Window dressing ideas for french doors
22 Chic French Door Curtain Ideas to Freshen Up Your Space
- Design & Décor
- Interior Decorating
Design: The Plot Binna BurraPhotography: Casa Morgan
A French door is really the best of both worlds–it provides a door with easy access to the outside and offers a large amount of window to let natural light flow in. They are often found in living spaces that have direct access to the outdoors, but they are also wonderful additions to the interior of your home.
But what happens when you swap a set of windows for a French door and still need some privacy? Though you can totally leave them bare for maximum light, you can install curtains the same way you would for windows to add a bit of privacy and give your French door a lot of texture and interest.
Whether you already have French doors you want to cover or you are considering adding a pair to your home, these lovely curtain ideas are perfect for adding privacy without taking away from your doors' beauty.
Don't Get Hung Up on Buying Curtains: Here Are 33 Types You Should Know
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Design: Maggie Griffin Design Photography: Brian Bieder
Curtains are a great opportunity to add color or pattern to your living room, but if you have an immense number of French doors, you may want to keep your curtains simple and understated so as not to take away from the rest of your decor. Pick a neutral color in the same family as the rest of your decor so your space will feel cohesive.
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Design: Maggie Griffin Design Photography: Brian Bieder
An open floor plan dining and kitchen space often has direct access to a patio or backyard. Here, French doors add a classic feel to the room and give the space a more traditional feel. If you have a fairly neutral room, consider a light hue to add a hint of color without overwhelming the room.
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Design: Maggie Griffin Design Photography: Brian Bieder
You should treat your French doors as you would windows and follow the same rules for hanging curtains.
To give your room a grander feel, extend your curtains all the way from the ceiling to the floor. This will give the illusion of higher ceilings and make your space feel even more open and airy.
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Design: Studio Thomas James, IncPhotography: Costa Christ Media
If you have French doors in an area where you don't have a lot of room for curtains, consider something classic such as Roman shades. This is a great way to keep your space elevated, even if curtains or drapes don't fit your room.
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Design: The Plot Binna BurraPhotography: Casa Morgan
We love this bathroom design that features an unexpected French door directly outside. But of course installing French doors in your bathroom means you will definitely want to consider privacy. These airy curtains are opaque enough to lend enough privacy but don't feel too heavy for a bathroom.
12 Places to Find Great Looking Curtains Online
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The Proud Weatherboard
Linen curtains are perfect for giving your space that understated and tranquil vibe.
Keep them extra long and let them kiss the floor to incorporate that easy, breezy feel.
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Regina Sturrock Design
We love the monochromatic color scheme in this room with various shades of light, cool gray. The curtains cover both the French door and the transom windows above the doors, making the room appear larger and taller.
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Design: Interiors by AbodePhotography: SP Photography Ltd
Struggling to find the best curtain color for your French doors? Find an accent color from your room and pull it through to the window coverings.
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Meg Loren
When hanging a curtain rod, consider picking a finish that works well with the rest of your room. Here, a black curtain rod pairs wonderfully with the black door finish to give the whole room a seamless feel.
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New Andrew Home
Adding French doors will bring in a lot of natural light so if you don't need a lot of privacy, consider keeping the curtains sheer.
This is a great way to add a touch of privacy without limiting the amount of natural light that filters in.
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Taylor Wimpey Crofton g
Adding curtain tiebacks is a great way to give your doors that window look and feel while still keeping the direct access to the outdoors.
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Kate Walker Design
You can opt for curtains that standout with a lot of contrast or you can opt for a color that blends into the wall. A curtain that disappears into the wall will allow the eye to focus on the rest of the room and the French doors instead.
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Collins Interiors
One way to add a bit of interest to your room is to pick a color that contrasts with the rest of your home decor without clashing. This can give the space depth.
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Design: Maggie Griffin Design Photography: Brian Bieder
A busy room with a lot of textures and patterns requires a curtain that can stand on its own. Consider a curtain with tassels or pom poms for extra embellishments that lend a lot of visual interest.
