Blinds, curtains — and shades, oh my! It can be tricky deciding which window coverings is best for your home. That’s why we want to help take out all the guesswork so you can find the right one and customize it with confidence. In this blog post, we’ll discuss a few factors that you’ll want to consider as you make your next window covering purchase.
What size are your windows?
With windows, proportions are key. A good rule of thumb is curtains for very wide or floor to ceiling windows and blinds for more average window sizes. However, if you have furniture right underneath the window, you want to consider blinds over curtains to avoid leaning over a couch to try and draw back your curtains.
Consider the size of the room as well. In a small office space, drapery could overpower a room where blinds or shades are more compact.
Which room are you shopping for?
The type of room can impact which window covering is best to get. We’ll do a quick overview here, but for a more in-depth look, read how you can select the best blinds for every space.
- Just about any light-filtering window covering can work for living rooms or rooms where you want light to flow through.
- For bedrooms, nurseries or media rooms, a blackout shade or curtain would be the best choice to block more light.
- Depending on your line of work, you could get solar shades or a room-darkening shade or curtain for your office to reduce glares on your laptop.
- Faux wood blinds or roller shades are moisture-resistant, making them more ideal for bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms or other spaces that are exposed to a lot of humidity. Fabric curtains and shades and woven woods can be affected from years of exposure to water.
Do you want motorized window coverings?
If the answer is yes, then blinds or shades are the choice for you! At this time, we do not have motorized curtains and drapery.
How much light control do you want? How much privacy do you want?
Broadly speaking, window coverings can be broken down to high, moderate and low light filtering categories and typically the amount of privacy is an opposite correlation.
The majority of our curtains allow a good amount of light to filter through the fabric, like Sheer Curtains and Refined Custom Drapes/Curtains. Without liners, they’ll provide some privacy but will allow for light to diffuse through. Add a liner to increase light control and privacy.
As for typical horizontal blinds, sunlight flows directly through when the slats are fully raised or tilted open. There is no fabric between the opened slats, so there’s some visibility from the outside in.
As for shades, the amount of light control depends on the type of shade you purchase. For the most part, sunlight comes in when shades are raised. When they are lowered, light typically does not flow through. For example, unlined woven wood shades can filter some light through its natural materials whereas a blackout lined roman shade would have to be raised to completely to let in light.
Or you can have both! Layer blinds, shades or sheer curtains underneath drapery to protect your privacy when the curtains are fully drawn.
Ready to Get Blinds You’ll Love?
As you can see, there are a lot of options when it comes to choosing a window covering for your home. Call one of our Design Consultants at (888) 257-1840 to talk more about your DIY project. We’re easy to talk to!
