Shutters, Curtains & Blinds – Oh My!
Window treatments aka curtains, blinds, shutters or anything used to cover your windows for privacy, to filter the sun or finish your look should be a careful consideration for your space as there are many options to choose from, for example the rod’s colour and material, the fabric, to what type of heading you have, eyelet, box pleat etc. There is a craft to curtains and blinds so here are my top tips on selecting the right window treatments;
- Make an allowance for curtains and blinds in your budget don’t treat them as an after thought, good quality window treatments are not cheap, not even good quality off the shelf options so best to have some money set aside for the finishing touch to your space from the outset of your project.
- Apply the same attention and care to the selection of your window treatments as you have to other interior decisions ensuring your window treatments work with the space, the interior design style and serve their functional purpose as well.
- Don’t compromise on the quality of your window treatments. Good quality curtains can last more than 10 years, whereas bad quality, off the shelf options will need to be replaced much sooner for various reason either the fabric has faded or the blind gets stuck.
- Shop around, there are many shops offering window treatments get at least 3 quotes before making an informed decision.
- Seek professional advice, there is a craft to window treatments with a few technical aspects from the mechanism used to hang the curtains to how they open and close, what heading, the weight of the fabric, lining, etc.
I was told once that skimping on window treatments is like wearing fake jewellery with a formal designer gown, it doesn’t work, and the effort and expense put into the gown (interior design) is ruined by the sub-standard finishing touch in the fake jewellery (window treatments) I thought this was good analogy.
By budgeting for your window treatments from the outset and seeking professional advice the finishing touch to your space will be like wearing a priceless jewel.