There’s real excitement in building a new home, renovating or simply redecorating. But once the commitment has been made to go ahead with a project, it’s tempting to apply a ‘one size fits all’ approach to décor…including curtains and blinds. Its human nature that when faced with a big project, we look for ways to simplify and streamline. But there’s something to be said for stepping back and taking a more considered approach, especially when choosing curtains and blinds. Functionally and aesthetically, curtains and blinds can have an enormous impact on the look of a home and even on its energy efficiency.
To state the obvious, the rooms in your home can have very different functions, and thus pose various challenges for curtains and blinds. To demonstrate this, let’s consider the use of curtains in your living room and kitchen. Living rooms are generally clean, open spaces where curtains are exposed to nothing more harsh than sunlight and the rigours of family living. Kitchens, on the other hand, serve up splashes, grime, grease and odours. So, while the choice of fabric, colour and pattern for living room curtains is quite open, kitchen curtains should be made in durable fabrics that can be easily cleaned. Perhaps featuring colours and patterns that help hide splashes and grime. Installing plain white curtains in a kitchen setting is going to lead to a high maintenance situation!
Applying this kind of practical thinking to each room in your home will cut down on cleaning woes and lead to easier living. Choosing similar curtains and blinds throughout your home might streamline the situation in the beginning, but in the long run it inevitably presents problems and the need to choose replacement curtains in some rooms.
Keeping your curtains and blinds clean is one practical consideration, but in some rooms the priority is light control. Here we encounter yet another argument against selecting similar window furnishings for every room of your home. If you love a good night’s sleep, chances are the sheer curtains that work best in your living room will be a poor performer in your bedroom. Block out fabrics – or at least having a block out layer as an option – are a great choice for light control in the bedroom. You can have the best of both worlds by fitting sheer curtains behind heavier block out curtains so that you can open up your room to light during the day but shut it out altogether on those mornings when sleeping in is a priority. The extra benefit of block out curtains is that they tend to help control noise as well as light. If you’re wondering which fabric or combination might work best in your bedrooms, our Design Consultants will be able to point you in the right direction.
Today millions of people who never considered working from home are doing just that, and doing it regularly. Suddenly, rooms and spaces that were never designed to be offices have become spaces we settle into for a day of work. Many of us have noticed that the light in our Work From Home room is far from ideal for using computer monitors. We’ve all seen our share of online conferences featuring participants joining from rooms that come across as far too dark, or blindingly bright.
How you work and when you work in your chosen room will dictate your choice of curtains and blinds, but chances are the window treatments in place from when the room was a purely domestic space are a compromise now that it’s doubling as an office. Depending on the aspect of your home and the location of windows in the room, you might choose curtains or blinds that offer light filtering, full block out or both. If you do find yourself regularly attending online conferences and meetings, a clean look is a must, so choose streamlined designs. Roller blinds, venetian’s or panel blinds are all great choices. And for those impromptu online meetings where you need easy light control on the fly, remember that motorisation and remote control are well worth considering. Nothing beats having your room setup perfectly for a Zoom meeting at the touch of a button, and a custom Design Consultant can show you in a matter of minutes just how easy this can be.
Your home should be a relaxing space. It might seem a minor consideration, but in areas such as living rooms and lounges, selecting curtains made from sustainable fabrics such as cotton means you get easy-care window furnishings with a great look, and you can feel good about the choice you’ve made. Every little bit helps when we set out to feel at ease where we live, think about the colours and patterns. Plain, light colours and open patterns can help bring a relaxed feel to a room, whereas bright colours and busy patterns may have the opposite effect.
Of course curtains are a perennial favourite, but you should never see them as the only way to go. If clean lines and a sparse, modern look are what you’re after in a living space, roller blinds or even panel glides might be a great option in your home.
Practical choices in curtains and blinds should include what stage your family is at and any pets you have too. Small children have a habit of getting grubby hands on anything they can reach. Likewise, even the most well-behaved pets can introduce grime and perhaps even get their claws out from time to time. Choosing robust, easy care fabrics for curtains and blinds will go a long way towards making life easier for you.
While there are great reasons to select curtains and blinds based on functionality as well as aesthetics, some homeowners will see this approach as an extra level of challenge. What’s the best way to make room-by-room choices but arrive at a finished whole that looks beautiful and cohesive? It’s always good to begin the process by speaking with a custom curtains and blinds Design Consultant. A quick chat with an expert will put your mind at ease and show you an uncomplicated path forward. There’s something very satisfying in knowing that the end result is much more than merely a decorator look – it’s the most functional and liveable curtains and blinds solution for every room of your home.
Should you have any questions regarding curtains and blinds custom designed for each room of your home, simply contact us today.
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