Tuesday Tip: Choose the Right Window Treatments for Every Room

By Yehudit Garmaise

Who doesn't want privacy and lots of light during the day: but no light at night?

Home decorators can choose among many so styles of curtains, shades, and shutters, but which work best and provide the most elegance?

BoroPark24 investigated the following ten window treatment options.

Curtains on a Double Rod: is a more traditional look that allows for residents to hang both a thicker and more decorative curtain that can be opened to reveal a sheer curtain behind it for when you want to allow in more light.

Double curtains can work in any room in which you want to alternate between letting in light, diffusing light, and providing complete privacy.

Rod-Pocket Curtains: these are best for people who don’t like to see curtain rods. Rod-pocket curtains provide a softer look, by providing pockets at their tops that slide over curtain rods. 

Curtains With Grommets or Rings: Some curtain panel tops come with grommets or rings sewn in at the top so that the curtains open and close more easily. Grommets and rings are always visible, and they reveal curtain rods, but their spacing enables curtains to fold nice and symmetrically when they are open. 

Floor-to-Ceiling Curtains: these are usually displayed on floor-to-ceiling windows and glass doors to block light and add privacy, but some decorators use floor-to-ceiling curtains to add the illusion of height to a ceiling or the sweep of drama to a room.

Floor-to-ceiling curtains provide elegant framing for beautiful views outside windows and can draw the eye up and out in living spaces and bedrooms. 

Blackout Curtains block light the best, so are the best keep bedrooms dark. The double-sided curtains, which are often found in hotel rooms, usually consist of a decorative fabric that is sewn to another darker, heavier fabric to keep out the light and insulate rooms against any heat and cold that might come in from the window. 

Shutters: Like Venetian and Vertical blinds, which are a bit outdated and collect a lot of dust, shutters cannot completely seal off the light, but they are more decorative.

Shutters, which are usually made of wood, can be painted or stained to match different rooms’ designs.

While shutters, which are typically used in Europe, can provide privacy when they are closed, they will allow in some cracks of light, so they are not recommended for bedrooms. 

Window shutters look great when they open up to allow for unobstructed views of gardens or courtyards.

Kitchens and living spaces are the best rooms in which to install window shutters.

Roman Shades: can be made of many different materials: from fabric to bamboo. 

The classic shades provide a neat and simple look. When raised, Roman shades fold up in even pleats, and drop to reveal a smooth surface when they are lowered. 

Roman shades, which can be used in any room, can be raised partially to let the sunshine in, while protecting privacy when they are completely lowered. 

Solar shades are specifically made with fabric that can both block light and protect inhabitants from ultraviolet rays. Ideal for windows that get a lot of direct sunlight, solar shade fabrics, which typically resist fading from the sun, come in options that range from blocking some light to providing full blackout mode. 

Honeycomb shades, also known as “cellular shades,” are made of fabric that folds up in a way in which the shades resemble a honeycomb from the sides. 

Honeycomb shades, which can help to insulate windows, come in different fabrics that work to either filter some light or fully block the light in rooms you want to keep dark. 

Inside-Mounted Window Treatments: is one final stylish trick that can provide a cleaner look and better reveal the trim around your windows.

photo credit: Flickr