How To Choose the Best Window Treatments for Your Home
There is no shortage of window treatment ideas available on the internet. In fact, the amount of information available to each of us on the internet is fascinating and dare I say also overwhelming, amiright?!?!
You can gather some great ideas but it’s the implementation of those ideas into your own space that’s difficult. Hello, Elegant Simplicity :)
Jokes aside, if you understand why what you need is important you’re headed down the right path.
Real talk, boo… window treatments are to your home what jewelry is to your outfit. In fact, whoever said “you’re never fully dressed without jewelry” is truly genius because it holds true for your home as well.
A room without window treatments is — unfinished.
Because the windows in your home have the potential to be every bit as fabulous as any other aspect of your home. You simply must know how to accessorize em *wink*
Think back for a second. Have you ever walked into a friend’s home + instantly been wowed by the grandeur of elegance surrounding the windows? If so, I’m willing to bet window coverings played a big role in your jaw-droppage!
Maybe you even thought to yourself “I want that! How do I decorate my home in a similar way?”
Well, let’s dive in and take a look at several window treatment ideas + how to select the best window treatments for your home.
As Designers Where Do We Even Begin
Window treatments add a big style impact to a space, but style isn’t the first thing you should look for. Before anything else, you need to know what you want your window coverings to do for you.
The best interior design always takes into account both aesthetic + function.
Why? Because each room might require something a little different. So we’re not simply identifying what looks good in your windows, we want to know what you need (or desire) from the window covering.
In one room of your home, you might need privacy. Whereas in a sun-facing room, you might want a little help regulating the temperature. And in another, you might want to filter the sunlight + protect those luscious hardwood floors or your light-sensitive eyeballs. (Hey, it happens.)
Window Treatment Criteria
What function do light treatments have?
Are they light filtering?
For privacy?
To regulate temperature?
Do you want them automated?
Knowing how you plan to use the space + what you desire from your home is the first significant step towards determining what window treatment ideas actually make sense for you. From this place, we'll be able to recommend the best type of window coverings… and in some cases, we may even layer multiple!
But before we get too far down the line, let’s look at some window treatment types.
Window Treatment Types
Now, I’m not going to bore you with e-v-e-r-y single window treatment type on the face of the planet *wink* but below are several of the most common styles that we use throughout our client’s homes.
What you want to consider is both the function of the window treatment (i.e. light filtering, privacy, etc) as well as the role that window drapery plays in the design of the interior room.
Window Sheers + Light Filtering Curtains
Sheers + light filtering curtains are often lumped together as one because they both help to soften the edge of the window by hiding the trim behind the window treatment. However, there is an ever so slight difference between a sheer and a light filtering curtain + that’s really around how much light is allowed in.
A sheer is going to allow the most light into the room in which case it’s an excellent choice for rooms that are darker. While a light filtering curtain is ever so slightly heavier than a curtain (meaning it won’t allow as much light to filter through) but is typically used when some light is desired but privacy is necessary.
Blackout Curtains + Thermal Curtains
Well, this one is relatively self-explanatory *wink* but blackout curtains are typically any fabric curtain with a blackout lining that knocks down + eliminates any light from filtering through.
Whereas a thermal curtain liner is specific to regulating temperature (not light) and insulating a room from excess heat or cold that may be coming in from the window.
Honeycomb Shades + Roman Shades
One of the most popular solutions for those looking for window treatment ideas is honeycomb or cellular shades. And that’s really because honeycomb shades come in a wide variety which makes them a great choice whether you’re filtering light or trying to regulate temperature and/or privacy.
We absolutely love to use roman shades. Roman shades are a window treatment that when lowered completely blocks the window (light, temperature, and privacy regulating) but when raised stack at the top of the window gives a pleated look.
Solar Shades + Roller Shades
Another group of shades that are often mistaken for one another is solar shades + roller shades. A solar shade has a very specific function which as you may have guessed by now, my love, is to block light + protect furniture, floors, and you from harmful UV rays. Solar shades don’t typically block too much of the view.
Now, a roller shade on the other hand simply doesn't do what a solar shade does *wink*. While it’s a window treatment on a roller :) it doesn’t block light, protect furniture, floors or protect you from harmful UV rays.
