The Allure of Beaded Curtains (Published 2005) (2024)

Q. I need to cover a window, but I hate curtains, which seem stuffy and old-fashioned. Could you suggest a more modern window treatment?

A. For a fresh idea, think back to Rhoda Morgenstern, Mary Richards's upstairs neighbor on the "Mary Tyler Moore" show, and the colorful bead strands hanging in her front doorway. Although Rhoda was branded an eccentric, her love beads were right on track. Bead curtains give a gentle sense of separation. They filter light but allow plenty through. They give a sense of privacy while providing a view. They are the ultimate noncurtain, whether used in a window or doorway, or as a room divider.

Depending on what they are made of, bead curtains can be sweetly hippie or alluring and elegant. The finest example of elegant is in the Pool Room and Front Bar at the Four Seasons in New York. Philip Johnson's masterpiece of midcentury grace, the restaurant has, among its considerable charms, strings of rippling brass beads strung horizontally in gentle swags down the windows, above.

The company that manufactured them, BCM Architectural, is still around, and while it largely works with architects and designers, it also sells directly to individuals, offering sets of metal beads in various widths, sizes and colors, above right (icy blue is their newest), plus aluminum tracks for mounting.

One consideration is that these curtains do not stack, meaning you can't open them like regular curtains. They need to be tied back or installed in panels that slide in front of one another like sliding doors.

The beads have a lacquer sealant, so cleaning is easy: just vacuum or wipe them down. Prices start at $12 a square foot (including track). For information: shimmerscreen.com.