Window Treatments

Window treatment options have really exploded within the last 10 years. With so many choices in the market, most homeowners find themselves overwhelmed as to where to begin.

The explosion of choices means that curtains now fulfill a greater role than just letting in or keeping out the light. In fact, buying a new set of curtains or blinds is the easiest (and often the cheapest) way to change the colour scheme and look of your rooms.

One of the first things you’ll have to consider is the purpose you want to put a window to. Some people want their windows to let in as much light as possible, which is necessary for some parts of the house such as the living room and the dining room. Bedrooms, by contrast, require more privacy but must also let in light and air. So, while cloth curtains in light beiges and creams and yellows are great for the living room, as they will let in light even when drawn, they might not do so well in the bedroom.

Earlier, getting new curtains used to be a mammoth task no homemaker particularly enjoyed. It meant buying cloth, measuring the frames, giving the cloth to the tailor and then waiting for them to be stitched. Today, all one has to do is walk to the nearest home store, or the flea market for cheaper options, and buy ready-made curtains in a variety of colours, materials and prints. These come with pre-stitched loops and all you have to do is slip them through a curtain rod.

In addition to this, it’s possible to mix and match colours and have a different colour scheme for each room. There are curtains in solid colours, checks, stripes, and prints and there are even niches and smocked varieties.

Choose curtains in keeping with look and theme of your room.

If you don’t want heavy curtains, go for the ones in light and breezy materials such as muslin, lace, net or light silks. Organza in soft pastel shades also makes for delightfully feminine curtains -just right for a lady’s boudoir – but they are high on maintenance, so don’t invest in them if you have kids running amok in the house.

If all that doesn’t catch your fancy, there are other options these days. Blinds, drapes and even chiks are being used today to give rooms a stylish, modem look Blinds can come in different varieties. There are wooden blinds, Roman blinds, roller blinds, Venetian blinds, vertical blinds and woven wooden blinds. The best thing about using blinds is that you can control the amount of light getting into a room. If it is completely rolled up, you have a fully open window, if all the splats are flat, you have a lot of light streaming in and if you leave them halfway open, you get a pleasing light-and-shade effect.

Window styles

�·Country style: Let go of the heavy drapes and lighten up with linen or vintage fabrics. Flowery prints on light cotton will also give a pleasing country effect to your windows, perfect for the bedroom.

Ã?·Boudoir style: Have net half-curtains put on the windows, embellish the edges of curtains with lace, get a four-poster bed draped all around and use pieces of wide ribbon to hold curtains in place for the perfect lady’s boudoir.

Ã?·The man’s room: No lace and frills here. Plain, slightly heavy curtains in neutral colours (navy blue, beige, cream) will do the trick. Blinds are even better.

Ã?·For the kids’ room: You can let your imagination run wild here. Printed Mickey Mouse curtains are passed go for cutouts stitched on to plain cloth with visible stitching, or let your kids loose with a paint box and some cloth.

�·For a girlie room: Enhance sheer curtains with faux floral embellishments, strips of embroidery and appliqu�©d flowers.