Cover-up isn't the issue. For most, windows are welcome -- the more, the merrier. They usher in natural light, and sunshine is a surefire pick-me-up. There is that privacy thing -- you don't want to feel like you're living in a fishbowl. But equally important, is the matter of decor's finishing touch, the punctuation and warmth (both visual and physical) that fabric adds, in the form of well-chosen window treatments.

"Draperies are an important design element," says Marta Enriquez, director of interior design for Ethan Allen. "They can be used to filter light and protect furniture, to darken a room, and to keep it cooler or warmer. They can open up a space or make it appear cozier -- depending on how they are hung -- and can be used to add color and texture. They are great for drawing the eye to a beautiful view or architectural (element) you want to showcase."

Although some types of draperies (here's looking at you, swag) seem fussy or dated, working with an interior style and architecture for an appropriate complement will net major design dividends.

But buying window treatments is not as easy as snapping up a chair. Or is it?

That depends on whether or not your windows themselves are standard issue, meaning their measurements. If the dimensions are not unusually wide or tall, you're in luck. Most retailers today carry ready-made (or off-the-rack, in fashion parlance) draperies. The price ranges from just a little bit more than nice shower curtains (around $40) to several hundred dollars and up, depending on fabric (quality and how much of it), whether or not there's a lining, complexity of style (rod pocket, where fabric is folded over and stitched to allow sliding into the rod, is the simplest construction), and trims.

That's not all. There's quite the range in fabric and pattern styles -- from elegant silks and velvets to nubby linens and smooth cottons, from opaque to sheer, from stripes (skinny or fat) and geometrics to ikats and zigzags, from florals to paisleys. The designs can be screen or digitally printed, even embroidered.

Another bonus: dressmaker details. Contrast borders, ribbon ties, pompon edging, ruching (a kind of puckering), bands at the top, bands at the bottom, even nailheads or grommets used to define. The punctuation also is setting off top treatments like fixed boxy headers or loose valances.

"Cool white linen panels," for example, "can offer simple, sophisticated style on their own," says Enriquez. "But when you add a Greek key tape trim, the same panels take on a more classic, elegant look."

As in most other segments of home decor, fashion also is influencing drapery design -- from materials to accoutrements.

"Just as rich color and textures have been all over the runways this year," says Enriquez, "we're seeing those same trends in home decor. Luxurious fabrics, brilliant new embellishments and hardware options. Many designers also favor ultra-feminine looks and colors, so light, airy sheers are in vogue again."

But what to call them: draperies, drapes or curtains? Years ago, there was a kind of snobby distinction. Drapery was reserved for more formality, while curtains fell into the more casual beat (like cafe style, hung on the bottom half of a double-hung window, which often shows up in breakfast rooms. Designers often grimaced if the word "curtain" was uttered, though even cafe curtains are better looking today (check out Ballard Designs' checks with pretty French pleats and solid grosgrain ribbon trims, particularly fetching in black and white).

Curiously, retailers are referring mostly to curtain categories, although Pottery Barn hedges its bets by dropping all three names. Further, PB features two videos on its website that address "how to hang a drapes," and "how to hang curtains," but honestly, no revelations about what's the dif. Other sites offer tips that include how to measure, create fuller effects and puddle, with six to eight inches at the bottom for added oomph.

What all have in common, of course, is panels. When you're purchasing, that's what you need to know -- the width and length of a panel. Most panels are 50 inches wide; when doubling up (to open in the middle) that covers a good-sized space -- a little more than eight feet across. If that doesn't do it, you can purchase additional panels (and have them sewn together, if you like). More choices of lengths are available today, generally from 48 up to 120 inches. That full 10 feet happily handles windows in spaces with tall ceilings.

With sheers trending, some gauzy looks are especially suited to those loft settings, because they're light and airy -- even in bold hues like fashion-forward yellow. Crate and Barrel's French/Belgian linen is transparent enough to allow filtered light, and is attractively flow-y, to soften a modern layout.

Another semi-sheer, tie-dyed print on polyester, is even bolder because of pattern, but with an eclectic enough spirit that's a wonderful counterpoint in dark gray on white to shades of blue in a contemporary room, like one designed by Crate and Barrel.

