the Slovenian capital with metallic moveable furniture so its owners can adapt the layout to suit their busy social lives. The apartment, named Rubikum for Three, is situated just outside the centre of Ljubljana and belongs to a young couple and their pet dog. They had previously
    The post Ljubljana apartment by Arhitektura d.o.o features mobile steel furnishings and silver curtains appeared first on Dezeen. More

  • Bronze chainmail curtains add drama to Qualia restaurant in Mumbai

    Undulating chainmail curtains lend a stage-like quality to the open kitchen of this Mumbai restaurant designed by Serie Architects. Qualia is set on the ground floor of Mumbai’s Lodha World One skyscraper and has been designed to let diners “feel part of the entire practice of cooking”. To achieve this, Serie Architects orientated all of […] More

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    Ater Architects uses blue curtains as walls in Kyiv apartment

    Cobalt-blue curtains hang in place of walls in a small apartment in Kyiv renovated by Ukrainian architecture and interiors studio Ater Architects. Called EGR Apartment, the 65-square-metre space was cramped, featuring a compartmentalised layout with separate rooms connected by corridors. The owners, a  young couple, asked Ater Architects to transform it into a light and […] More

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    Azab swaps partitions for pale-blue curtains inside Bilbao family home

    Floor-to-ceiling curtains carve up the interior of this open-plan apartment in Bilbao, Spain, which has been overhauled by architecture studio Azab. Called Ready-made Home, the project is set within a rationalist-style residential building that was built in the 1960s. It has an unusual semi-circular floor plan that looks westwards out across a plaza, with views […] More