Choosing the best window treatments for your home

Window coverings are a very personal choice. Your selection of coverings can often be influenced by the age and style of your home. However, I often find that people simply have their own preferences based on their lifestyle and household. These preferences can also change over time as their households change.

Blinds are by far the preferred window treatments. In many new homes we see clean and simple window treatments. The selection of blinds available is quite extensive. We have Designer Roller Shades that can give you part views or a decorative pattern if you want something really art deco! These can be fun and funky in trendy home offices or ensuites.

For a more traditional look, a Vingette looks like a modern version of a roman shade. It can have flat folds or the traditional rounded folds. Roller shades are making a huge comeback and are available in a wide range of colours and options. You can have colour coordinated valances in the same fabric as your roller shade or a complimentary colour to pick up some of the décor you have in the room.

Our accordion style Duettes are still a customer favorite. They have an extensive fabric selection and every option of light filtering necessary.

However, the customer favourite feature is the energy efficiency of this product. The more elegant blinds are our Silhouette, Pirouette and Luminette. These have a very clean, elegant look. The level of opacity is often dictated by the room. Bedrooms usually prefer a high level of opacity and would prefer blackout options to keep the sunlight out. Occasionally, bedroom blinds are combined with drapery to ensure blackout for better sleeping conditions.

Overall, custom blinds are a more expensive option than basic off-the-shelf drapery. However, the costs range dramatically based on the style of blind and lift system.

There is such a focus on the actual windows in the newer builds that customers do not want to hide them behind heavy drapery. Decorative, yet highly functional and stylish blinds, are a perfect choice. Most windows are large and key features of the home’s design. Inside-mount blinds allow the windows to remain a key feature of the room design, while still allowing for privacy or light filtering options.

Having the right window coverings enhances the design feature of the windows while allowing the family to control the overwhelming light that can interfere with your comfortable use of a space. With most blind options also allowing for UVA protection, it also helps protect your flooring and furniture.

Household features that impact window covering selection are children, their ages and pets. Homes with young children and pets tend to choose easy to clean lower maintenance items that are also more durable. A common concern is child spills or dirty fingers, especially in eating areas. This a perfect opportunity to coordinate the same fabrics with different styles of blinds. This allows us to have the consistency of the same fabric but accommodate the different functions and requirements of different rooms by using different blind styles.

Something a bit more elegant in a great room but more sensible, are easy to clean blinds in the kitchen. Households with older children, without children or no pets tend to lean toward an elegant look. Maintenance and cleaning are not as much of a concern and they tend to be more concerned about energy efficiency, protecting furniture and flooring or simply getting what they really love!

Drapery is not gone completely. We see drapery more often in older homes. Drapery can often be used to hide an old window or provide a blackout option in bedrooms. We see more coloured coordinated décor with drapery and find custom blinds in older homes less often.

Drapery has the benefit of being changed more frequently as décor schemes change and is much less costly to change when changing the décor in a room. We do still supply some custom drapery and coordinated upholstery fabrics. This is done more often in older, more traditional homes. Drapery in a newer home is often used as an accent feature that further showcases the windows rather than covering windows. Over-the-counter drapery is often less expensive. Custom drapery can often be similar in price to custom blinds.

The option for technology is a must in this day and age. Setting window coverings to open, close, or open in light filtering mode can all be preprogrammed to happen automatically every day. You also have the option of having your window coverings controlled from your smart phone, or smart home device. This is a useful feature to allow your window coverings to lower into light filtering mode, protecting your furniture and flooring while you are away at work. It also gives the illusion that someone is home operating the blinds, keeping potential burglars at bay.

The features and options available are as diverse as our customers’ needs. There is a solution for every home and every situation. All you have to do is ask and you shall receive! This is a great time to check for year end sales! You can visit your local showroom or have an in-home consultation. Happy shopping!

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