Of course, a sheer linen in natural goes with pretty much everything. It's especially fetching in the presence of weathered or light woods, baskets and other natural materials, as seen at Pottery Barn.

Patterns can lead or follow design themes. Flora or fauna, especially in more modern, open styles, can lend a tropical or outdoorsy vibe. Geometrics often are a favorite go-to with mid-century styles. Velvet has become a more popular option -- and in brighter colors (a surprisingly modern choice), one that can add a bit of visual heft and suede-y texture in a simple design. And silk, especially lush taffetas, lends a ballroom-gown elegance to rooms calling out for more dressed-up decor.

Drapery accessories also have ramped up, with more attention now showered on finishes and shapes of rods (with some squarish alternatives), and stylish finials in metal, ceramic, resin. Mercury glass, so popular in furnishings accessories, has found a home in sparkly golden finials, for example, at Anthropologie. Tiebacks also are far more fetching than "self-ties," made out of the same fabric as the curtains, some even crafted in leather.

Going the custom route, of course, appeals to those who want to orchestrate a more personalized expression, choosing more exclusive fabrics and details, through decorators or programs such as Drapery Expressions at Ethan Allen (not available online), which offers choices of thousands of fabrics, trims and hardware options plus designers to help navigate the process.

At the high end, custom is as fabrics go; some ornate or sumptuous imported materials may command price tags of $1,000 per yard, times the amount of yardage (say 30 for full treatment on a few windows), PLUS labor -- and you'll quickly see how intimidating those numbers can be.

Online shopping is attractive because it's easy -- and offers almost instant gratification.

Says Enriquez: "That enables (consumers) to get the look and feel of custom with the ease and affordability of ready-made."

Sources

-- Anthropologie, 800-309-2500, www.anthropologie.com

-- Ballard Designs, 800-536-7557, www.ballarddesigns.com

-- CB2, 800-606-6252, www.cb2.com

-- Country Curtains, 800-937-1237, www.countrycurtains.com

-- Crate and Barrel, 800-967-6696, www.crateandbarrel.com

-- Ethan Allen, 888-324-3571, www.ethanallen.com

-- Pottery Barn, 888-779-5176, www.potterybarn.com

-- West Elm, 888-922-4119, www.westelm.com

SIDEBAR A

MAKING THE MOST OF THE LITTLE THINGS

You can't help but notice the details that distinguish some of the most fashionable draperies today. Even the simplest style -- shirred on top or folded over rod pocket -- can be dressed to transform it from plain to styling.

Banding -- at the top or bottom -- sometimes as deep as 12 inches, can be subtle or dramatic, in the same tone or contrast color or even pattern. Edging can simply be a sewn strip in a different color. Or it can be a ribbon trim in a pattern, like a Greek key design, which adds a sophisticated touch. Tassels or self-ties can add further punctuation.

Pompon or ball fringe dresses the edges of draperies, too, especially striking in a color picked up from a patterned fabric, like a golden yellow check and creamy white.

SIDEBAR B

AN EYE ON THE DETAILS

Even drapery hardware has stepped up in style. Once limited to designer-only sourcing, both design and materials have become much more fashion-forward.

This is especially visible when it comes to finials and tiebacks. From mercury glass to hammered or burnished metals, the added ends of rods leave open a lot of choices from the most prevalent spheres to other shapes, even charming dimensional ones like dogs.

(For editorial questions, please contact Universal Uclick at -uueditorial@amuniversal.com)

Color trends come and go, but certain hues are perennial hangers-on. Take red, for example.

Chicago interior designer Alessandra Branca is a known red lover. When she designed a collection of fabrics for Schumacher, red played a starring role. Sometimes her approach is playful, like pairing red-and-white ticking stripe lampshades with antique gilt bronze candlestick lamps. Google her work, and the rooms that pop up are laced with the fiery hue that seems to explode in every shot. She mostly likes it on the coral side, and the fact that she's pretty passionate about Pompeian shades speaks to her Italian heritage.

