How to Pick Window Treatments Like an Interior Designer

Creating a cohesive decor aesthetic in your home can feel daunting with so many options and different parts that need to come together. One of the most overlooked areas of a space are often the windows. Window treatments are essential to creating a completed look, no matter the style of your home. Whether you gravitate towards shades or love the textures available with curtains and draperies, selecting your window treatments can be challenging. So today, I am sharing my ultimate guide to all things window coverings including the different types, what you need to consider when choosing window coverings, how to pick window treatments, my favorite sources, and sooo much more.

The Ultimate Guide to Window Treatments

This is definitely one of my longer blog posts because there’s just so much information to cover. So to make it easier for you to navigate to the info you want, simply click on the link and you’ll jump to that section!

• The different types of window coverings
• What to consider when selecting window treatments for your home
• The most popular window treatment currently
• How to buy window treatments for each room
• Do all window treatments need to match?
• My favorite places to buy curtains, shades, and blinds

Different Types of Window Coverings

Depending on who you talk to, there are dozens of different window coverings on the market! In fact, it can make your head spin while to decide what’s best for your home. To simplify, I’ve broken down what I feel are the top three choices for your window treatments: curtains/drapes, shades, and blinds.

Curtains/drapes

One of the most common window treatments out there are draperies or curtains. These typically come in pairs and can enhance the look of your space no matter what style you are going for: casual, classy, elegant, modern, etc. Controlling both light and privacy are easy with draperies; simply close them to increase privacy or open them back up to allow more light into the space. 

Curtains are one of the most versatile window coverings out there. They come in a variety of colors, textures, fabrics, designs, shapes, and sizes. You can get them sheer so that a lot of light can filter through or go as far as to get blackout curtains that bathe your interiors in darkness (perfect for bedrooms).

Shades

Many options exist on the market for shades, but one of the most common are Roman Shades. These hang flat when they are fully extended and fold into horizontal pleats when they are raised. They’re my favorite look currently.

Roman shades allow you to control the amount of light and privacy in your home. They can be made of just about any fabric and have a cord that allows you to adjust how high or low you want your shades to sit. Roman shades can also be made from hard materials, such as bamboo or wood.

Blinds

There are many different types of blinds out there, just like with shades, but the most common blinds that homeowners use are vertical blinds and mini blinds. So what is the big difference? 

Mini blinds are made of slats that are half the size of standard blinds. They are affordable, light weight, and easy to clean, making them a staple in both homes and businesses. They are easy to operate and do an excellent job of controlling light. 

Vertical blinds are most commonly used for sliding doors and wide windows. They’re easy to clean and do a fantastic job of blocking out light. Vertical blinds are made of much larger slats and hang from a track that is operated by a wand or pulley system. 

What Should I Consider When Selecting Window Treatments?

When it comes to selecting window treatments, you have to first factor in your household’s needs. Some of the most important categories you need to think about are:

• Light control: Do you want minimal, maximum, or the ability to be somewhere in-between?
• Insulation/energy saving needs: We chose to install insulated shades in our living room because there are so many windows and it can be drafty in our cold climate.
• Visual impact on your space: For our living room, I wanted shades that were perfectly fitted to each window and a flat panel of natural linen for a minimal, clean look.
• Cost: What is your budget? Is this an area where you want to splurge or be more frugal? Keep in mind that curtains especially use a lot of fabric, so you’re essentially paying for all of that fabric yardage.
• Window shapes/sizes in your home

Need help figuring out exactly what you need? One of the reasons I love our Wovn Home shades and drapes in our bedroom so much is because they have excellent resources to help you determine your needs, wants, and what fits your lifestyle. It is like having an interior designer on hand to answer all your questions in an easy-to-understand, easy-to-read format.

Pro tip: whenever possible, get fabric swatches before placing your order. This will ensure that the color is what you have in mind, plus will help you determine if the fabric would let in too much or too little light.

What is the Most Popular Window Treatment Today?

As with many interior design elements, there will always be that one color, element, or window treatment that is more popular than the rest based on seasonal trends. Trends and popularity change and evolve over time, so I was curious as to what the most popular window treatment in 2022 was. 

The leading window covering trend forecasted for 2022 are roller blinds. Why? They are minimalistic, available in a variety of color tones, and offer a variety of hardware to choose from. Homeowners looking to carry their neutral color palette throughout their homes turn to roller blinds as a way to enhance the aesthetic of their spaces. 

Roller blinds aren’t especially my favorite. I’m more of a classic when it comes to window treatments and typically opt for drapes or Roman shades.

How to Buy Window Treatments by Room

Window treatment popularity definitely changes depending on the room that the treatments are being used in. Some of the treatment trends we’ve been seeing by room include:

• Layered curtains in living rooms: for example, installing a double curtain rod and installing sheers and a heavier curtain over like we did in our bungalow living room
• Patterned curtains in kitchens
• Mixed materials in the family room
• Light and sound filtering materials in the bedrooms
• Shades for home offices

But really, when it all comes down to how to buy window treatments, you need to go with the treatments that you love for your space and make sense for your needs. 

Do All Window Treatments Have to Match?

There is no right or wrong when it comes to matching window treatments, however, opting for a different look in every room may not be the best route to go. Your home should feel cohesive and consistent throughout, so if you have a color scheme or theme that runs throughout your home, your window treatments should compliment and work with them. 

So, instead of feeling like every single space has to have the exact same window treatments, consider making sure the color tones and materials work well together throughout the home. Shades, blinds, and draperies all have their places within your walls, but they should work well individually and as a whole. 

My Favorite Sources for Window Treatments:

So, are you ready to pick out window treatments for your home now that you’re armed with all of this knowledge?? It doesn’t have to be overwhelming if you have a direction you want to go, but there are so many options out there when it comes to shopping for window coverings. To narrow it down a bit, here are my typical go-to resources for window treatments:

IKEA

Want affordable options for your home? IKEA has everything you need to add beautiful window treatments to your home. You’ll find modern fabrics and colors as well as some fun, unique patterns you won’t stumble upon anywhere else. Because the cost of curtains is based on how much fabric yardage is used, IKEA is generally the most affordable, but least customizable option.

Wovn Home

For a custom, designer look in your home, I highly recommend that you go with Wovn Home! This small business offers tons of styles and options that will make selecting window treatments for the entire home a piece of cake. Plus, you can easily coordinate your looks throughout your spaces no matter which treatments you are using. 

The quality of both our Roman shades and drapes from Wovn Home is superb and truly worth the investment. You can read more of my thoughts on Wovn Home here.

Blinds.com

We’ve already touched on this briefly, but Blinds.com has it all when it comes to window treatments for your home. You’ll get the perfect fit for those hard-to-size windows in your home with custom window coverings. Need help? They offer inspiration for every room to help make your window treatment decision a breeze! 

If you plan to shop for window treatments on Blinds.com, definitely keep an eye out for the sales. When we ordered custom shades for our living room, we needed 7 individual panels and each was a slightly different size. Add on the insulation layer and we were looking at a 5 figure amount! We waited until they had a massive Black Friday sale and ended up saving a lot of money that way.

Photography & styling by Jojotastic.