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Sash Windows London Ltd
An eye-catching hue such as mustard yellow is perfect for a French door curtain that you want to act as the focal point in the room. The silky fabric also makes a design statement as the rest of the room is kept minimal.
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Tara Fingold Interiors
Consider a subtle pattern that offers a touch of interest without feeing too busy. Keep the color palette soft and understated and go for a classic motif that ups the elegance in any space.
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Ioanna Lennox Design
Your French doors will feel even more elevated if you pick curtains that grace the floor ever so slightly. An extra inch or two will give your room that Parisian apartment feel, no matter how far from France you live.
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Design Lines Signature
Sometimes finding enough room around your French doors can limit your curtain options. If you don't have a lot of wall space on either side of your French doors, pull all of the curtains to one side for an asymmetric look.
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Terri Ricci Interiors
Any natural material, especially wood, feels substantial and should shine on its own. Opt for curtains that play well with the natural materials in your room rather than work against it.
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Rob Stuart Interiors
An interior French door adds a classic element to any room, but you may not want to be able to see what is on the other side. Whether you have a French door as a closet door or you want to separate too windows, add a curtain to better delineate the spaces.
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Elle Design Interiors
There's something incredibly striking and classic about an all-white room. Keep the look going with classic cool white curtains and a white framed French door.
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Sally Rotenstreich
A heavy drape is a great way to make your French doors feel like traditional windows in a classic living room. Playing up the symmetry of the room makes the whole space feel elevated.
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Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Kit Kemp)
Curtain ideas for French and patio doors can be the icing on the cake of a room, perfect for opening up your space. However, left undressed, they can leave a room feeling cold, especially when the weather is chilly or wet. And, if neighbors can see into your home, they are a must.
Patio door ideas – often sliding doors found in more modern rooms, and French door ideas, which are usually double doors that open outwards, are both known for flooding spaces with light.
But practicalities aside, curtain ideas for French and patio doors also allow you to add layering, color, pattern and texture to your rooms, creating an elegant, finished feel that really appeals to us at H&G.
Curtain ideas for French and patio doors
Having a raft of stylish window treatment ideas for every room is essential so you can block out harsh light in the summer and keep rooms warm and cozy in winter.
We’ve put together 10 beautiful curtain ideas for French and patio doors to give you all the inspiration you need.
1. Create a feature by using both paint and curtains
(Image credit: Gunter & Co )
If you are looking for curtain ideas generally, this is a clever idea for all your window frames, whatever their shape or scale. Here, these French doors are fully part of the design process and stand out in their own right. It’s worth noting that this design would work equally well as a curtain idea for patio doors that slide, too.
We asked interior designer Irene Gunter, Founder of Gunter & Co how she put together this stylish scheme:
‘In this Belgravia maisonette design, the bedroom has French double doors which lead out onto a patio. Wall-to-wall curtains were added in front to help block out light and sound when the room is occupied, but by using heavy fabric floor-to-ceiling, the curtains will also help keep out any drafts. As well as these practical elements, the rich textures and deep folds of the Christopher Farr cloth fabric in the curtains help to create a cozy atmosphere in the bedroom when drawn.
’
2. Frame your French doors with bountiful florals
(Image credit: Warner House)
For an all encompassing look, check out this curtain idea for French and patios doors by Warner House .
The key is to frame your doors, allowing the fabric to be pulled right back from the woodwork, and the entire width of the doors to be shown. Hanging the curtains a little above the top of the doors' frames will also make them look taller, while the bottom hem should skim the floor for a smart finish. If you're not sure how to measure for curtains, our step-by-step guide can help you get this right.
3. Add a trim to create an interesting view
(Image credit: Kit Kemp)
French doors that step out onto a balcony? Yes please! When you have a view like this, you want to enhance it, not detract from it.
Again, it’s worth considering how you want to frame it, and this is where trims and tie-backs can come into their own, gently changing the overall shape of the drapes when pulled back.