New York-based designer Alexa Hampton knows how to shake things up with red. While most of the furnishings she designs for Hickory Chair are classic, quiet neutrals with occasional bursts of color, she wowed High Point, North Carolina, furniture marketgoers when she rolled out several entire spaces in ravishing red. On the walls, in upholstery, as accessories -- and, for ultra drama, as a kind of racing ribbon stripe down the backside of a zebra-patterned chair.

"Red wakes you up," says Hampton. "When you paint a room red, you have a point of view, so don't use it if you want to hedge."

Like red lipstick, we love the stroke of sass. It's bold. It's sexy. Like a lightning bolt, it instantly grabs your attention. It's loaded with energy. It evokes passion and love, which is why it will be much talked about this month, with all those cliches of hearts and red roses, the color of valentines. But perhaps especially because the Pantone Color of the Year for 2015 is not red, but Marsala.

Pantone describes the color as a "robust and earthy wine red and says Marsala "enriches our minds, bodies and souls."

While the chip appears to be a milky, chocolatey rose, interpretations run from maroon to burgundy, dusty to dark. There are subtle differences in all reds from wine-y to bright, and designers seem to be tap dancing to find the part of the spectrum that works for them.

"I've seen way too many burgundy dining rooms ... to love this color again anytime soon," opined Maria Killam, author of the Color Me Happy blog.

Designer and TV personality Courtney Cachet was a bit more blunt. "I am not feeling this year's color at all. It's a little confining as it relates to coordinating (elements) ... and kind of blah. Marsala feels like Oxblood's sister who's late to the party wearing the same -- on sale -- outfit. Maybe in fashion -- for home it kind of sucks."

Ouch. But she goes on to explain: "Red is so much richer, prettier. It's a color you can work with," she says, noting that in her own dining room, which has navy walls and white moldings, she chose cranberry red velvet chairs for pop. "You don't have to perk up red with gold or metallic," she says.

Actually, Hampton likes a "more fun cousin" to Marsala: Farrow and Ball's Brinjal. "It is a wonderful reddish-purple. I just used it in a room that has purple, pale blue, red accents and mahogany doors. It really rocked."

Often a favorite on runways, red again made a splash with fall and winter fashions from Versace, Dolce & Gabbana and Prada.

As the tartan plaids at J. Crew attest, it can be sporty or elegant and luxurious, as in Oscar de la Renta taffeta.

And it's a hue that is well-suited for the most traditional to the most modern furniture. But a little goes a long way. Going monochromatic, changing up an all-white or all-beige bland to all-crimson could be way over the top spicy for most.

The power of red is immediately apparent. Consider a brown leather wing chair. Then imagine the same piece in red leather. Pow. A star in a neutral room, still not overpowering, though -- and still with a masculine enough edge to appeal to guys.

More sleek, contemporary silhouettes positively pop in scarlet (think red Ferrari). Its directness takes shape well. Sculptural sofas, for example, such as one designed by Erwan and Ronan Bouroullec for Ligne Roset are brilliant in red. Sinuous forms speak volumes in red. And tables and chests of drawers assume a new level of gravitas in red.

Designer John Strauss was floored when he made a seemingly simple change to a mid-century styled night table from a collection called Green Bay Road, which he had specified in walnut with contemporary stainless steel bar pulls. At the fall High Point furniture market, he showed the retro-look piece in red lacquer with black button knobs and it was a revelation.

"It has pop," says Strauss, whose company, JS Home, is located in Canton, Ohio, where he works with an Amish community in sustainable materials. "It is sophisticated. It has depth and a mystique."

"I think everyone understands the power of red lacquer," says Hampton. "A red lacquer screen, for example, can be so elegant. A bright red lacquer coffee table can be very youthful and edgy."

An area rug with a touch of red lifts a gray or beige setting. Also grounding is wall color -- paint or wallcovering in red, which can serve as a warm backdrop. Some designers are fond of playing up red in a powder room, as it's a small space that you're not in for a very long time. Other designers have used red drapery or Roman shades in a creamy interior, accenting with matching pillows, throws, accessories or flowers. Or, more quietly, as a red banding on window treatments.

