Blinds or Curtains? Café drapes or shades? Your biggest priority in selecting window treatments should be determining whether you need light or privacy — or both! These professional tips may help you make the ideal decision.
Lauren Ostrow Interior Design, Inc
Semisheer window treatments. A common space like a family room or living space doesn’t usually need much solitude, but based on the number of windows, it might always need light. Natural lighting helps brighten this living space, so the designer chose a gorgeous semisheer cloth window treatment that offers subtle and light solitude even if it is lowered.
Tip: pick the thickness of your cloth based on the amount of light you need in the space — a thick cloth lets less light through than an ultrasheer cloth.
Claudia Martin, ASID
Cellular sunglasses. Many baths, especially those on the first floor, need maximum privacy. This bath has a hard window treatment referred to as a cellular color. Referred to as a top-down/bottom-up color, this color permits you to walk around without being seen and allows a lot of light inside.
Tip: It’s constructed with a honeycomb layout to keep out the cold and the heat in.
Habachy Designs
Draperies. Bedrooms on the first floor typically need more solitude than bedrooms on the second floor, but equally might call for natural lighting. This very contemporary floor-to-ceiling drapery offers light as well as solitude. When it is closed, an whole wall of cloth still permits light in.
Tip: The drapery pole or monitor to get floor-to-ceiling draperies can be set up on the wall or the ceiling, based on what suits the area the ideal.
Thom Filicia Inc..
Roller shades. Whether you have a bathroom on the first floor or around the next, closely situated neighbors may require solitude. This easy-to-install roller color is perforated, allowing light to filter through.
Tip: Since window treatments in the back of tubs might be difficult to reach, hardwire a roller color so you can conveniently manipulate it by a control panel or remote.
McCroskey Interiors
Blackout drapes. Getting baby to sleep in the middle of the afternoon can prove difficult using the sun blaring in — although maybe not with blackout shades. Have a blackout lining — a very dense fabric that light can’t penetrate — stitched onto the back of almost any drapery fabric.
Tip: For complete darkness, install floor-to-ceiling drapes 18 inches beyond all sides of the window. This will make sure that as little light as you can in through cracks.
Smith Brothers
Shutters. If your visitors come for complete comfort, then that may require sleeping in after the sun comes up. This bedroom has shutters installed with strong center panels to block out all light. This window therapy also blends effortlessly into the imagination of the overall theme of the room. Bravo!
Tip: These shutters were painted red for large effect, but if you want a more toned-down look, paint them the exact same color as your walls and watch them vanish.
Mahoney Architects & Interiors
Stained glass. If you have a fantastic number of windows around your front door but need a little solitude, think about installing stained glass. This may turn your foyer into a focal point and stop passersby from getting a full look in your house.
Tip: A similar result can be produced with vinyl to save on price. Get in touch with a local sign company to create this look for your house.
Tim Barber Ltd Architecture
Layered treatments. Blackout drapes or shades are often necessary in a TV or media space. This media chamber goes the extra mile in achieving total movie cinema darkness by layering a Roman color and floor-to-ceiling draperies.
Tip: The more material you add to your windows on your theater or media area, the better the acoustics will be.