Screens were a popular feature in Victorian homes when they served to block out draughts or hide "unsightly" items such as bathtubs. But they are making a comeback due to open-plan living spaces and the proliferation of home offices and studio apartments.
"They can make or break a room," says textile designer Michele Sweetman. "They can be used to sub-divide a room or just to hide clutter or toys in a hurry. They are often used these days to screen off desks with computers in the corner of a room. They can even be used in front of a window instead of curtains and then moved away again."
Screens can be produced in all shapes, sizes and colours and are not merely functional but can be a dramatic fashion statement as well. Indeed, they can get so personal that your own face or favourite poetry can be printed on to the fabric by using photographic printing techniques, says Sweetman. An art college graduate, Sweetman has worked on a wide range of decorative projects including designing a fabric to match a dinner service for Deborah Warner's film The Last September, due to be released shortly, creating sets for the Gate Theatre and decorating restaurants such as Locks and Brasserie na Mara.
She designs fabric, using silk screen printing, then makes a stencil of the given motif and prints through the screen. The advantage of having fabric designed for a particular space is that colours can be used - or distressed - to tone in with existing schemes and particular themes can be followed throughout a home.
Screens - or indeed other household items such as curtains, duvets, upholstery covers, cushions, tablecloths - are made to order. The fabric can be selected from a range which includes natural linens, cottons, muslin, wool or silk. Michele uses a lot of fabric from Ulster Weavers and designs can be hand-painted and printed big or small. Screens can be used to create space, for instance, in a bedroom where a screen in front of a rail of clothes turns the area into a private dressingroom.
They can also be useful in kitchens when the host can screen off a working area full of unwashed pots and cooking disasters. And in studio apartments they can screen off the whole kitchen area quite successfully - or the entrance hallway.
While the basic structure of a screen is wooden, the fabric can be changed over the years as moods and fashions change. Children might be happy with a nursery theme but over time this can give way to other designs. Above all, screens need not be dull. Prices vary depending on the nature of the design and size of the screen but specially printed fabric starts at £25 a yard.
Michele is also willing to design the whole interior of a room. She has recently finished work on a 1920s house where the owners wanted an art noveau style throughout the house.
Michele Sweetmen can be contacted at 01- 4754682 or 087 2235457
