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Home Decorating

Help with entire house window treatments

7 years ago

We need window coverings for our entire house but are focusing first on bedrooms, dining room, office, and loft. Later on we might want something for the family room, sliding glass door, and kitchen window...but privacy is not much of an issue with those windows.

Bedrooms: Must be blackout either with single shade/blinds or a combination of shade/blinds plus curtains.

Office, Loft, Dining room: All are southwest facing so would like to allow diffused light through without completely blocking light in the afternoon/evening.

We're considering faux wood blinds for bedrooms, and solar shades for the southwest facing rooms or maybe the silhouette blinds for those rooms. Should all of the windows on the front of the house have the same type of window covering since they'll all be visible from outside or can we mix and match?

Does anyone have solar shades, and if so, what do you think of them and can you share a photo? :)

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Comments (5)

grapefruit1_ar
7 years ago
Can you post pics of the Windows/rooms? I much prefer fabric window treatments over shades, but in some cases shades work best. I guess white blinds might be okay in some rooms. We purchased a second home that came with brown faux wooden blinds. It felt like a cave! Big, beautiful, sun-filled Windows covered with brown shades!!!! I could not get them down fast enough.

Grommet top blackout panels with sheers underneath is a very pretty look.
Lisa G
Original Author
7 years ago
Our home isn't quite finished yet so we haven't moved in. Maybe I should ask for help again when we have a few things moved in!
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I don't think the centered thing will be an issue at all. And, as for ease of cleaning, I can't imagine they'd ever need a deep cleaning in bedroom. In a dining room or kitchen maybe, but not a bedroom. If you like the drapes, I say take em' with you. Moving costs can get so out of control that it seems silly not to reuse the items you already own, if you like them. If you have a good vacuum with an extension on it for upholstery, just hit em with that once a month or so to remove any dust build-up. I have linen pottery barn drapes in my living room that pillow to the floor - i vacuum the ends where they get dusty once a week and in the pleats where dust hides I only vacuum every few months - but that's about it. No dry cleaning routinely or anything. How often did you clean them before?
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Window treatments DO NOT have to be the same for every window and room. Style wise they should match in the sense that you don't want one window to have ultra modern curtains and another to have super traditional ones. It's hard to give you specific advice without seeing the windows or rooms but roman shades are pretty universally liked and have a variety of styles and colors that work with just about any home style.
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I like the look use of cohesive window coverings from the stree side so I often use lined drapes or shades. I happen to like solar shades for keeping light and heat out burt still allowing view they also give daytime privacy and I usually mix them with drapes for nightime privacy in wahte ver you like for each room. I would use dark solar shades they are best at allowing view. As for the rest it is impossible to say without some idea of your style and furnishings.
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Ok, if you want a Roman Shade I would just do one to cover the whole bank of windows. One for the 3 window and one for the 2 window. How tall are your ceilings? Many people will mount the Roman shades higher than the window casings and allow the bottom of the Roman shade to cover just a small portion of the window, allowing for more light. You could do a wooden blind underneath for privacy and light control. In this case the Roman shade does not have to be operational but stationary and the blinds underneath will be what you use for privacy and light control. Bamboo blinds under a Roman shade are also a nice option.
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torreykm
7 years ago
Sounds like you've got lots of decisions to make! You're headed in the right direction. Give priority to rooms that need privacy (bedrooms, etc.) and identify needs for those rooms. Of course budget may be a factor

Like grapefruit, I prefer fabric treatments over hard (blinds,etc) but you have to choose what you like and what works for you.. I've had 2-inch blinds with my drapes, but finally removed all of them except one room. Too much trouble to clean.

i prefer some continuity from the outside, but that's not always possible. We only have two windows on the front of our small house and they both have drapery panels with the same lining.

Have you considered working with a designer or window treatment fabricator? Most can offer both soft and hard treatments.
Elizabeth Z
7 years ago
I just learned that Country Curtains will come to a house free of charge and consult on window treatments with no obligation to buy. If you don't have one near you, other places may offer the same services. Even if the products are not your particular style, you could still get a head start on ideas.
shadylady2u
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
That's pretty low and pathetic to tell someone to shop someone like that, and waste their time, with no intention of buying and just to get ideas. People need to make a living too. That's nothing short of cheating.

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