Choosing Kitchen Appliances You'll Actually Use

The window treatments you choose for any room in your home are more important than you might realize, as these pieces block sun, improve sound and temperature insulation to a room, and help to enhance or create a certain style in the space. Some window treatments are also a bit more cumbersome to manage than others, which is important to consider if you're always opening and closing those pieces throughout the day. To ensure you choose the right window treatments for a room, note a few simple tips to keep in mind.

Curtains

Curtains can be a good choice if a room has timber floors or lots of wood furniture, as the fabric of curtains will soften all that wood. Thick curtains and drapes also insulate a room against cold, and from outside noise. However, thick curtains can also make a room seem somewhat stuffy, and old-fashioned curtains can easily make a room seem outdated as well.

It can also be difficult to coordinate curtains with a room's features, as material that looks good in a store may actually clash with furniture upholstery or carpeting. Curtains are also difficult to clean, as you need to take curtains off their rod, have them cleaned and pressed, and then put them back on the rod, all of which can be very cumbersome.

Shutters

Shutters are lightweight and good for small rooms, and shutters also add lots of style to a space; dark shutters create warmth in a room, and white shutters keep the room cool and casual. Shutters are also easier to coordinate with furniture fabric, although wood shutters in a room with timber floors can mean far too much wood in that space. Shutters also need space along the wall next to the window for opening, so they're not always as compact as you assume.

Blinds

Blinds are very good for small spaces, as they don't get in the way of furniture, or billow out and away from a window. Blinds can also trick the eyes into making a space seem larger. Horizontal blinds can make a wall seem wider, and vertical blinds can add height to a window. Wood, vinyl and aluminium blinds are also very easy to clean, and fabric blinds can soften a room with timber floors or wood furniture. Motorized blinds also work with a simple switch or remote, so there is no fussing with cords when you want to open and close the window treatments.