Nothing adds the finishing touches to your windows like window dressing. Curtains, or indeed blinds, really do finish off a room. Whether you’re looking to bring a little luxury to your bedroom or provide sun shading in your living room, there are many options available. Here is an overview of the different options for curtains and blinds to help you choose the perfect window dressing for every window in your home.
How do you cover a window without curtains?
Roller blinds
Window-dressing can be a significant expense. The cost of curtains and blinds will depend on the fabric you choose and the size of your windows. The good news is that they can be fitted at any time, so you can invest room by room if your budget won’t stretch to dressing all of your windows in one go.
As a starting point, I’d advise going for roller blinds throughout the house. Roller blinds will provide privacy straight away and are the most cost-effective form of window dressing. Then, depending on the budget, you can decide which other rooms to tackle.
Venetian blinds
Venetian blinds come in a wide variety of sizes, colours, styles and finishes. They can be used on just about any style of window and in any room of the house.
Roman blinds
Roman blinds are an excellent option for dressing your windows and are less expensive than curtains because they require less fabric. A great tip is to hang the blind from the ceiling, covering the area of the wall above the window and hanging outside the opening. This will create the illusion of a much larger window and will not block as much light as hanging the blind inside the opening or just above it.
Floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall curtains
You might feel that this is counterintuitive, but actually, nothing makes a room feel more pokey than short curtains. By filling your walls on either side of the window with fabric, you will create the illusion of the window being much bigger and accentuate the floor to ceiling height. Floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall curtains also work with most window styles and shapes.
Avoid too much detail like heavy curtain poles or elaborate curtain headings. For a contemporary look, opt for a wave system curtain on a simple ceiling or wall-mounted track.
Blackout curtains & blinds
Blackout blinds are always a smart choice for a bedroom. This is especially true in children’s rooms as they can buy you that life-saving extra half-hours sleep in the morning.
An excellent tip for total blackout is to go with a blackout roller blind inside your window reveal. Then either blackout lined curtains or a blackout lined roller blind outside the reveal.
Readymade blinds and curtains
You don’t have to spend money on custom made curtains to get a high-end look. Readymade curtains are a great alternative. They’re easy to install and more affordable than made to measure versions. Readymade window dressings typically come in a range of standard sizes. When shopping for readymade curtains and blinds, always pick the size closest to your measurements. But err on the side of a few millimetres longer if you can’t find an exact match.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Managing Director Optimise Design, B.Arch. RIAI RIBA
& Senator’s Expert Design Consultant
This blog post is sponsored, but the views expressed by the author are her own.