4. Match curtain ideas for French doors to the rest of your decor
(Image credit: Kelling Designs)
Although this seems obvious, it’s a design feature that can be overlooked, and the other aspect worth remembering is to match your curtain ideas for French doors to your windows too.
‘In terms of colors and pattern, this is really a case of personal preference, however I always opt for neutral curtains if there's a lot of color and pattern in the room already,’ says Emma Deterding, Founder and Creative Director at Kelling Designs .
‘Not only does this help to balance the scheme, but if you have spectacular views out the window or through patio doors, then this will allow them to flow into the room making the room feel a lot larger. If you have a neutral design scheme, then introducing some color and pattern through curtains will not only make a statement, but will automatically draw the eye to the window, again making the room feel more spacious.
’
5. Ensure curtain ideas for patio doors are practical
(Image credit: Emma Lee)
Curtain ideas for patio doors need to tick a few practical boxes. Wispy ethereal fabric looks great in some settings, in the warmer summer months for example, but in the winter when the wind is howling, the wafting drapes will not be wafting for the right reasons!
Instead, the best option is a pair of fully lined curtains that completely cover the entire patio door frame so they capture all the pesky drafts, as Penny Morrison, interior designer at Penny Morrison Studio explains:
‘French doors and patio curtains always make a room feel more cozy! Due to their size, particularly height, it is a great opportunity to use a larger scale pattern. Curtains hung on poles tend to work best. If using a pelmet you need to hang them quite high above the lintel so that the door still functions and that you don’t block too much light.’
6. Curtain ideas for French and patio doors can work with architectural elements
(Image credit: Gunter & Co )
Sometimes you need to consider the original features of your space, for example, in this charming bedroom with patio doors leading out onto a balcony, drapes wouldn’t work.
It has beautiful shutters that were restored so in this case a simple blind will suffice instead of curtains.
‘In this project we often had furniture or radiators below the windows, so having full height curtains was not an option,’ explains Irene Gunter, Founder of Gunter & Co.
‘We used double Roman blinds, whereby the sheer was positioned as close as possible to the window panes. A blackout Roman blind was positioned at the front of the window so you could fully appreciate the beautiful architrave wrapping around the window.’
7. Coordinate blinds with French and patio door curtains
(Image credit: Warner House)
‘Different shapes and sizes of doors and windows may call for different window dressing solutions and using the same fabric for both curtains and blinds is a great way to tie a room together, creating a sense of warmth and depth,’ advised Emma Clarke, Director of Warner House.
‘As shown on the above image, we have used Balmoral as both a curtain and a blind to great effect in the same room.
With both curtains and blinds we recommend the use of beautiful linings. Blackout could be a consideration or interlined for an elegant finish. Adding tape or bullion trims to the bottom edge creates interest bringing individuality to your scheme.’
8. Use your French door curtains to add pattern to a dramatic scheme
(Image credit: ILIV)
If you’re a fan of dark and dramatic, then you can use your French door drapes to soften the look and add pattern. It works really well in this dining room and you can of course match to your seat cushions, table runner and napkins.
It’s all about balance and the finer details, note the chrome pendants match the chrome curtain rails, it’s these small elements that make a scheme work.
9. Choose a curtain print that blends with your outside view
(Image credit: Villa Nova )
When you’re searching for curtain ideas for French and patio doors and the view beyond is perfect, then it really is worth choosing a fabric that features the colors you can see outside.
This Norrland print from VillaNova captures the stillness of forest landscapes and shows you how well it can work – the darker tones match the table top, the taupes pick up the foliage and tree bark and the painterly marks mimic the movement of nature when there’s a light breeze.
10. You don’t always need a matching pair…
(Image credit: Black Edition )
Make a sweeping statement with one single drape held by a holdback. It’s really striking without taking away from the beautiful period detailing above the French doors and coving.
The chosen Zafaro fabric from Black Edition fits perfectly with the wall color and even though this house is old, the fabric teamed with the retro furniture gives it a contemporary edge.
What curtains go with French and patio doors?
