Many Calgary homeowners are rather good at throwing a basic room design together. Choose a
nice couch, a chair or two, maybe an area rug and some wall art and voila, a very livable space.
However, one area often overlooked by DIY interior designers is the windows. If you’re stumped
on what window treatments will work best in your home, here’s an overview of what works best
where.
Light or Flight?
A big consideration is how the light hits your room. If you find yourself sweating at high noon
because you’re room is south facing, it’s a flight situation. Your room won’t be very comfortable
which means everyone wants to flee to the cooler rooms in the shade. However, you can make
the most of your room, by using solar blinds to help filter the light to keep your room cool. Just
remember one of the best things about window treatments is you can use layers to suit your
needs.
So, you can use the window blinds Calgary homeowners love to cool a room down, then add a
little softness and design flair with curtain side panels. If on the other hand, you find your room
is dark and dreary, this is a light situation. You want to allow full light into the room without fear
of heat or glare, so curtains work here. They add a stylish accent, in hand with complete privacy
when you need it.
Peeping Toms or Fearless Parading?
Another consideration for window treatments is room exposure. If you’re on a main road, or
have windows providing a perfect view for curious neighbours, you want a window treatment
that provides privacy. If it’s a room where natural light is welcome, an excellent choice is top
down bottom up blinds.
This allows you to maintain privacy by blocking the main view in the center of the window while
pulling the blind down at the top and up at the bottom to allow in more light. However, if your
room is completely private and you can walk around your home fearlessly in various stages of
undress, then you really can take your pick of blinds, curtains, or a combination.
Full-on Glamour or Toned-Down Minimalism?
A sense of style is especially important when it comes to window dressings. Customized blinds
and tailor-made drapes allow for completely unique looks based on your room décor. Curtains
are a go-to for the more luxurious, layered, luxe, sexy, glamourous look, while blinds provide the
crisp, clean lines minimalists love. However, there are different looks that are great with curtains
including the rustic country charm look, the Victorian look, cozier contemporary styles, etc.
Meanwhile, that pared-down Swedish look, manly executive suite look, and industrial look are
friends of the blind. Keep in mind both curtains and blinds can be customized to be as simple or
rich as you like. Roman blinds for example can be designed to be quite flamboyant, while simple
unpleased curtain panels can be very streamlined and ultra-modern.
Budget-Friendly or Sky’s the Limit?
This can be tricky to call because when you’re talking custom window treatments Calgary
homeowners order, both blinds and curtains vary greatly. The main consideration is based on
the materials used. A customized curtain in faux silk, suede or velvet with basic tailoring would
be more affordable than wooden blinds for example.
At the same time, a lush, high-end fabric drape that is highly stylized with brocade and tassels
and customized pleats would be far more costly than a vinyl blind. In fact, as far as high-end
fabrics go, you might be looking at higher costs for curtains even compared to wooden blinds.
So as a rule, going for natural high-end materials will impact cost more than the choice between
blinds or curtains.
If you’d like advice on choosing Calgary custom window treatments for your home, call us today
to book a free consultation at 403-452-3999.