You can dial down the drama with smaller-scale accents that still make strong statements. Lighting is one way to go. Choose an all-red lamp, like the mini globe Eclisse from Artemide. Or one with just a touch of red -- like a jewel inset in the Gem lamp, a cagey burnished gold piece with black shade from Koket.

Designers even have played with reds in acrylic and Lucite -- quite fetching, especially in a traditional style Chinese stool, where it looks as fresh as the iconic transparent polycarbonate Ghost chair by Philippe Starck for Kartell.

Hampton does caution that red -- especially when it envelops a space -- can feel too hot. "I have often taken a nail polish to my painter to color match because there are so many great sharp reds for nails that don't have too much yellow.

"A great way to use red is with a bunch of whites and neutrals," says Hampton. "It can make the room feel modern, in spite of the use of such a traditional jewel tone. The designer also loves the combination of black and red. "It makes me think of my father," she says. Her late father, decorator Mark Hampton, was an icon of classic American style. "Red with orange and pink makes me think of David Hicks and his great, playful geometrics. I love red and plum for sheer sexiness. It would be a perfect dining room."

Red is known to stimulate the appetite. Just watch the calories.

Sources

-- Alessi, through Bloomingdales, 800-777-0000, www.bloomingdales.com; www.alessi.com

-- Artemide, 312-475-0100, www.artemide.com

-- CB2, 800-606-6252, www.cb2.com

-- Hastings Tile & Bath, 631-285-3330, www.hastingstilebath.com

-- Hickory Chair, 800-349-4579, www.hickorychair.com

-- Hooker Furniture, 276-656-3335, www.hookerfurniture.com

-- JS Home, 330-456-0300. www.straussfurniture.com

-- Kelly Hoppen, the company is London-based, but you can order online at www.kellyhoppen.com

-- Koket, 703-369-3324, www.bykoket.com

-- Ligne Roset, 212-375-1036, www.ligne-roset-usa.com

-- Pagoda Red, 773-235-1188, www.pagodared.com

(For editorial questions, please contact Universal Uclick at -uueditorial@amuniversal.com)

Bookshelves are a necessity in most homes, not only for the obvious, but as a catch-all for other stuff. Some people, even in this day of the Kindle, have more books than yards of shelving to contain them. For others, books may be limited to just a few, perhaps of the coffee table variety. And the stuff -- well, everything from tchotchkes to personal treasures, including heirlooms, collectibles, travel souvenirs to framed family photos -- gets a home, with a few volumes to share space, if they're lucky.

Freestanding bookcases are fairly standard issue, with only wood, stain or paint finish, molding details and thickness of shelves the distinguishing parameters. But with open shelving, design really has stepped up. As a retail category, it has grown steadily in recent years. From industrial wire looks to touches of Hollywood Regency, the choice of styles runs from sleek polished stainless steel and brass to earthy weathered woods and burnished metals.

From skinny 15-inch-wide towers to medium-sized open shelving (say, 3 feet across to) to wider (nearly 8 feet), most top out between 55 and 91 inches. But it's the way these pieces are configured that begs the question: Are these etageres or bookcases? The truth is, a little of each.

By definition, the French word, pronounced ay-ta-ZHER, means a piece of furniture or a stand with open shelves "for small ornaments," according to the American Heritage Dictionary, or "for small objects, bric-a-brac, etc.," according to Random House, which cites that it came into use around 1840. Ironically, another label for this furniture is "whatnot," which often loosely describes what people put on it: knickknacks. Then there's a relative, the baker's rack, which, of course, was strictly utilitarian in origin.

We tend to think about these examples as metal pieces, and many of today's models are, or at least they combine metal and wood. But the earliest models actually were crafted from wood, especially exotic grains or even gilt wood, in the time of Louis XV. Elaborate carvings were not unusual, nor was embellishment, such as spindles between shelves.

One of the more fanciful examples from the mid-19th century is actually English, a high Rococo Revival piece currently in the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. According to the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, not only is its silhouette over the top, with undulations and gilt wood and mother-of-pearl embellishments, all in the style of Japanese lacquer, it rests almost bizarrely on a gigantic central cabriole and a pair of substantial, turned legs.