The best way to treat French doors in terms of curtains is exactly how you would treat windows. You can chose fabrics that suit your color scheme – this applies to both French and patio doors – and you should consider the weight of the fabric, with lightweights ideal for the summer months, and heavier weight fabrics a better choice for warmth in winter.
Lastly, ensure that curtains for French and patio doors reach to just above the floor – any fabric that drapes on to the floor across a thoroughfare will quickly become grubby.
How do you hang curtains on French and patio doors?
You can hang curtains on French and patio doors the same way as you do with curtains hung at windows, outside of the frame, so that the curtains can be pulled right back from the frame to reveal the entire width of the doors.
Our guide on how to hang curtains will be a useful read if you need more guidance.
Sophie has been an interior stylist and journalist for over 20 years and has worked for many of the main interior magazines during that time, both in-house and as a freelancer. On the side, as well as being the News Editor for indie magazine, 91, she trained to be a florist in 2019 and launched The Prettiest Posy where she curates beautiful flowers for modern weddings and events. For H&G, she writes features about interior design – and is known for having an eye for a beautiful room.
11 tips on how to properly design shop windows
LIFE BEHIND GLASS
How to properly spend money on office and shop window decoration. They say that the theater begins with a hanger, and the store - with a showcase. The showcase is designed to turn just passers-by into store visitors, or better, into buyers. This is a kind of outdoor advertising, in which you can perfectly present the goods of the store. Unfortunately, not all store owners and directors are yet thinking about the need for well-designed shop windows.
EXPERT EVALUATION
We asked the artist to express his opinion about some of the Kyiv showcases. And we ask the owners of the "criticized" stores to consider his opinion not as a "collision" or "undermining a business reputation", but as a benevolent advice. We are confident that behind all these showcases, good products and friendly staff are waiting for buyers.
Introducing the expert
Slava POTIEVSKY,
Artist, designer of brand names of many well-known companies, member of the Union of Designers of Ukraine, winner of the World Poster Exhibition in France, winner of the Kyiv Biennale of Posters: — The main thing in the art of window dressing, as well as in the art of decorating anything whatever it is, it's a taste.
I would put professionalism in second place. I would also definitely mention courage and having an idea. So, taste, courage, professionalism, a good idea - this is the key to good selling windows.
"Unfortunately, many owners of companies do not want to spend money on window dressing - maybe their competition has not yet forced them to do this, there is no saturation with good goods - they are bought anyway, and they don’t need and don’t want to spend big money on window displays. Therefore, they put serial mannequins or dolls, at best, in corporate color jackets. There is still some stylistic unity between the interior and the showcase. But there is no zest, no good sourdough."
"I think it's an interesting and effective solution. It would seem to be an advertisement for jeans, clothes, and the main thing in the composition is a "technical" object - a lens through which the texture of denim is seen, magnified many times over."
WHAT THEY ARE
By design, showcases are of open and closed type.
The first is when the entire store is visible to the passer-by through the glass. This type is also called showcases "to view". Thus, the customer is "let in" inside the store before he decides whether to enter or not to enter. The second type of showcases is when a showcase is separated from the hall by a special partition and the "innards" of the store are not visible to passers-by. Here the emphasis is placed on the shop window, where, in theory, an exposition should be deployed, giving an impression of the entire store. The general style of such showcases is simply obliged to coincide with the interior of the store.
The showcase can also be made of a closed-open type. This is when the space of the hall is only partially visible, and the rest is fenced off with a special (necessarily beautiful and stylish) partition.
WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW
There is no data on which windows have the best effect on passers-by - potential buyers. Only one thing is known for sure - if you have not quite new and presentable commercial equipment, then it is better to hide all this from passers-by behind a beautiful closed showcase. An open shop window is appropriate only where the trading floor is beautiful, clean and bright. Moreover, the specialization of the store does not matter.
According to their design, showcases are subdivided into plot, commodity and commodity-plot.
Story - when the emphasis is not on the goods of the store, but on some invented scene with different elements of decoration. Often these elements are connected with the assortment of the store only by meaning or by some analogies.
