How you dress your windows is an important piece of your
overall design and a lot of thought should go into the style and fabric
used for your bedroom window treatments.
How do you know which window treatment is right in your
bedroom?
There are 3 basic types of window treatments that can be
used alone or in combinations. Here’s some tips on these
basic types and what style of room you might choose them for.
Curtains and Drapes
Curtains and drapes are a style of window treatment that
most of us can recognize but there’s many variations on this
old standby. If your bedroom design is simple, you might choose just
plain sheers as these will go well with many themes including a
romantic theme, a modern theme and anything in between.
Valances can be used to soften the top of the window.
They are great if you don’t want to cover up a great view but
also don’t want the window to look too bare. Typically
valances are made from fabric but you can build them form wood and
decorate them with an aged or stencilled paint to go with your Tuscan
or French country design. Fabric valances can go with almost any
bedroom decorating theme depending on the fabric you choose and can be
used in conjunction with sheers to give you a bit of privacy.
Drapes are an elegant bedroom window treatment. If you
have a romantic, French or Victorian theme some heavy drapes in rich
fabrics can transform your bedroom into one fit for a queen. Heavy
drapes look best on tall windows, but if you short squatty windows like
most homes built in the 60's - 80's don’t let that deter you
from using great drapes. You can always just keep them closed to hide
the window behind and no one will ever know the difference!
Wooden Shutters and Blinds
Indoor wooden window blinds are a great way to add
privacy to your bedroom and can be used alone or with curtains, drapes
or valances.
There are 2 styles of shutters - plantation shutters and
café shutters.
Plantation shutters cover the whole window and have
louvers which can be opened and closed to let light in or provide
privacy. These shutters go great with a plantation style look, a
country look or a coastal cottage look.
The café shutters are the kind that cover
only the bottom half of the window and swing open to let light in.
These also look nice in a country or beach style bedroom and are
perfect for a Paris apartment style as well.
Fabric Blinds
Fabric blinds add a nice touch to any bedroom and can be
decorated and embellished with whatever you want. Fringe, pom-poms and
ribbon are just a few of the great ways to make these bedroom window
treatments stand out.
Roman blinds work well for childrens rooms and informal
styles such as cottage or beach style decor. These shades fold up to
expose the window during the day and roll down at night.
Festoon blinds are puffy with lots of fabric. They are
quite ornate and work best in a romantic style bedroom such as a
Victorian, French or Italian motif. Festoon blinds look best on wide
windows and might not be good for small rooms as they can tend to be a
bit overwhelming.
