Elegantly modern window-treatment solutions that play with shadow and light bring hotel-like serenity home.
In association with Luxaflex.
Know the feeling when you push open the door of your boutique hotel room and the calmness settles upon you like a soft cloud? It’s that combo of having hours ahead of you to recharge in a place where the interiors instantly set your schedule to ‘me time’. But it would be a pity to restrict such luxury to weekend breaks when translating the same tricks that lend quiet intention to intimate resorts and chic city accommodation could turn everyday moments in our homes into an opportunity for escape.
Crafting hotel-like tranquillity and sophistication relies on a neutral (yet not too stark) colour palette, where the furniture strikes a balance between clean-lined and comfortable, and the look is layered with warm, textural accessories (but not too many).
Another aspect is the manipulation of light — the Japanese concept of in’ei. They have long understood the power of subdued light, not just for night-time ambience but during the day when the glare, heat and harshness of the sun is the enemy of restfulness.
The best hotel designers know this too: the importance of privacy without darkness, views without glare and window-treatment systems that operate effortlessly in the background — products that are not necessarily remembered or remarkable, but make a world of difference to the experience.
Sheer curtains are often favoured to filter light yet retain a sense of the outdoors, but Lumishade by Luxaflex goes one step further teaming the practicality of a blind with a fluidity of movement. In Lumishade, vertical vanes are made of a softly textured fabric. The vanes rotate to lend privacy and light control, but also drape like a curtain to waft in a gentle breeze. Used full-length across a set of sliding doors, they’re the perfect backdrop to a living or dining room, immediately lending an elegant modernity that brings hotel style to your habitat.
If this vertical treatment isn’t the right solution, similar refinement is found in the horizontal, in Luxaflex Silhouette Shadings. With built-in UV protection for furnishings and art, the blinds are made in sheer fabrics that allow a beautiful washed light into the room.
Diffusing not only light but heat is a pivotal aspect of thoughtful interior design, especially in today’s properties which are usually well-oriented for passive solar gain. The honeycomb structure of Translucent Duette Shades helps to maintain a cooler environment in summer (and warmer in winter) so that stepping into a space is a pleasant welcome, rather than a sensory shock. The subtle light is soothing. In bathrooms, for instance, Duette blinds are practical to capture a sanctuary-like atmosphere where all that’s needed is to sink into a fragrant bubble bath and take a deep breath. Of course, when you’re so relaxed, the last thing you want is to have to jump up to adjust the blind settings. PowerView Automation takes the legwork out of the equation. Blinds can be programmed to move automatically with the sun, or tap a button and it’s done. What could be more luxurious than that?
luxaflex.co.nz