Old meets new, minimalism meets drama and handmade meets technology, as the Resene Curtain Collection amps up our indoor spaces.  Bold florals cater to traditional tastes while stylised patterns offer youthful energy.  Fabrics glow with a subtle sheen, and earthy, natural textiles combine with metallic elements to provide a contemporary feel.

 "We often see a metallic story, but this year it’s getting quite big," says Bianca Gardiner, Product Manager for Mollers.

Alongside the metallic look we are also seeing iridescent and pearlised finishes to fabrics.

"Then we are getting a combination of something quite raw with precious elements — prints on hemp or an earthy fabric with a metallic element to it.  Something that you’d consider quite luxurious — the metallic – with something quite earthy like hemp."

While decorative hardware has been dominated by stainless steel for some time, there’s a move towards gold and copper. We’re already seeing it in hard furnishings — copper stools, gilded mirrors and gold products — now it’s merging into our home fabrics. 

"For a long time gold was a big no-no," says Bianca. "But the shade of gold coming through works well with pastels, which are also big at the moment.  Fashion feeds textiles and home furnishing, and home furnishing feeds back into fashion.  It’s push and pull between what’s happening in fashion and then what happens in the home textile market."

The washed floral designs that have been big in fashion recently are now coming through in furnishing and drapery fabrics.  So too, are large-scale prints, the scale of the print getting bigger and bigger.  As society increases its obsession with must-have technological gadgets, we are seeing a desire to counterbalance that with nature.  Native and exotic flowers, leaves and trees and organic objects are big trends. 

"Resene Artiste is a design that’s proving very popular," says Bianca. "It’s a pohutukawa-inspired large-scale print — a sort of painted dandelion design.  It’s got that sort of natural look to it but then we’ve done it in a red colourway that has a nice depth to it. The artwork is also hand-painted." 

That follows on from our incessant craze for crafts and handmade techniques, and it’s a growing trend in fabrics and home décor too. New wallpapers have hand-drawn elements, as do many textiles.  New prints from the Resene Curtain Collection are no exception.

"There is this nice hand-painted quality to all the prints," says Bianca. "They’re not so precise as when you design on the computer so that it has a nice soft natural look to it. And then Resene Artiste, for example, is on a nice natural base cloth, the linen."

Due to our love affair with Scandinavian design, we’re increasingly seeing a range of earthy natural colours complemented with blues, greens and greys.  We’re also seeing an increasing demand for more products with a gentle environmental footprint — natural fabrics like hemp, linen and cotton.  Resene Garden Party, with its large-scale leaf design, is one that stands out.

"It’s 100% hemp, and pre-washed," says Bianca. "Quite often curtaining fabrics are polyesters because they can withstand temperature ranges and they’re very stable. Natural fabrics can move a lot — they shrink, they can be a little unstable and they are a bit hard to sew and to handle.  But this hemp has been pre-washed so that it’s already shrunk." That means once it’s hung it won’t rise or fall, causing unsightly problems.

"Green" design may be popular, but consumers are looking for a more affordable price point for natural fabrics.

"Normally hemp is incredibly expensive but we wanted to make it affordable for people. We are conscious of trying to offer things that are environmentally friendly at an affordable price point.  People should be able to buy something like that and not have it cost so much money."

Texture is big in fashion fabrics and wallpapers and it’s something that’s coming through in curtaining too.  The fabrics need not be bright yellows or oranges to be bold — an understated bold suits our relaxed lifestyles. Textures with slight variations stand out on their own.

Resene Haven, for example, comes in earthy colours and features a textural stripe.  It has a two-tone speckle to the yarn, which gives it a nice natural look.

"It drapes really beautifully, too," says Bianca. "Some fabrics are quite full, they are quite big, whereas this just drapes in a really lovely way. And it goes really well with the prints." A simple backdrop of earthy fabrics can set the scene for other contemporary touches, like brightly coloured accessories and bang-up-to-date hues. 

Luxury fabrics are always part of the curtaining trend — opulent, ornate fabrics with bold patterns and sumptuous textures.  The trend remains popular, but this year’s trends also include sheers — luxury with a twist. Sparkle and glamour cash in on subtlety, playing an understated roll in contemporary design. 

Resene Meander sheer curtains introduce a fine metallic stripe while Resene Pause is notable for its slubs, a natural knobbly texture similar to raw silk and linen.  Resene Pause is the perfect match to Resene Waltz, which is a sumptuous and richly designed graphic floral with all the depth and drama of a European-inspired jacquard fabric. 

"Sheers, if they’re done really well, with nice headings, can look really contemporary," says Bianca.

Eclectic, personal interiors will keep gaining popularity, though equilibrium will shine through with paints that match fabrics.  Each curtain in the Resene Curtain Collection is designed to complement popular and trending Resene colours.  Each comes with a suggested paint colour match.

"In fact, there is a lot of work around matching the paint colours to the fabrics," says Bianca. "Normally when you specify colours you use what’s called Pantone, but paint colours compared to Pantone have so much more in them.  There’s often a bit of grey in them, especially in many Resene colours.  They are very New Zealand.  That’s why it’s great to use the Resene colour palette, because you know the colour will appeal to our local taste."

It also makes for a very pleasant experience when choosing fabrics and paint for a room. 

"Last year one of the girls at work bought some fabrics for her daughter’s new house, and it was "Oh", it was so good.  We just went in there, got the fabric and the paint.  We didn’t have to work out what colour to paint the room."

Which meant more time to simply enjoy her picks of the latest trends. 

View the Resene Curtain Collection online.