Out of Curiosity:: What’s On Your Windows?
Today, I’m not curious about what you think, or what you would do. I want to know what you’ve done…what you currently have.
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m big on window treatments. I tell all of my clients that their rooms simply won’t look finished without window treatments. You can spend thousands of dollars on new furniture, the perfect accessories, beautiful area rugs, gorgeous chandeliers, but if you leave your windows undressed, 99.9% of the time, your room will look unfinished.
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| Could you imagine John & Alice’s bedroom without window treatments? It’s would be so blah!! |
In fact, I’m so passionate about window treatments that it was the topic of my very first blog post, way back on February 20, 2007, when I first started this blog. Yes, I’ve been on my “window treatment” soapbox for that long now!!
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| Or how about my mom’s house without window treatments? It just wouldn’t look finished!! |
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| Her living room window would just be a big, blank rectangle without those window treatments!! |
And still, I realize just how unimportant window treatments seem to be to the average homeowner. Yes, I’m one of those people who looks through your Facebook photos, where you’re showing your Aunt Sally and Uncle Bob at your house for Thanksgiving, and I’m looking right past Aunt Sally and Uncle Bob to see what your house looks like. Sorry…that’s just what I do.
And what do I see when I do that? I see that most people don’t give any thought to their windows. More times than not, I see a window with either 1″ aluminum blinds or 2″ white wood (or faux wood) blinds on it, and not a stitch of fabric in sight.
So I want to know about you. Right now, in the main living areas of your home, what is on your windows? Don’t worry, you will be anonymous (unless you choose to leave a comment below), and I’m not going to embarass anyone. After all, my own living room window and bedroom window don’t have fabric on them…YET. This truly is just an “out of curiosity” thing for me. Of course, if you’re in the “don’t plan on adding window treatments” group, I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts on why you don’t want window treatments!!!
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
Oh man Kristi, I'm so embarrassed by my kitchen and bedroom windows, they're underdressed, but I'm having the hardest time decided what to put up!
On our sliding glass door in the living room, we have bamboo panels at the furthest edge and billowy white panels in between. I love it, but it took some marathon bargain hunting to find a combo that worked.
The other 3 windows we have in our condo, we forked over the dollars and got nice custom plantation shutters on this past spring.
Bamboo panels were from Pier 1
http://tinyurl.com/Ranong-Bamboo-Window-Panel
I am still searching for treaments in some rooms, but every window has some kind of shade (wooden blinds or black outs in bedrooms). I just have no idea what I love!
I am with you on window treatments- I just can't afford what I want. Right now in my living room I have some concoction of my own design. I altered some tab top curtains- cut off the tabs and added some additional fabric and pleats- They are just white. I need privacy and want some shutters, but they are not in my budget so I made some cute cafe curtains. I am actually kind of liking them right now.
Why am I writing all this- well I voted for ready mades in your poll, but it is not quite accurate.
Terrible allergies keep me from adding beautiful curtains in my rooms, although I am eager to add some to the custom blinds (you know the ones that are fabric, but also have light blocking options–very nice, and purchased by the previous owners)in my living room. Our study and family room have custom made valance-style treatments, but still look naked to me. In my next life, I'd like to be allergy free so I can wrap everything in yards and yards of beautiful fabric!
I really like the bold use of different patterns and designs. The warm colors make the room look very comfortable. I really like your style….
Tons of my business comes from window treatments, so I obviously think they are an important part of the room. I agree with what you said that without them, the room just isn't finished. I wish all my clients felt that way!!
Great design style. I especially love the simple elegance of the fireplace it really stands out in the room.
Windows are the eyes of a room..they let you see out and others see in. Naked windows never look finished and shutters are too hard for my style, especially since I have hardwood throughout my whole house. I took down all the shutters and wooden blinds in my house and added silk and linen curtains on simple iron rods throughout. Plus the closing of a curtain is such a simple romantic thing to do. I am all for custom but that is what I do for a living.
I love the homely feel of the room. It is so very warm and it makes me want to relax. I was pleased to see the different curtain styles displayed.
I want to make window coverings, but the outside wall of my condo (where all the windows are) is concrete, so I am still working on a plan for putting them up.
I just found your blog this morning and I'm loving it! I had to laugh at your confession, looking past Aunt Sally and Unlce Bob to see how the house is decorated – I do that too!
I'm in the midst of a window treatment dilemma. I have sheers up right now but I am at a loss to pick fabric for the panels also, I want to wait until I've replaced the dusty rose carpet so it won't dictate any of my colour choices. They made some very durable carpet in the 90's, it still looks like brand new and believe me, I'm trying to wear it out! Now, off to explore more of your blog…
Hi, I just discovered your blog, and had to comment on this post!
I bought a house about 18 months ago. Right now, I have blinds on all my windows, but feel like my living room looks kind of blah; I think that I need curtains, but am not sure how to do it – my living room has 3 floor to ceiling windows across one wall, with very little space in between. Should I do one big curtain across the whole wall, or should each window be "dressed" individually? I'd love your thoughts!
Susan
Great design style. I especially love the simple elegance of the fireplace it really stands out in the room.
I really like the bold use of different patterns and designs. The warm colors make the room look very comfortable. I really like your style….
I am still searching for treaments in some rooms, but every window has some kind of shade (wooden blinds or black outs in bedrooms). I just have no idea what I love!
Completely agree that window treatments certainly add warmth and elegance to a room.
Great article!
Window blinds are good options for our
home rather than curtains. These blinds are easily available in the market and
with many different designs.
window blinds
My window treatments are a work in process. A good tool for helping to choose shade or blinds is Bali Blinds free mobile app. It enables you to compare products and match colors to your room. You can download it from baliblinds.com.
Personally i am fan of blinds. There are so many more options than curtains that i think look old fashioned. I found a few great articles on on this blog http://www.lifestyleblinds.com/blog/