With the average American spending 87% of their life indoors, window treatments have never been this important. They have been part of buildings for centuries now, and there are lots of options to choose from, including blinds, drapes, curtains, and glass drops. These design options promise to help users control lighting, temperature, and even privacy in a room. And you can also get custom-made window treatments that will blend with your unique styling. So, if you’re looking for window coverings in Florida, you’re in good company.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Window Covering Style
Privacy: Places such as bedrooms, bathrooms, and living areas need a decent level of privacy. Most people choose frosted glass for bathrooms, then go with blinds for the bedrooms and living areas. Whatever you choose, make sure it blends with the rest of your decor for the best results.
Amount of light: Do you want to blackout a room or just control lighting? For total darkness, drapes should do the trick. This window treatment is great for bedrooms, but you can also have it in other rooms, except bathrooms and the kitchen. However, you need to install glass that lets in natural light and provides privacy when going with drapes.
Temperature control: If you don’t have thermal glass in your windows and doors, wood shutters are your next best option. The wood acts as insulation, keeping the weather out, and that creates temperature stability.
Decor: Whether you’re installing window coverings for privacy, light control, or insulation, you want them to look good. So you might want to experiment with styles and colors, then add automation to spice things up.
5 Popular Window Treatments in 2021
Shutters: This is by far the most popular window covering option right now. And it’s easy to see why. Shutters allow you to control the light coming into the room using the adjustable slats. This means you can tilt the flaps during the day to protect your upholstery and floors from the fading effects of the sun. They also come in various material options, including vinyl and wood, which are known for durability.
Curtains: Often used together with blinds, curtains offer complete privacy when fully drawn. They come with different materials, thicknesses, and patterns. And the option you choose determines the level of privacy you get. For example, some fabric curtains can block off the sun to give you complete privacy. You also get some level of insulation from the weather. However, they are also expensive and get dirty pretty fast.
Drapes: These are like curtains but heavier. They are double-lined to block out light and provide much better insulation. That means you can draw them during the day to keep the heat and cold out. But that also means you’ll have to keep the lights and AC on. Overall, drapes are great for people living in extreme weather conditions.
Shades: These are similar to blinds, minus the slats and vines. They are usually made of light-filtering fabric that keeps the UV rays out, but others are made of woven bamboo. They also come in various flavors, such as roman shades, roller shades, and blackout shades. And they can be automatic or manual depending on how much you want to spend on the upgrade.
Valances: Valances are in the curtain family, only that they are designed for decor purposes only. They are those pieces of fabric that hang over the curtain, drapes, or blinds to add more style to the window. You can also use them to hide imperfections on the top part of the window frame.
Should All Window Coverings Match?
It depends on the style you’re going for. But most interior designers advise people to go with one window treatment style in the entire house. Remember, these things are visible from the outside, and having two or more types of window coverings does not look nice. However, there’s a recent trend where people combine valances, curtains, and shades to get the full benefits of both styles. That means you can have a combo of these three in the same window and get away with it.
At the very least, make sure the colors on the window coverings match. This allows you to keep the theme flowing instead of playing the contrast game. You would rather have colorful fabric curtains with a pretty pattern than a different window treatment type in every window. However, the bark stops with you. Do whatever your heart desires because life is too short!
