Wallpaper*: Why are so many rooms covered in curtains?

The association between curtains and performance is one reason why the motif is so alluring. In May, the British designer Lee Broom released a new wall covering collection with Calico named Overture that has a trompe l’oeil drapery effect. Broom, who was an actor as a child, has long been fascinated by how set designers were able to use simple materials like fabric and light to transform the stage. According to the designer, the wall covering takes those who experience it on an imaginative journey. ‘Drapery has a natural theatricality to it,’ he says. ‘It’s expressive, fluid, and full of suggestion.’

Rachel Cope, Calico’s creative director and co-founder, appreciates the sense of anticipation the wall covering evokes. It ‘embodies a cinematic stillness – like a breath held just before a curtain rises,’ she says. This emotive quality helps animate rooms. ‘We’re seeing a strong desire for interiors that do more than decorate – they need to narrate, to ground to inspire,’ Cope adds.