Product display cases . Well, commodity-plot ones are, respectively, a mixture of goods with some plot invented by a designer or artist. For example, alien mannequins in the window of a computer store are holding a new product in their hands - laptops or a Little Red Riding Hood doll with a basket of pies from the bakery, in the window of which this doll is located, etc.
Merchandise displays are best used as "silent salesmen" in clothing, souvenir, kitchenware, furniture, lamps, toys, etc.
stores. It is better for grocery stores to make showcases plot or commodity-plot. Firstly, the exposition of real products needs to be changed frequently, and secondly, the buyer knows perfectly well how sausage, cheese or milk look like - there is no point in reminding him of this. In such cases, in order to attract buyers, enlarged copies of the goods are placed in the window - dummies, some dolls are added to them - often cartoon or fairy-tale characters. But in branded wine and vodka stores, they use their own goods for window dressing (but always with a well-thought-out composition). This happened because good wines and liquors, as a rule, have very beautiful packaging and labels. Also, to attract attention, they put in windows and enlarged copies (huge bottles of champagne, wine, vodka). By the way, perfumery and cosmetic stores also "sin" with this - they use both huge dummies of perfumes and creams for showcases, and they simply display goods, surrounding them with phytocompositions, an abundance of fabric, etc.
In addition, showcases can be promotional. This is when the style of the showcase is completely changed for a promotion (discount notifications, sales, new collections, etc.) or on the eve of some holiday (mainly New Year and March 8).
Most often, such showcases (at least, according to the experience of Kyiv) are made in clothing stores, since there is a seasonality of goods and a change of collections. Rarely do these showcases differ greatly from each other. As a rule, the main thing is to focus on sales and discounts. The level of these discounts is written directly on the glass of shop windows with paints from aerosol cans, figures made from film are pasted, and posters are hung on the glass. But the complete sale of the collection is usually arranged as follows: the windows are completely sealed either with advertising posters specially made for this occasion, or simply with wrapping paper (plain), and information about the sale is already applied to the glass.
In general, everything in a shop window depends on what you want to achieve with it.
Or show what a "cool" store you have, or still make a showcase a "silent seller". It often happens that a heaped up interesting showcase attracts passers-by, making onlookers out of them, but no more. And sometimes, on the contrary, modestly exposed mannequins dressed in goods with price tags, it would seem, do not particularly attract the eye, but they act precisely on those who are interested in the goods, and not on idlers.
It is probably not possible to determine the effect in advance. It usually comes down to trial and error. But the number of these errors can be significantly reduced by entrusting window dressing not to the entire store team, but to a special graphic designer (designer) with experience or a merchandiser, or just a person with an art education and good taste. By the way, there are very few professional window dressers in our country. As a rule, this service is provided either by design studios or outdoor advertising agencies. But the latter most often (as BUSINESS had to make sure during the preparation of this material) offer window dressing only with self-adhesive multi-colored films, which is far from always the best option.
EXPERT ASSESSMENT
"This is a classic grocery store for us, sealed with film. Well, why was it sealed? Buying a bright film is not a problem now, the plotter will cut strips-squares. But it was necessary to at least search for an unusual graphic style. Rather In total, the company that pasted over this grocery store was transferred money only for the sticker and cutting of the film, and no one was going to pay for the development of the idea.
"Here, too, film was used, but with more imagination. Clearly, some designer did some work. I think this is a good solution to make such a small showcase bright and attractive."
"This store has always had a spectacular open window. There was at most one vase in it. The trump card of this window is its visibility and openness. The product itself, which the store sells, is beautiful, and there is no point in cluttering the window. in the window, blocking the interior. Here, for example, these New Year decorations.
I think it would be better to decorate the interior itself in a New Year's way, and not hang rain and toys in the window."
WHAT IS "GOOD" ...
We found an interesting showcase solution in Kyiv. The salon for the sale of elite souvenirs made closed deep showcases, which he designed in the form of gift boxes. All showcases are fully decorated with gift wrapping paper, and inside these pseudo-boxes there are souvenirs from the store's assortment, as if hinting that they are already ready to be presented as a gift.
