There are many aspects which need to be considered when planning and deciding on how to dress your interior windows. Rather than leaving the selection to the last minute, the decision should be included early on in your preparation as they are a fundamental part of the room. Not only do they provide privacy, but they can also be insulating while improving the aesthetics of the space. The following guide will help you with the planning and execution of dressing your interior windows.
Preparation
Before deciding upon which dressings to use for your windows, you must consider the surrounding space. It can be easy to focus and single out the window, but instead, you should take a step back, and picture the entirety of the room and how your window dressing will complement it. While doing this, you should consider the primary function of the room, what those living in the house use the space for, where the light is and what furniture you will be placing in front of it.
Mood Board
Part of your preparation should include creating a mood board. Over a couple of weeks to a month, try to collect snippets of fabrics, text, colours or textures that you find visually pleasing. You may also choose to keep photographs, illustrations or graphic designs, anything that you can keep a little scrap of and gain inspiration from in the future. After a few months of collecting these snippets, you may well end up with enough scraps for more than one board. If this is the case, it is a good idea to allocate them to a board that loosely relates, rather than jumbling the themes too much. A mood board allows you to naturally identify a potential style for your home. Once it is complete, select the reoccurring colours, textures and fabrics for your window dressing.
Function and Form
What you and your family require from the room should be at the heart of your design and the function should be carefully considered when deciding the direction of your window dressing. For example, the kitchen is a room that is well used by all members who live in the home, there is steam, splashes from cooking washing up, and spillages; to place glamourous pooling curtains would simply not be suitable. If functionality is the priority, a window dressing that reflects the rooms use should be chosen. For example, if you are dressing your bathroom window, you may consider opting for waterproof Venetian blinds, as they can be easily and quickly wiped clean, to remove any splashes or build up from the shower steam.
Colour
Window dressings and blinds come in a variety of forms; some take a little more interior courage to use than others. More subtle colours and tones lend themselves to rooms where either the furniture, wallpaper or objects within the room are the focal point. When a window dressing, such as a blind, includes a bold and eye-catching colour or pattern, it then becomes the primary feature. Although, this is not a strict rule, and patterns and bold colours can be mixed, for example, you may have patterned blinds, as well as patterned soft furnishings, so long as they are complimentary of each other.
Combination
When preparing your window, you are not limited to the number of dressings you use, and in fact, more than one can improve the aesthetics of your space. Blinds are a great idea for those looking to increase their privacy and block out external light. The appearance can often be enhanced with an additional rail and curtains. This can soften the window, creating a luxury feel to your display.
Dressing your windows, whether that is with blinds, accessories and/or curtains takes great care and attention to ensure they appear as part of the room and compliment the rest of your interior. Many people leave these spaces until last minute, but with forward planning, your windows will be an equally important focal point for any of your living spaces.