The choice of window treatments for every room of your house is practically unlimited. With so many options at your fingertips, it can be tempting to choose the simplest, safest choices.
But simple and safe can easily become monotonous and stale when you realize how much window treatments can influence the mood of the space.
The following tips for choosing the right window treatment solution for your space are some of the same tips that professionals share with their clients.
To avoid the trap of plain, monotonous curtains, learn which window treatment solutions work best and how to experiment with window decor without ruining the look of the room.
1. Invest in Quality
Made-to-measure drapes can be expensive, but choosing well-made cloth is the best option for a sustainable design.
Not all window treatments offer you the extraordinary, five-star elegance you and your room deserve.
However, installing roman shades or voile curtains in your room will always work. A pair of voiles will decorate the window elegantly while optimizing light in a room that lacks natural light.
The goal is to make intelligent fabric and color selections.
It’s understandable to want to save money on window coverings, but consider how often you open and close your curtains or shades.
2. Try before you purchase
Although curtains and blinds may appear differently at home compared to in a store, there are ways to acquire a better sense of the appearance and feel before spending a lot of money.
One suggestion that professionals offer is to use a curtain and blind configurator and order samples so you can compare these to your wall color and overall color schemes.
You should add fabric and colors that go well with the space, giving it character and clarity without taking away from the design.
3. Consider Your Room’s Design
We all take a lot of time choosing the right furniture, paint colors, and design accents to establish the tone of our rooms, but it’s possible that we don’t give our window treatments the same thought.
A window clad in heavy materials, along with tiebacks and a thick fringed trim, instantly adds an antiquated style, especially if your property doesn’t offer a classic vibe.
In some circumstances, such as when decorating a stately home or a classy, attractive hotel, this works. But when it comes to modernizing your house, less is more.
Often, when people hear the term “window treatments” or “drapery” they imagine heavy, old-fashioned layers of fabric on thick rods, which isn’t in tune with modern styles of window treatments, which are minimalist in design.
Having said that, different types of window treatments can definitely contribute to the finished, comfortable feel of any room. Without them, anything appears incomplete or unfinished.
4. Attempt to be timeless, not dated
If you want to keep your design ageless, here are a few items in particular to stay away from. Anything that is too layered, pleated, or bulky will tend to feel old.
Classic styles are timeless, but they are always updated to reflect current trends to avoid feeling dated.
Don’t let out-of-date design conventions restrict your creativity or prevent you from remaining loyal to your own style.
5. Consider the purpose of your room.
Consideration of the real usefulness of the area you are furnishing is just as crucial as the aesthetic appeal of your drapes. Often, people concentrate on selecting the furnishings first and overlook the importance of window treatments for their rooms.
Style and texture can affect a room’s entire ambiance while also changing the light, temperature, and atmosphere, which will positively or negatively affect your space.
Adding window treatments must be more than just an aesthetic improvement. The key to selecting the correct item to maintain each area effectively is to ask yourself what activities you will have there.
When considering window coverings, the main determining factor is to examine what you need them to do for you.
For example, if your bedroom also serves as your home office, do you require flexible lighting control options? Does your entire interior design strategy require a strong visual statement?
6. Layered looks have multiple uses
Layering is one of the greatest approaches to window treatment design. For example, think about “woven shades with curtain panels on either side.” This layered style is versatile, and adding more informal woven shades takes away any hassle from typical drapery panels.
Also, layering is essential for privacy. Sheers may be good at filtering light, but they won’t give a bedroom any additional privacy.
Consider layering various window coverings, taking into account the time of day, how the sun enters the room, and the level of privacy you desire in each space.
7. Remember…the devil is in the details
If solid panels or blinds sound boring but patterned curtains feel too bold, look for pieces with fewer details that will still improve the look of your windows.
For example, solid panels with a playful lead-edge tape accent. To keep things basic but fascinating, use a plain solid fabric with a tape trim to instantly update a traditional pleated panel with a nice, clean edge.
As an alternative, try a sleeker design, such as a roman shade, if you do want to experiment with patterns: A simple inside-mount roman shade has clean, classic lines and is ideal for a vibrant print.
They’re a simple, effective technique to adorn windows that requires little effort or cloth. If you want to go beyond a clean and simple aesthetic, creatively using print, texture, and layering all seem current and add impact to a room’s design.
Roman or roller blinds with bold designs are a modern update to the conventional patterned drapes. Think about special touches, such as small elements like trim and ornate pulls or tassels.
8. Think About Your Hardware
Remember the hardware.
To create a curated, distinctive aesthetic, try sourcing vintage hardware to combine with new.
9. Go monochrome
Want your window treatments to fade into the background?
Lean into your wall color if you want your window treatments to blend into the room but the thought of beige bores you to tears. Solid panels that match the color of the walls provide a more subtle, transitional appearance.
Try hanging simple pleated panels on a thin, 1-inch rod that matches the paint color of the space. For a similar effect, you can even go a shade or two darker or brighter than the walls.
It’s especially important to spend more on high-quality panels when choosing this option. The panels’ fabric and craftsmanship will make the room seem snug and adorned without being too bold.
This is a wonderful option for contemporary and modern spaces that are frequently neutral in color and/or monochromatic with few patterns.
10. Consider a room’s dimensions and height.
Ignoring the height and scale of your windows and room is one of the worst mistakes you can make. While height can vary from home to home, basic measurements for area size are usually reliable.
You only need to ensure that your curtain and rod stretch a few inches on either side of the window and almost completely cover the height of the wall.
Beyond just looking good, picking drapes that fit your room’s size offers further advantages.
When you extend your curtain further both vertically and horizontally, it will make your window appear larger.
Tip: Here’s a useful do-it-yourself fix for curtains that aren’t quite right.
If you don’t have enough length to hang your curtains higher, think about adding a panel of fabric to the top or bottom. You can also add tabs or use rings to add a little more length.
11. Correctly hang your treatments
Frequently, in addition to being too high, window coverings aren’t working because they are not the right size or hung properly. Fortunately, this may be partially resolved without purchasing new curtains.
Sometimes all you have to do is add to your curtains. Try laying curtain panels over shades or blinds that just don’t look fantastic or work well.
When curtains look “off,” it’s usually because they are hung too low and the panels cover too much of the window when they are open.
Try adjusting the curtain rod or switching it out for a new one that can stretch at least 10 to 15 inches past the window. If you’re really particular or looking for something custom built, you may also use fabric and window measurements to figure out the stack back size.
To conclude, if your room’s decor just doesn’t seem to be working, look to the windows. You might be shocked by how drastically new curtains can alter your room’s overall appearance and mood.
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