Showcase likes:
- Experienced graphic designers with good taste, imagination and sense of proportion.
- Smart color combination. Red and black velvet with an abundance of golden fringes is an attribute, rather, of a funeral services agency, and not of a jewelry store.
- Good light. The impression that the showcase will cause in a potential buyer largely depends on it. The type of lighting is different. Which type will be used in a particular case depends largely on the general design idea and the characteristics of the goods.
Two types of artificial light are basic - general diffused and directional with accentuation of objects and details. The main tools in the lighting design of shop windows are a beam of light and an illuminated spot. As a rule, the main type of lamp in the organization of display lighting is a source of directional light - spot (from the English spot). In addition to lighting compositions or mannequins, background lighting is also used. In general, most of the techniques used by designers and shop window decorators are similar to those used in staged photography and scenography. When choosing lighting for a showcase, it must be taken into account that its perception at night and daytime, in different weather, is different. But the shop window should look attractive at all times. In addition, when direct sunlight hits the display glass, a reflection effect occurs. Therefore, in the daytime, the shop window must be highlighted. - Experiments. Showcases in which real people "live", showcases with some plot characters or scenes, moving, even talking objects (toys, corporate symbols, pendulums, etc.
). - Beautiful price tags on all the goods displayed on it. If this is the season of discounts, then with the obligatory indication of the size of the discount.
- Competent compositional solution. A composition is considered correct in which all objects, as they say, are in place. If at least one object is removed from it, then the integrity of the "picture" is completely violated. In a bad composition, you don’t notice such a disappearance of an object.
- Compliance with the principle of spatial perspective in relation to the views of pedestrians-shoppers. Often a great idea of a designer works only when viewed from afar. But pedestrians are still more likely to view shop windows up close.
- Compliance of the design style with the image of the store.
- The presence of "full-fledged" copies of people - dummies, even with indifferent and indifferent faces. True, a lot here also depends on how, for example, the clothes "sit" on the mannequin, how competently and stylishly the set of clothes is chosen.
- Beautiful doors. They should not be more beautiful than a shop window, but they cannot gape like a dark hole either. It is better if the doors are in the same tone as the showcase, lighter or completely transparent.
- Well-maintained and renovated facade of the building where the showcase is located. Otherwise, making the window attractive will not work at all. If the funds are not enough, then the building must be repaired and painted at least at the level of the first floor (if the store is one-story).
DESIGNER'S ADVICE
Anatoly NOVICHENKO,
shop window decorator:
— The main thing in shop window design is composition. In accordance with the idea, you make a sketch and work on it further. By the way, often the sketch shows all the shortcomings of the intended design.
Each shop window design has its own specifics. Depending on this, you need to draw it up. For example, a store has only one small showcase, then it would be most rational to use its side planes (walls) so as not to clutter up the space.
And when there are a lot of shop windows, you can not limit yourself.
For example, in TSUM there are closed, deep, compact and tall storefronts - they use this advantage. In general, I think that these are the most successful designs of showcases in Kyiv.
There are also rules for color composition. For shop windows, they are also very important. You need to choose the main color, a color spot (the so-called glare fang), on which the buyer will focus his attention, and build the rest of the "picture" on its basis. Cost of design
The cost of window dressing depends on a huge number of parameters. For reference, we will give a few figures.
A new mannequin ("headless") for advertising clothes in shop windows will cost you about $300-400 apiece.
A simple decoration of two square meters of a showcase with a self-adhesive film will cost you from 200-300 UAH. (this includes both a sketch, and curly cutting of a film with a plotter, and a sticker).
Commodity-plot or just a composite showcase will cost you no less than $500. The design of an open showcase of one large sports store in Kyiv (two planes of about 12 sq.m each) cost the owners at least $5,000.
Cheaper or practically free (excluding the work of a decorator) are shop windows decorated with beautiful promotional materials of product suppliers (usually perfume and cosmetic stores go this way).
