Do your Drapes Need a Refresh? Here’s What’s Trending…
BWS Design • December 3, 2018
There is no better way to spruce up a room than changing the window treatments, especially the drapes. With so many eye-catching ideas, everyone will think you totally redecorated, especially if you move the furniture around. Look around your room for a new color or pattern idea.
It’s All About Light-Weight Layering
Going into the New Year, living rooms and bedrooms are being adorned with multi-colored layering. It is two, three and even four colors being layered together. Beautiful fringes, chords, and tassels are used to design dramatic scallops and angles to make every home unique.
Living Rooms that Entertain
Many people still enjoy having an elegant room for entertaining their guests. You can dress up your room with dramatic draperies.
- If your living room is painted in a white, beige or light color, deep colored drapes mixed with lightweight, sheer inserts is always a beautiful way to be bold, but allow light to come into a room. Using multi-colored panels can also be a way of pulling in different colors you want to highlight from your furnishings. It doesn’t have to be totally symmetrical with dramatic swoops and angles.
- If you have furniture that is mono-colored, you can pick up that color with your drapes and select a light-weighted and patterned insert. Dramatic toppers can add a bold look
- If you want the hardware part of the decor, there are beautiful bronze, gold, and wood rods, and ends that can a dramatic look. Adding elegant, chorded ropes and tassels of gold or bronze can make a rich look.
Family Room Where Everyone Hangs Out
- A lot of homes have grown accustomed to a white family room with built-in shelves and hearths. The walls and furniture are neutral tones. If you have a few throw pillows with a bright color, that would color the room and break up the neutral tones. Again, layering heavier-colored, outside panels with lighter sheers in the middle is a great way to allow a softer light into an already bright-white room.
- If your family room has the warmth of woods, lighter toned curtains would be best. Depending on your furniture, you can use light-colored patterns. If you have heavy, dark furniture, large stripes that run horizontally with soft-toned colors is a classic look.
Kitchen Windows Are for Gazing
Most people don’t like closing off their kitchen windows, especially when the windows are over the sink. It’s always relaxing to look out when we’re doing the dishes. Some people have beautiful bay windows that welcome in the morning light. Depending on how your kitchen faces the rising and setting sun, you may want to be able to dim some of that sunlight.
- For homes without the glare of the morning or afternoon sunlight, shear-type curtains are perfect in the kitchen.
- For kitchens that are soaked with the morning sun, sun-blocking materials are available. You can even use the cafe curtain idea with a bit of flair using a bold color panel on the outside of two sheer panels. You may like the bold color as the top panel.
- For a bay window dressed with plantation shutters, four solid or patterned panels placed at the outside and inside frames are all you need to accent your kitchen’s decor.
- For smaller windows, window blinds that you can pull all the way up are also a great idea for the kitchen, especially for those kitchens with blinding sunlight. There are plenty of different ideas and types of blinds that offer a pretty print or light colors to allow sunlight to filter through into the room. The cafe-style curtains are always great to add just a bit of decor in your kitchen. The cafe curtain comes in many different looks, so it doesn’t have to look outdated.
Bedrooms – Fancy or Plain
Many master bedrooms, especially those with a lanai and pool, have large slider doors. Along with blinds or shutters for privacy, drapes and curtains make a bedroom cozy and play a big part of the decor.
- For those big sliders, many people have a sliding blind of some type for privacy and to keep out the morning sun for those days when you actually get to sleep in. Again, layering would give you a way to add a couple of colors for a simple or dramatic look. There are many cornice board designs to hide the top of your sliders for a crisp and clean look. A simple and bold look is using those curtains with the big loops hanging on a beautiful rod.
- The smaller bedroom windows where you use a panel design on the sliders can be dressed with just a single color taken from the sliders.
- If your bedroom only has a couple of windows, you can make them appear bigger with cornice boards, long panels with sheer lace covering the window panes.
Just Blinds Can Help You Create A Refreshing New Look
With over 30 years of experience in the Central Alabama area, our creative team at Just Blinds, Inc. has been helping homeowners design and create exciting changes with window treatments whether through custom blinds, shades, plantation shutters and all types of window fashions. Our in-home consultations are free. We are always excited to see our customers love their homes all over again and again with a refreshing new look through the windows. Let us help you envision the new look.