What's popular today never approaches such excess. Most styles are modern, which not only suits the uptick in simplicity we've been seeing in in home decor, but also serves a need for more pivotal and easier to mix furnishings. Even pieces with turn-of-the century industrial inspiration are clean-lined. Some pieces even are fitted with casters, like bar carts, for easy mobility.

What we like about the open style shelves is their simple shapes. Even if they are embellished, the accenting (say, a hammered edge) is barely there. We love the architectural form of some pieces, which adds especially to boxlike rooms devoid of character. We love the honest materials from which many are made. We love them solo or ganged together, against a wall or as room dividers. And we love that they are so versatile.

Stretched out wide and upward, shelves can be off kilter, appear to be floating or even be reconfigured into mazelike cubbies. Versatility is one thing driving interest. Etageres, narrow or wide, can fit into almost any room of the house: foyer, living and dining rooms, kitchen, family room, bedroom and bath. That they're decorative and functional is a plus. In the bath, for example, they provide extra storage, and a handsome way to store towels, bath salts and soaps, as well as sponges. In an office, they can hold references and supplies as well as objets. They're chameleons that adapt and can be changed up easily to display collections that are fluid.

A love of metallic finishes in home decor is boosting interest in metal etageres. Some of the newer brass and stainless steel designs have strong mid-century to 1980s references. The iconic designer Billy Baldwin designed a set of tubular brass etageres for Cole Porter's New York City apartment in 1955, and they towered at 9 feet 4 inches. As in his own place, Baldwin placed a pair of towers and a wider version on either side of a doorway, all on one wall, to dramatic effect. The late Milo Baughman, who long designed for Thayer Coggin, and whose works are collectible, often appearing on 1st dibs, an online marketplace for design and antiques, created a series of striking, modern gleaming glass and chrome designs in the '60s and '70s, many with the kinds of staggered shelves we see today.

So admit it, you've seen plenty of wonderful images of open bookshelves and etageres in magazines and on retailer websites, where they all look so ... perfect. If you're intimidated by the idea of filling one, lest it look sloppy or not quite magazine worthy, don't fret. At least one retailer, Wisteria, actually has tackled the subject, with illustrations, on its blog.

"How to Style a Bookshelf" features three easy steps. First, gather books and accessories. "We suggest using items of varying shapes and sizes. You'll need a few round shapes, square shapes and more organic ones as well." They suggest one of their amethyst geodes, which could be used on a shelf, (on top of a book), as a decorative accessory or as a bookend. Baskets are recommended not only to add warmth and texture but also to organize.

Their second step is to arrange. "Order (decorative and functional items) by size, color or subject depending on personal preference. Be sure to mix it up by having some books standing and a few lying down -- this will break up groupings and create a visual flow. ... Juxtapose the square shapes of books with something round and add a pop of color while you're at it!"

And finally, Wisteria suggests creating height on each shelf. "Use a mix of taller and shorter items to create a dynamic movement. Glass risers are perfect for lifting up shorter items and they blend perfectly into any decor, while they add a bit of shine."

Looking at each shelf as a unit or "block" is another suggestion. In other words, consider each grouping, whether it's a stack of books, an object or an object on a stack of books; so there may be two groups on one shelf, three on the next two, two on the bottom. Strive for balance.

Of course, if you need storage, there are baskets as well as pretty boxes that handle the task with style. But don't forget the books.

Billy Baldwin had plenty of them on his own etageres -- and as pictures tell the story, they appear to have been well read, not just props. Still, hardbacks add life and warmth to a room. Said Baldwin: "The best decoration in the world is a room full of books."

Sources

-- CB2, 800-606-6252, www.cb2.com

-- Jayson Home, 800-472-1885, www.jaysonhome.com

-- Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, 800-489-4195, www.mgbwhome.com

-- Restoration Hardware, 800-910-9836, www.rh.com

-- West Elm, 888-922-4119, www.westelm.com

-- Wisteria, 800-320-9757, www.wisteria.com

(For editorial questions, please contact Universal Uclick at -uueditorial@amuniversal.com)