A classic showcase for a large clothing store (regardless of size) with four dressed mannequins will cost around $1600-2000. But this is a one-time investment (the main part of the amount will be spent on the purchase of mannequins) - then the mannequins are simply dressed in clothes of new collections or, at most, decorate the space around them with something else. This "something else" could be cloth, children's toys, paper, and so on. Accordingly, you will have to pay extra for the purchase of these materials (provided that you have a full-time decorator).
...AND WHAT IS "BAD"
Unusual and attractive showcase solution - textile.
The clown is made voluminous, in the form of pillows, and therefore it turned out to be very good-natured. Moreover, part of it (back) is located in one showcase, and the head is already in another. This created a single image of the showcase.
Showcase does not like:
- Untidy, unkempt. Especially - dust on the scenery and unwashed glass.
- Cheap materials (decorations made of cheap plush, poorly colored papier-mâché, ordinary electric light bulbs screwed into "soviet" cartridges, etc.). And in general, the use of copies of the advertised product in the windows, for example, photographs on light-boxes (boxes with illumination) instead of a "live" thing, is considered unjustified.
- Lack of sense of proportion. When an exhibition of store goods is made from it (showcases), thereby cluttering it up and creating the impression of a cluttered warehouse.
- Grilles on glasses. Of course, if you do not trade in these same gratings or forged products.
In other cases, it is better to replace the grilles with durable (armored, bulletproof) glass. - Ordinary and mossy. At least once a year you need to change the exposure. Ideally, the display should be changed from season to season, from one discount season to another. Even if you have a food store where there are no discounts and seasonality, still occasionally at least rearrange and swap displays in the windows.
- Schematics. With the rare exception of the figure, the logos applied to the glass look rather wretched and unimpressive.
- Kitsch (if this is not the designer's idea). The impact "on the forehead", through a direct analogy - a purely post-Soviet approach.
- Mannequins without arms and legs, if they do not fit into the general design idea.
- When the interior space of the trading floor is poor, and the showcase is open. Especially if the display window is huge, and the internal perspective of the hall behind it is not visible (for example, it is blocked by some kind of counter, worst of all, if its back side).
NO PERMITS REQUIRED
No window display permits required. Do what you want, when you want.
AUTHORS? AUTHOR!
In the West, in the windows of large shopping centers one can sometimes see a photo and biography of the artist - its author.
This work is highly paid there. In our country, unfortunately, shop windows are seriously dealt with only in those stores that are located on the main streets, and even then not always.
WHO DESIGNS
In large stores and supermarkets window dressing (where they are! In Kiev, not all supermarkets have shop windows. - Ed.), As a rule, full-time decorators are engaged in window dressing. They must have an art education (but not necessarily experience as window dressers).
In other stores, window dressing functions are often performed by trained (again, in-house) merchandisers or designers.
Those who cannot afford to maintain a full-time decorator have to use the services of hired decorators.
Often, decorators from large stores cheat by decorating other people's windows.
In addition, such artists can be found in advertising agencies specializing in outdoor advertising, in design studios.
Large shops are often styled by the advertising agencies of which they are clients.
For those who are looking for a graphic designer, we can advise you to visit art institutes and look for promising guys with good taste there.
DESIGNER'S ADVICE
Olga KONDRATIEVA,
designer of "Grand Gallery" clothing store:
- The main thing that is required from a shop window is that people want to enter the store. In my opinion, the most working (in terms of attracting customers) are product windows. People are inherently lazy. And a showcase should not only attract the attention of a person, but also encourage him to buy. This is best done with the help of a product displayed in a window with beautiful price tags.
A non-objective (non-commodity) showcase makes a person think, and the first rule of merchandising says that a person should not think - he should see and then subconsciously decide whether he needs this product or store.
And story-like display cases are not good for increasing sales in a store, but, perhaps, for increasing loyalty to a particular brand, that is, they work for the future. We quite often change the exposure, change the clothes of mannequins. This happens once a week. We set ourselves such a deadline.
