After the great curtain overload of the 1980's - all those voluminous lengths of material weighed down with swags and cascades, tassels and tieback - there was, not surprisingly, a backlash. A new attitude took hold in interior design. Fussy curtains were pulled down and consigned to the attic or thrift store, and windows were dressed with very simple curtains, or not at all. Nevertheless, that reaction against the excesses of the past is now over, and people are once again taking pleasure in choosing and using all sorts of drapery and design.

Draperies and shades are practical objects, valuable for keeping in the warmth and keeping out the light, but they are also - as they have always been - an integral element of interior decoration. Just as important as the style of furniture or the color of the walls are the curtains you choose. Their texture and design, color and pattern are part of the essentials that make a successful room. They add a necessary softness and fluidity whose absence would render the best-designed rooms hard and cold.