What's the Difference? Breaking Down Different Window Treatment Design Options
New year, new interior living space! That’s how the saying goes, right? If you are looking to update your home this year, custom window treatments are a great place to start! The best custom window treatments will integrate well into your home and should fulfill your custom interior design needs. After all, it’s your home – and you should love everything in it! When you begin researching custom drapery, custom blinds, and custom window treatments, you’ll come across many different options. Let’s explore some of your choices and see which ones are right for you!
Choosing your custom window treatment design depends largely on the type of room you have, what kind of ambiance you’d like, and the level and type of light you need in your room. For kitchens, we recommend a custom window treatment called a valence. Valences are short curtains that have the length of about half of your window or less. Valences are both functional and decorative: in targeted areas, they lower the intensity of outdoor light (so you don’t have to squint while you do dishes!) and spruce up your space with color, design, and ambiance. While most valences hang at the top of the window for standard-sized windows, sometimes valences are used to cover the lower part of taller windows. A mid-hanging valence on a tall window softens the light that enters in certain parts of the room, but still allows a large amount of outdoor light to shine in and illuminate the room. Mid-hanging valences are perfect for around a dining room table – as pictured here.
Some rooms require more control over the amount of light that enters a room. This is important for dens and living rooms where you use a TV or computer – if you need to concentrate on your work, or like an immersive movie viewing experience, custom blinds give you total control over how much light is in your room. Custom blinds are perfect for light control because their adjustable rotation can allow for any amount of light. Custom blinds are also excellent choices for bathrooms and bedrooms because they can be closed fully so that you have complete privacy.
Shades are similar to blinds in that they can offer complete privacy when they are rolled down but they are different in that they can not be adjusted as precisely as blinds. Shades are usually flush with the window, so they don’t stick out as much as blinds. Shades are excellent for people who want a sharp, clean look. They’re also perfect for families with children and pets; because they are on rolling tracks, they are not prone to becoming tangled or twisted. Custom shades have a wide variety of colors, textures, and materials – which means that you can choose the amount of privacy and type of light that you like.
Another option for your space is curtains or drapes. Curtains are usually in pairs set on opposite sides a rod that hangs above your window, and can be closed completely, or drawn – either by shifting the two halves towards the ends, or by pulling each side at the middle and fastening it with a strap or holding it behind a hook. Curtains are perfect for large windows – such as picture windows in living rooms – because they allow a full amount of light to enter, but can also be partially or fully closed for your privacy. Curtains are also excellent insulators – in fact, many custom curtains and custom drapes use special thermal material to minimize the heat lost through your window. If you’ve got a particularly drafty room, or are just looking to save on your heating bill, insulating curtains are a perfect choice for you.
The best custom window treatments in Cleveland await you at Carmen’s Custom Window Treatments. Our wide variety of colors, fabrics, textures, and styles can all match perfectly with your vision for custom interior design. Stop by our Mayfield Road location today, or give us a call at 216.321.4040 and we’ll get you set up with the best custom window treatments and custom blinds!