. . . whether always elegant silk or sumptuous velvet, billowing, pooled, or luxuriously layered, curtains & shades always add a layer of texture, depth and style to a space, and ever since rita konig’s neo-english manhattan bedroom and hamish bowles‘ parisian grande hallway/drawing gallery {center}, have fallen for the elegant ruching of balloon shades, their romantic, old-world charm and the sense of grandeur they lend to any room . . .