In our country, no one teaches the proper design of shop windows. For example, I am a fashion designer by education, and I gained experience abroad - I just went and watched how shop windows were decorated there, what materials were used, etc.
© Alevtina Kukharchuk "BUSINESS"
rules, design styles, principles, examples, types
Showcases are not only the face of the store, but also a powerful advertising tool: their original appearance makes potential buyers want to enter the store, take a closer look , touch, try on and ultimately make a purchase. That is why a whole team of artists and designers who know how to present the product in the most favorable light is working on window dressing.
Window dressing is a real art. Today, specialists in pursuit of leadership in this field are developing more and more unusual ways to demonstrate products and services. But, as in every area of applied art, there are basic principles and rules in the field of window dressing. We will tell you about what shop windows are and reveal the intricacies of working on their design.
Showcase as an advertising tool
Marketers claim that showcases are almost as effective as print ads in a major publication. They are a kind of visiting card of shopping facilities and perform a number of important functions:
- constant brand reminder to consumers
- presentation of the most popular products and services of the company
- promotion of a new product line
- notification of buyers about promotions and discounts
- creating a certain image and convincing the consumer of the high quality of products and services
- influence on the subconscious of people and create in them a desire to purchase goods
Using a showcase as an advertising medium has certain advantages:
- direct impact on the buyer directly at the place of sale of goods and services: having become interested in the advertised product, a person has the opportunity to immediately visit a store, salon or institution
- variety of options and room for imagination in design for any budget
- the ability to change the design at any time
The only disadvantage of showcases as advertising media is their locality, that is, they attract only those consumers who regularly or periodically pass by a particular outlet.
Types of modern shop windows and features of their design
Perhaps the layman will be surprised, but the classification of shop windows is quite extensive. There are several characteristics according to which they are divided into certain types.
According to the degree of openness:
- open - designed in such a way that the room is visible from the street
- closed - does not provide an opportunity to see the internal structure of the hall, since a special partition is installed between it and the showcase. As a rule, a banner is fixed on it, covered with paint or draped.
- semi-open - combines both
According to the method of configuration and length:
- a single extended - its advantage is a large area, which provides maximum scope for the imagination of designers
- multiple - divided into several blocks, therefore, limits the possibilities for the implementation of ideas.
It is often designed using a series of images or text messages. - double decker - great for creating a large display visible from a distance
- multi-storey - is equipped on the buildings of large companies and enterprises. Making a showcase of this size is a rather expensive undertaking, but it allows you to embody unusual ideas and, due to its size, cover a huge audience.
- corner - at first glance, it is not the most convenient option, but it has its advantages: it allows you to create three-dimensional compositions and presents the product to two streams of passers-by at once.
By content and decoration:
- commercial - used exclusively for the presentation of the assortment
- plot - in their design, the emphasis is on the visual component, and not on the product
- commodity - a combination of the two described types promotional
- (informational) - perform the task of informing consumers about promotions and discounts
By main function:
- trade – attract customers with actual goods, usually seasonal
- fashion – showcases do not just display goods – a real exquisite composition in a unique style is created behind the glass.
Today, many designers are inspired by examples of designing fashion showcases of famous brands. Just like in the fashion world, there are trends that need to be followed in order to keep up with the competition.
Showcase Styles
Showcases and shop interiors should always be designed in the same style. Today, loft, Scandinavian style, minimalism, Provence and retro are especially popular.
The top best examples of window dressing today include many works by European designers: London department stores Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, French fashion houses Hermès and Louis Vuitton, as well as the Lanvin brand, the Milanese clothing store Moncler.
Principles of designing modern shop windows
When thinking through the design, specialists follow a certain algorithm and are guided by the rules for designing a shop window:
- development of the concept and design is preceded by market research and identification of the target audience
- a preliminary assessment of the technical features of the showcase is carried out, the distance between the future exposition and pedestrians is measured, since the number of objects used and their distribution in space depends on it
- evaluates the resistance of the materials used to ultraviolet radiation.