Expert Advice by Just Blinds
Your selection of window treatment products and services is not merely about getting a job done. Rather, if you look hard enough, you can find direct correlations between the type of person that you are and the window treatment that you select. We have created this personality-based guide to help you best discover what kind of window treatment truly matches your spirit. The Dependable Type: Wooden Blinds You are the person that all of your friends can count on. You are the type of person who truly sticks to your plans when you make them, and you are the type of person who will choose wooden blinds for your home. Privacy is important to you when selecting your blinds, and that is why you find yourself pulled into the idea of putting up wooden blinds. Besides that, they happen to be highly functional, and that's not something that you are willing to pass up either. The Planner: Blackout Curtains Those who value truly getting the most value out of their blinds or anything else that they install in their homes will think very carefully about their options. For those people, going with blackout curtains makes a lot of sense. They want to gain as much value as possible out of their options, and they know that they can significantly improve their quality of sleep and so much more when they opt for blackout curtains. These also happen to be a great option for those who work night shifts or other odd hours and yet still want to enjoy their sleep. They need blackout curtains to help increase the quality of that sleep and allow themselves to get their day started right. The Tech Enthusiast: Smart Shades They roam among us: The type of people who are quick to adopt any new technology and get to work figuring out how it can improve their lives. These people are great because they are not afraid to take a risk and because they help to move our society forward. They simply want to get more out of each day, and they often do so by adopting and using the latest technologies. These individuals will gravitate towards smart shades for the following attributes: Innovation - Who wants to stick with the boring old ways of shading one's house? Smarter options are now available, and you better believe that the tech enthusiasts among us are willing to latch on to them. Efficiency - These shades are a more efficient option for those who care about that kind of thing. They can be easily activated and set up to open or close automatically (how cool is that?!). Progressive - The "cool" factor is a big deal for people who fall into this category as well. They might not admit to it right off the bat, but they care deeply about what others think about them. As such, they want window shades that have that cool factor attached to them. The Dreamer: Sheer Curtains Finally, we land upon the dreamer. This is the person who views every day for the possibilities that it can bring. They are not scared off by those with a negative attitude. If anything, they believe that they can change those people! Instead, the dreamer wants sheer curtains because they bring in soft light, open spaces, and bring about a feeling of possibility all throughout the house. Sheer curtains are the ideal option for someone who classifies themselves in this way. They will receive plenty of compliments on their curtains, and they will appreciate how open they are to the world. Which kind of person are you and which window treatment option makes the most sense for your personality? For more inspiration and ideas, reach out and contact us today.
We all know and understand the concept of installing outdoor shades on a patio. It is the classic way to create a cool and comfortable space for yourself and your friends to spend some quality time together outdoors. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is limiting to think that the patio is the only part of one's property where outdoor shades are appropriate. There are some surprising and unexpected places where homeowners have taken to installing outdoor shades recently. We want to take a look at some of these to provide you with ideas for your next home improvement project. 1) Balconies Some homes are built quite close together, and some homeowners naturally feel like they would like to do more to protect their privacy. Although their neighbors might not intentionally be looking through their balconies, it is easy for the human eye to drift. Thus, some city-dwelling homeowners have made the choice to install outdoor shades in this area. On top of keeping prying eyes off of your property, outdoor shades also block the sun rays from your balcony as well creating a more comfortable space to spend some time. 2) Outdoor Kitchens One of the most delightful social experiences that someone can have is to invite over a large group of friends for a meal cooked outside. It gives everyone the opportunity to share stories, laughes, and a bit of food all at the same time. Of course, this is best done in an outdoor kitchen. Your outdoor kitchen is a space where you should feel comfortable and have the ability to entertain a large group of people all at the same time. This means looking at installing outdoor shades to provide an extra layer of protection from the heat of the sun. Thus, this has become another area where homeowners are quickly installing outdoor shades. 3) Poolside Lounges Now we are really talking! Who doesn't love to kick back with their favorite cold beverage and spend some time relaxing next to the pool? That is what you can enjoy more completely when you set up a poolside lounge with outdoor shades. Poolside lounges are meant to be a place where you can spend several hours at a time. However, it can get pretty hot while doing so if you don't put some outdoor shades in place. Get those shades up so you can let all of your worries melt away as you take in the smell of pool water and sunscreen. 4) Garden Areas Do you enjoy a little gardening in your downtime? You might like it even more after setting up outdoor shades that protect you from the excessive heat of the sun. Gardening is labor-intensive work and can take several hours of diligent labor to do it properly. However, you don't want to overextend yourself and end up getting physically overworked. Keeping some of the sun away is an excellent way to ensure that you don't overdo it. Just make sure that you check up on the sunlight needs of the various plants that you intend to put into your garden before installing outdoor shades. 5) Exterior Windows Did you know that it is possible to reduce your energy bills by installing outdoor shades? It's true! If you place outdoor shades on the exterior windows of your home, you can reduce the strain placed on your air conditioning by naturally reducing the overall temperature within your living space. This means less money out of your pocket and more money for working on your next project. There are many interesting places where homeowners are installing outdoor shades these days. For more creative ideas on what you can do with yours, reach out and contact us now.