There’s No Place Like Home: Window Treatments/Spring 2006

Window treatments play an important role in your decorating plans. They can add mood through color and texture, e privacy and provide a visual anchor to rooms that lack a focal point. If you are confused about selecting a window treatment you are not alone. There are many things to consider when dressing a window such as your budget,the architecture of the room, and how you want the window treatment to look and function.

Moving into a new home or apartment is an exciting time, and you many want to settle in and cocoon as soon as possible. This can be a challenge when every window is exposed and privacy is your number one concern. Instant privacy can be achieved with fabric temporary shades. These are made from white,non-woven polyester and fit any size window. They are easy to install,just trim to fit, peel and stick.
Have you ever visited a cathedral at the perfect time of day when the sun is shining its bright rays through magnificent stained glass windows? The beauty of this celestial art form is breathtaking. A similar effect can be achieved by using decorative window film. This thin, translucent film self adheres to smooth glass and can be illuminated by daylight or room light. The vibrant colors and elaborate stained glass designs will enhance any size window. Window covering film is easy to remove and leaves no residue. This style of window art allows you the flexibility to experience different moods and sensations for a relatively small investment.

If dressing windows with bamboo reminds you predominately of the decorating theme on Gilligan’s Island, let’s groove out of the 1960’s and into the future of decorating with exotic bamboo shades. When you explore this contemporary craft, you will find intricate weaves using natural elements such as reed, jute, grass and bamboo. Oriental shades of green tea, sesame and black pearl will add warmth and sophistication to your interior. Bamboo shades allow you to bring nature indoors, and also provide insulation against summer’s heat and winter’s cold. These interwoven lines of pattern and texture beautifully compliment wood furnishings.

Ready-made or custom draperies introduce softness to the right angles of windows and the hard lines of a room’s architecture. There are now bountiful fabric choices in ready-made drapery. Sumpuous silks, buttery suedes, and theatre velvet will continue to be popular chopices, but they will stage themselves in visually delicious colors such as eggplant,latte,merlot and papaya.

“Faux pinch pleats are a more formal addition to modern grommet and casual tab panels,”says Kerry Clifford, owner of Wanderlust in Uxbridge, Ontario. “Suppliers are now adding lining and more elegant fabrics like silk, taffeta and chenille to their product lines. Striped silk and sheer panels embroidered with organic motifs of vines and flowers will grace our windows this season.” Highly versatile ready-made panels are an easy way to brighten any room with color and style.

If you are looking for more tailored applications in drapery, try something custom made. The diversity of fabric available and choice of drapery style is equally boundless. According to Sue Bennett, owner of Bennett Design Associates, an interior design firm in Uxbridge, Ontario, “Two of my current favorite window treatments are roman blinds and simple drapery panels. Roman blinds can be sleek and contemporary or luscious and swaggy, while drapery panels are lined,but not full and are mounted on beautifully distinct rods.” Holdbacks, finials and special rods that fit almost every configuration are the finishing touches for your custom or ready made window treatments. A fabric should reflect the color palette and motifs that inspire the rest of the furnishing.

“Classic drapery fabrics haven’t changed over the years, but the way in which we utilize these materials has. We are now presenting them in fascinating combinations. We can use three or four fabrics in one application, often striping and bordering panels. Introducing draperies into interiors creates a more hushed, warm atmosphere because of the fabric’s ability to capture sound,” advises Bennett.

Custom window treatments are a considerable investment, and i would not change them seasonally. There is more flexibility with ready-made draperies. Your crystal sheer voile panels could be replaced with warm velvet for the colder months. Window treatments provide a sense of well being and visual appeal to your interiors.