Friday, November 19, 2010

Difficulty Choosing Window Treatments


I’ve been getting a few quotes recently for blinds for our place. At this stage, we’re just after something for the laundry window and something for Grace’s room. The laundry is bare at present but the verticals in Grace’s room let in too much light between the slats and it’s far too bright in there in the morning.

My dilemma is that while we’re only focusing on these two windows for now, I’m trying to think ahead as to what we’ll one day have as window treatments in our other rooms. For Grace’s room (and one day the other bedroom and study) I’m liking the idea of a white Roman blind (in a block out fabric) as being a small room, drapes would be too heavy and close the room in and I feel this option would not stand out too much yet still look stylish and streamlined. The window in Grace’s room is a bit odd as it ends right against the wall which makes installing the blind a bit difficult. Are Roman blinds usually installed on the outside or the inside of the window cavity?

As for the laundry, the most recent quote I had was leaning me towards a simple roller blind but now I’m preferring the idea of a venetian blind in a white faux-wood (larger width slats).

My question is, do you think there should be some cohesion to the window treatments in a home to unify the look of things or can different rooms be treated differently if a similar colour scheme is kept? Decisions, decisions!! I’d appreciate any advice you have about window treatments from your own experiences…


Image found via Two Little Dicky Birds

21 comments:

  1. Hi Amanda,
    Personally I love the look of matching window treatments through out the house. We have white plantation shutters, they are beautiful but such a pain to clean! Although for a laundry something plain and functional would be fine for Grace's room a blind and then maybe curtains also for decoration? I'm no help! xx

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  2. Lots of decisions! Hmmmm... I like having same or similar window treatments thoughout the house. We have eco shutter blinds which I originally got custom made through Freedom but have now found the same blinds online here www.Cheapablinds.com.au which we got in other rooms. Good luck with deciding, look forward to seeing what you decide on. Have a lovely weekend my dear!
    Jxx

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  3. The best thing about blinds is you can have them do their thing, flat, simple, purposeful, then add curtains over the top for colour, texture, dimension, aesthetics. Best of both worlds!! Love Posie

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  4. I think you can definitely use different window treatments in different rooms. We've got a roman on our kitchen window and long white curtains on the rest of the windows and doors in the same room (the family room). We've then got solid shutters in the bathroom and curtains in the children's bedrooms. I'm yet to decide on the rest! They can hang the roman on the frame or inside it, depending on the depth and whether or not you have screens. You need to consider if privacy is an issue too - if you want to let in light but need privacy, you might need a double treatment like a sheer blind and curtains or sheer blind and roman. It's such a hard decision, it took us ages to decide and I'm still having trouble with the bay windows we've got! Have a lovely weekend..Rachaelxx

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  5. Hi Amanda, just wanted to say thankyou for your comment about Ollie. You're a very sweet woman & it always warms my heart when I see feedback from you.

    love lauramay.xxx

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  6. it depends on choice whether you want to match the whole house or separate in different rooms...i used to work in a window furnishings store a few years back now,and i found that Romans can be placed either way {inside the window or outside}but if you want them on the inside they have to be made to measure but if you want them on the outside you can just measure across the window and buy it from anyway,i found the outside block out more light b/c it covers the corners a bit better and i like them better on the outside personally,another idea is if you have Romans on the outside and you can have a Roller bind called a E/screen on the inside of the window, what it does - it blocks out sunlight when your Romans are opened and people cant see inside from the outside but you can see outside from the inside very clearly,they are fantastic and they look great too.only problem is the roller becomes see through during the night so that's where the Romans come in:) decisions decisions,i'm still wanted to change my rooms now too just cant decided on fabric.Good luck sweetie XX

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  7. it's hard deciding sometimes......i'd certainly go different, everyroom is different, eg...i had long curtains in bedroom so it looked a bit more glam and white timber venetion blind in bathroom with rollerblinds in living/dining....using the same colour palette....maybe to help you decide {i do this all the time} ask myself questions

    1. will i get bored with the same look throughout
    2. will it frustrate me seeing different finishing's
    a often find a pros and cons list helps.......................

    hope this helps in some way and look forward to hearing what you decide have a great weekend amanda lisa xx

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  8. Oh goodness me, I lost my sessage...darn blogger! I was just going to say that I think you need to choose your window treatment depending on the use of the room. I think the white timber chunky venetians sounds perfect for the laundry.
    Have a lovely weekend Amanda xx

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  9. We have venetian blind in a white faux-wood in our kitchen and i love them as they make the room so light and airy - we're like you though and not sure if we want a uniform look across the house or not. I might go for curtains in the more plush living areas such as the living room. Let us know what you decide!