Venetian Blinds + Shutters
Venetian blinds are any slatted blind attached to the inside or above the window itself. Sometimes Venetian blinds are real wood (stained or painted) and other times they’re plastic.
Shutters, although also slatted, are typically attached to the window frame itself. Thus, window shutters are often a permanent window covering treatment whereas blinds like many other window treatments can be removed over time.
Neither Venetian blinds nor window shutters, even when closed, effectively block all the light from coming in as it sneaks through the cracks of the slats.
How do we choose the right colors or patterns for your window coverings?
Now that we’ve discussed the functional necessities, once we’ve determined what they are for you, window treatment ideas come down to style preference. And I know this is likely the moment you’ve been waiting for… so let's talk about the colors, patterns + visual appeal of your window coverings.
There are three simple ways we can approach style for your window coverings: mimic, unify or contrast with the rest of the room design.
Mimic
While not identical, the fabric or style we choose for your window coverings blends right in with the design of the rest of the room. When window coverings “mimic” the design aesthetic of a space it means your window coverings are not the focal point of your room.
Unify
If a room consists of several different colors or shades, a window covering pattern that brings these colors together will create visual interior design harmony to the space. Again here, any window treatment ideas that “unify” or bring together several different colors in one place means to accent the focal point of your room.
Contrast
Introducing a complementary color or bold pattern in your window treatments can make it the showstopper of the room! When you’re contrasting the design with unique window treatments what you’re doing is drawing emphasis, saying “look at me” with your window treatments.
And this my friend is the focal point of the design.
How Different Window Treatments Hang
Alright, let’s talk about installing these babies because when it comes to window treatment ideas, it can certainly be about creating illusions. Psst… which can be done in the way your installer hangs window treatments.
Outside-Mount Treatments + Inside-Mount Treatments
An outside mount window treatment refers to where your window treatments are being mounted. In the case of outside-mount treatments, the window covering is mounted outside the window frame whereas an inside-mount treatment means just the opposite. In an inside-mount treatment, the window covering is mounted inside the window frame.
Sometimes, when a window is not very deep — an outside mount is necessary. But an outside-mount treatment isn’t a negative.
In fact, because the window treatment is mounted outside the window we’re able to make windows appear larger than they really are which adds a bit of grandeur to the room.
An inside mount draws an emphasis to the size of the actual window and helps to showcase the craftsmanship and detail around the window frame.
Top-Down / Bottom-Up Shades
One of the types of window treatments that we haven't covered yet is called top-down or bottom-up. Although not all window treatment types come as top-down/bottom-up treatments, these shades can be opened and/or closed at both the top of the window frame and the bottom near the window sill.
And they’re great to provide some level of privacy without minimizing the view or sunlight coming in.
Floor-to-Ceiling Drapery
One of our favorite things to do at Elegant Simplicity, when a space allows for it, is to play with vertical scale by adding floor-to-ceiling drapery. And that’s because they gussy up the drama of the room by both drawing the eye vertically in the space or framing a window/doorway.
Remember when we talked about window treatment ideas in your home being the jewelry to your outfit… well, this was what we were referring to *wink*
Taking the window covering all the way to the floor avoids chopping the room at the waist — because you want visual flow where the whole house feels cohesive + we're gonna give it to ya, sister!
Combination Window Treatments
Another excellent way to add a bit of depth to your home is to use a combination of two different types of window treatments. And the way we do this is for one window treatment to serve as a functional aspect in the room, let’s say temperature regulation while another, let’s say window drapery serves an aesthetic purpose on the same window.
Another example is for maximum control over several factors such as light, temperature, and privacy, we could layer both blackout curtains as well as Venetian blinds. Not only does this give you everything you need, but let's be honest... It also looks like a dream!
That’s my rift for today, thanks for tuning in :)
Don’t forget, if you’re in the preliminary planning stages of your next project, let’s chat.
P.S. If you loved this article then you’re going to really enjoy the 4 Days To A More Beautiful + Functional Home. And you might also enjoy, the 7 Elements Of Interior Design.