Dressing Windows

Guardians of our privacy, windows become an integral part of any decorating scheme. As they are the first thing to consider in matters of lighting, they play a major role in creating the environment in which we like to live.

There are two main types of window covering: rigid and supple.
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Rigid window covering
Supple window covering
Fashion trends
Accessories
The effects of lighting
Tips to modify imperfect window
Some unusual ideas

Rigid window covering

Rigid window coverings are used to filter light or keep it out.
  • If your only purpose is to filter light, you can choose from many options. Among them: printed "roller" blinds, PVC or aluminum Venitian blinds or fabric verticals.

  • When it comes to patios, family rooms or the greenhouse, the solar blanket is an interesting choice as it blocks heat in summer and cold in winter.

  • If you really want to keep light out we recommend opaque roller blinds, wood. PVC or aluminum Venitians and PVC, aluminum or fabric verticals. Finally, louvered wood window coverings provide privacy while controlling both light and heat.

Supple window covering

Supple window coverings allow you to decorate using textiles.
  • Veiling, lace, embroidery and Jacquard fabrics can all be used as window coverings.

  • Valences are used to delineate, decorate and soften windows dressed in rigid coverings.

  • Valences come in different styles. Whether home-made or bought ready-made they easily adapt to your tastes.

Fashion trends

Blinds and shades are valued because they screen well, although, on the aesthetic side, they are somewhat cold. More and more, people are moving towards flexible dressings, or in other words, tissues and lace. The marriage of both types, rigid and flexible, is often the best compromise. As an example, install a blind or shade inside the window frame; then add a clear material, drapes and a pelmet. It is not necessary to use all four of these types at once. Blind/pelmet or material/drapes/pelmet combinations are the most common.

Accessories

Their is an abundance of window dressing products on the market that can satisfy every taste and budget. Among them; lovely decorative wooden or wrought iron curtain rods with caps, etc. With tied-back curtains, they can be very chic. Ready-to-install ensembles, quite practical, come in a wide range of elegant assortments. Then there are the accessories... For example, curtain loops attached to both sides of the frame which circle the curtain. You can select the same curtain material or use metal or the more classic rope types. Then there are hooks, clips or pelmet supports, etc.

The effects of lighting

Blinds and curtains filter the sun's rays and shelter you from unwanted invasions of privacy. A blind made of light fabric will let in light while setting off the colours of your walls. A translucent red fabric will cast a pinkish light while a translucent yellow fabric, hanging from a north window which receives little sunlight, will create a more luminous atmosphere than would normally be the case.

Blue or green curtains may, at times, darken a room. Yellows, are the brightest.

Tips to modify imperfect window

Here are four ways of changing the appearance of less-than-perfect windows: alter their proportions, create the impression that they are larger or narrower, or make them more pleasant or more original.
  • To make a window appear narrower, install curtains that meet at the top of the window. Pull and secure the panels to the sides using tiebacks.

  • If you want to avoid covering a radiator located at the bottom of a window, dress the window with long curtains that you will always leave open, and cover the window with a blind, leaving the radiator visible.

  • To shorten a window, install a valence or a cornice over the top part of the window. Conversely, if you want the window to appear higher, install the valence or cornice on top of the window.

  • To create the impression that a window is wider, extend the curtain rod on either side of the window. This way, the window you found too narrow will now seem wider.

Some unusual ideas

Here are a few unusual ideas that you might try:
  • In place of a pelmet, try a pretty tablecloth, a sheet or a large scarf that you suspend from the curtain rod, the corners forming a triangle. An original, inexpensive idea.

  • Think of lace doilies... Hang them from the curtain rod! The rustic look...

  • Create a pelmet or curtain loops of leis made of leaves. When autumn rolls around, add yellow, red and orange leaves.

  • If you are handy, wooden, homemade pelmets produce remarkable effects.

  • A kitchen window can be highlighted with a shelf, without a curtain or shade. Suspend small baskets, etc.
The theme: be creative! Before installing blinds or drapes for good, try different arrangements. Put a little imagination in the service of your windows. The look will certainly be noticed!
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