You'll find many window treatment ideas in books, magazines and on the web, but what about your window?
When money is no problem we can employ the services of a professional person to come up with ideas for us. But most of us have a finite amount we can spend, and often that means doing it ourselves.
Window treatment ideas
Here are some general suggestions about your window treatments. They won't decide exactly which fabrics to use, but should help guide you towards solutions which may be right for you.
Simple or complex?
If you're budget is small, then don't expect to be able to finance a complex set of curtains and drapes, with 'designer' tracks and fittings. Or if the situation is an unimportant one then keep the solution simple.
On the other hand, if you're decorating a main room such as a drawing room or dedicated dining room, then go for a more complex solution. A thick 3" wood pole - a shaped cornice box - swags and jabots - roman or festoon blinds behind the main drapes - there's no end of styles.
(Take a look at the curtain details and shade details sections for more information.)
The soft draperies in sheer fabric hanging from black metal poles give a soft and restrained look to these windows. Simple solutions are often very effective. As with art, knowing when to stop is a key feature. It would have been very easy to overdo this idea.
Video: Window Treatments. This video from HouseDoctors gives some useful and practical tips.
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Blending or contrasting?
This can have a major impact on how your room looks, but many people don't even consider it. They spend so much time on the style, and then casually select the fabric color.
Do you want your window treatment ideas to give you a treatment which contrasts with the rest of the room, or blends in with it? Should it 'make a statement' or just enhance the decorating style you're using? In a quite bedroom you may want to blend all your decorating together, while in a dining room you might want to go for a stunning effect.
The sheer fabric used in this window treatment blends with the wall color, yet provides interest by the use of a contrasting pattern.
Sheer fabrics are very useful when you want to loose features such as window frames or pipework in your room.
Practical or to impress?
Sometimes you want a practical solution to emerge from your window treatment ideas. It's easy to ignore the obvious. If you just want a quick and easy way to give privacy at night, for example, then a simple shade, roller, roman or whatever will do the job.
If the idea is to impress or give your window the 'wow factor', then impress away to your heart's content. Some rooms need spicing up.
A simple and inexpensive way to add style to your window curtains is to use tie backs. The swept back effect of the curtains which they produce will enhance any room. In this illustration the outer patterned fabric is left hanging straight, while the inner plain cream fabric is tied back.
When you put your tie backs in place, to get a good swept back effect you'll need to pull the curtain fabric gently though the tie back. Notice that where the fabric meets the tie back it is almost horizontal.
Expensive or ... not so expensive?
This affects all of us. We come up with window treatment ideas we really like, but then retreat hastily once we discover how much it's actually going to cost.
If you have the sort of lifestyle where you know your going to have to up sticks and move to another part of the country (or world) within the near future, then you won't want to spend a fortune on window treatments. They're not the sort of thing you can easily adapt for somewhere else.
But if you plan to stay in your present home for as long as possible, remember you have a life to live. If a nice window treatment will give you years of pleasure, then go for it.
These curtains have made an important contribution to the room decor. Imagine them without the dark trim across the top and down the insides, and you'll appreciate how much this feature adds to the effect.
By the use of the trim and holding back the curtains higher up than normal, this window treatment fits in well with the rest of the decor. And it's really inexpensive.
Remember, there is no right or wrong way when it comes to window treatment ideas. If you have an idea of your own, sketch it out first to see how it might look. And adapt other ideas to suit your own circumstances.
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