Window Treatments 101!

Interior decorating

Window Treatments 101!

8 May 2019

Good morning!

I was standing in front of the window of our family room staring at the backyard thinking about the topic for my May newsletter. Looking up, my eyes stopped on the drapery panels. Decorating windows and designing custom window treatments is something that I utterly love! Starting with functional necessities for light control and privacy, it is so much fun to come up with ideas on how to dress the windows for success! There must be a wow factor to them, but they should also give the ability to let as much natural light in as possible and create more privacy when needed. I thought this topic could be interesting… 🙂

Window Treatments 101

Window treatments are a functional necessity in many rooms, in addition to which they add texture, colour and style. You might think of the two major categories of window treatments when decorating a space, soft and hard window treatments.

Hard window treatments are blinds and California shutters. Blinds are nowadays available as vertical or horizontal and are made of wood, faux wood, PCU, aluminum and more. Both are excellent choices to give you more light control and privacy in the space. Wood roll-up blinds are currently very popular in modern country interiors and are often used together with stationary fabric drapery panels.

Soft window treatments are draperies, rollers or shades.

Draperies can be stationary, just for the look, or traversing. They can be sheer, light filtering or blackout. The heading types allow a great playground for creativity. Grommets are popular in transitional and contemporary design. Drapery on rings will never go out of style due to its timeless look and possibilities of hanging them. Different pleat types on such panels would create a very different look that will be influenced by the selected fabric for the window treatment.

Pocket panels are a great fit when you want to create a laid back country feel.

Swags, valances and cornices are almost a trademark of traditional style and are typical to more formal and luxury interiors.

Select your hardware to compliment the style you are trying to achieve for the best results.

Window shades are available as roll-ups, Roman, pleated or cellular and many more.

Rollers provide a sleek contemporary look. They are available in various materials, textures, fabrics and even opacities.

The most popular shades for traditional homes are Roman shades. When going for custom roman shades, your decorative options are endless. The first choice to make would be the fabric that sets the tone of the window treatment. Then you can select decorative elements such as trimming. Whether you like beaded trimming or tassels or simple ribbons, the choice is yours.

If you happen to have a river view home or enjoy any other stunning nature view, you probably have large windows or a window wall. This luxury comes at the cost of energy efficiency of a home. Honeycomb shades can help you improve the energy efficiency of your home! The greatest benefit of cellular shades is the insulation they provide. This insulation helps with sound as well. Honeycomb shades are one of the best energy saving window coverings.

We hear about Smart Homes all the time. Every year technology comes up with new products that can help make your home more self-regulating. Automated window treatments are becoming increasingly popular. You are now able to control them remotely and even program them. In fact, a new line of soft window treatments with an optional automated operation was announced earlier this year.

When considering various window treatment options for your home, consider function first, then style.

If you have standard size windows, you might get away with off-the-shelf curtains. Most off the shelf curtains are 54” wide and the longest you would get them is 108” tall. Custom drapery has a fuller more luxurious look and can be as long as you need it to be.

I highly recommend splurging a little and going with custom made window treatments.

When you decorate your home, no matter your style, if it functions well for you and your family, is comfortable and makes you feel happy, that is the best proof that you did an awesome job!

4 thoughts on “Window Treatments 101!

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