Danish textile brand Kvadrat has worked with designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec on a roller blind that does more than just screen a window.
Kvadrat Shade is a range of window coverings that come in a variety of tones and textures, very much in the spirit of the company's fabrics. But they also offer acoustic benefits and can provide thermal insulation, helping to reduce a building's energy consumption.

The company has even created a calculator, so that customers can find out how much money they can save on their heating bills.
"We're entering a new industry with the ambition to transform that industry," explained Kvadrat CEO Anders Byriel at a launch event. "We're coming in with a very deep knowledge about textiles, but we've also got a lot of technology."
The product was a collaboration with Dutch company Coulisse, a specialist in high-performance window-covering solutions, and also draws on the expertise of Verosol, an expert in solar-shading fabrics that is owned by Kvadrat.
By applying a metallised textile to the underside of the blind, they allow it to function as a thermal insulator. It prevents heat entering in warmer summer months and stops heat escaping in the winter.

This makes the product a real game-changer, according to Kvadrat Shade managing director Christian Baum Blaakær.
"We actually have a product that offers an alternative to an outside solar-shade product, which moves the options in architecture quite a lot," he sai...