Picking out the perfect options for the living rooms is a matter of what you want to do with it. For many, the living room is a meeting spot for the family, the one place where everybody can sit, relax and just unwind after a long day, at school, work, or any other stressful place. How we decorate our living rooms says a lot about who we are, as families and as individuals. Some like to have understated warmth and light, letting a beautiful view or large TV do the talking. Others take a more direct approach, with some bright features to draw attention and a few accents to back them up. A lot of thought can go into a well-made living room, where there are many choices to be made. The design of the couches and coffee table, the artwork that will adorn the walls, and what features will fill the corners, if any. These options though, aren’t what you are here to learn about. If you are reading this, you are probably here to get more information about window treatment options for your living room. There are many fine window dressings to choose from, shades, drapes, and blinds that will add to the style of your living room and make everything look as perfectly as you can imagine. What is the best way to match the window treatment to the new space?
First, have an idea for what you want to do with the space, what do you want your living room to look like? Is it going to be modern and contemporary? Or rustic and warm. Certain shades are easy to pair with certain styles and make excellent choices. Cellular shades have a new age look that goes well with modern tones and sleek furniture, while stacked roman shades have a definite rustic appeal, perfect for framing a view of the backyard. If the style doesn’t fit in with the design of the window treatment, it’s much easier to find a window treatment to fit your desired theme.
Second are the levels of control that you want. The purpose of window treatments is to maintain privacy, control the amount of light entering your home, and maintain control over the amount of heat that enters or exits through your windows. Most window treatments easily handle the first one, shades, blinds, and all other options are very hard to see through when closed. The other two are a bit more tricky to figure out. Some options are better than others. If you want absolute darkness, you may want to look into blackout options for window treatments like solar shades and drapes. These prevent any light from entering your house. For less drastic measures, pleated shades and roller shades have differing levels of light filtration at your discretion. And for ease of control over temperature, you can’t go wrong with an option like honeycomb shades, where the fabric rolls will trap air to keep your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
With so many options to choose from, it helps to take a minute, find a good starting point in design, maintenance or control and start your search from there. Don’t be afraid to try something new, but keep those absolutes in mind. There are enough options out there that you can afford to be picky.