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  10. I prefer complimentary blinds throughout.

    We've just ordered planation shutters for our two big front windows that are visible from the front of the house.

    For the rest of the house we're having dual rollers on all windows. A vista screen to filter the sunlight while allowing you to see out and a blockout over the top.

    All in white.

    The rollers can be recessed or fitted on the outside.

    Good luck choosing blinds. It is a daunting and very expensive decision.

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  11. Hi amanda, i have the same issues, its kind of tricky... I have plantation shutters in the main living areas and am replacing all the timber blinds with white eco-blinds in the bedrooms. Also, the two bathrooms are tricky as i dont really want blinds there as they get dusty and dirty... as a result, i still have nothing there as i just dont know what is best...
    good luck with your choice!
    Laura c xx

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  12. I'd recommend venetians if you want to let a bit of light in and still have privacy. The problem with roller blinds is that you can't just let a bit of light in, you have to roll the whole thing up. I agree with uniformity and have pondered that q myself and in the end decided any window seen from the front and back be matching timber slat blinds (from Textile Traders). The rooms along the side of the house I put in aluminium blinds (from Spotlight) as they were much cheaper and broke up the timber a bit. Hope that helps!

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  13. Oh man, that is such a toughie. I have the hardest time with curtains. They are such a statement piece. I really do stink at it. I'm gonna keep coming back to this post to get more insight from your lovely readers. Seriously - window treatments are my nemesis. xo

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  14. I think the timber slat blinds look great - especially in the wet area rooms. I love roman blinds too - I will be putting them in all bedrooms so there is some cohesion and then light billowy curtains over the top so I can see one or both. Spotlight and Freedom have great prices on romans and timber blinds if the size suits. Hope all of these comments are helping with your decision, and look forward to seeing what you decide.
    Rebecca x

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  15. When we bought our house & renovated it 4 years ago, we were told {by an interior designer} to keep the blinds consistent throughout the whole house....so we did! Only difference is: we used a silver colour in the bathroom & laundry, but the rest of the house they are chocolate brown. I love it....BUT....I do wish that my daughter's room didn't have the brown blinds. Her room is so girly & colourful...and the brown blinds don't fit in. But we've jazzed them up with a white lace curtain & a colourful overhang. If you are planning on staying there for a while...do what fits you & your lifestyle in each room :)
    xo

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  16. tough hah? you are right about romans, nice and plain and i think they would be good for the bedrooms.
    i don't think you need the same through out? my living areas have roller blinds and my bedrooms have curtains - in different fabrics.

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  17. Hi Amanda,
    I love Plantation Shutters - they suit all sorts of decor and are easy to clean when they are painted. Whilst I nearly had to take a 2nd mortgage to pay for them in our home in Melbourne (35 panels!!), they were well worth the investment. Our leased home here in Perth has them too and we find they are fine with blocking out the light in bedrooms.

    Good luck with your designing!
    Christine xo

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  18. Being a penniless practical-student, I've never had the fun of buying window treatments. One of those things I dream about for when I have a place to decorate.
    Personally, I think that you can go different for the different rooms - my parents have off-white Roman blinds in each room and it looks too matchy (and boring).

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  19. Having had zero experience with window treatments I'm not sure I can say much except I don't think I could have a house with the same in every room. Bedrooms need cozyness I think. My parents have those white louves/shutters in their bathroom and they look great : ) hope you had a lovely weekend

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  20. Hi Amanda - Roman blinds normally sit outside the window recess:(. This question about whether the window treatments throughout the house have to match was raised recently on the Decorating Forum. The verdict was no they don't except across the front of the house. Also having any blinds on the inside of a window recess will allow a little light to shine through on the sides and may be enough to wake Grace in the morning. I hope that helps lovely:)

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