Tag: curtains

The complete guide to window coverings and what you need to know when designing an interior space

The complete guide to window coverings and what you need to know when designing an interior space

Window treatments are more than just curtains and blinds. They’re a major design element of your home, providing privacy and insulation.

Window treatments are one of the most important aspects of design in your home. It’s likely that if you don’t have window coverings, you don’t have beautiful rooms. There are many types of window coverings, including Luxaflex Window Covering Products, to consider when shopping for new ones – depending on what you need them for and if they need to be decorative, functional or both.

Luxurious caramel coloured drapes

Window treatment ideas for different interior styles

Each interior style has a different window treatment style. A modern interior design style usually features clean lines and a minimalistic approach to window treatments. You can keep it simple with a light or dark colour, vertical or horizontal stripes on blinds or minimal patterns. A farmhouse interior design style is more traditional and often features rustic wood furniture, crafty wall art and patchwork throws. The options for window treatments are endless but with this style, many home-owners tend to go for heavy, upholstery fabrics in dark and rich colours.

The coastal home design style mixes a variety of different elements from the past and the present into one coastal décor that is fresh and inviting. Coastal décor can be created using textures such as linen or sheer gauze, striped fabric blind, and metallic accents like driftwood or shells on mirrors and drawer handles.

White venetian blinds in a home office

Window treatments for different spaces

Keep in mind that window coverings are not created equally. Depending on the space you have, you may want to have a different style of window treatment. For example, if your bedroom is on the east side of your house with morning sun coming in, you’d want blackout blinds for more privacy and light control. If it’s on the west side with late afternoon sun coming through, you may prefer sheer curtains and blinds that open wide to let in more light and keep it cooler indoors during the evening hours.

There is an array of factors that go into choosing the right window coverings for your home. The two most important factors that should be considered are style and functionality.

In order to create a cohesive style throughout your home, it may be best to choose the same type of window coverings for each room in your home. On the other hand, you might want to mix up styles in order to add a little more variety and personality to a space.

If you have pets or kids, you should also consider how easy it is to clean different types of window covering material.

As you’ve walked through each step of the process, you’ve learned more about your options and how they might be used in your home.

One of the most important things to consider is how light will enter your home. The more light, the happier you’ll be during the day and, when it’s time to sleep at night, the less light, the better you’ll generally sleep.

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3 tips for making your own curtains

3 tips for making your own curtains

If you’re a first-time home-owner turned curtain-maker, the pastime can prove to be quite a learning experience. However, with these three tips, you should be able to avoid at least a few of the major mistakes on your first attempt at making your own curtains.

Person cutting fabric at a sewing machine

Measurements are crucial

Measurements are crucial for any DIY project, and curtains aren’t an exception. There’s a certain degree of flexibility, of course, however it’s best not to stretch that flexibility any more than necessary. A few factors to keep in mind when measuring fabric for curtains include:

  • Keep the dimensions of the window and the purpose of the curtains in mind while shopping for fabric
  • Add an extra 30cm to the length or drop of the curtain (from the rod to the bottom hem) when measuring the amount of fabric you’ll need
  • If there are to be folds and/or pleats, the usual rule is to multiply the width of the window by 3 when ordering the fabric

Bolts of fabric

Choice of fabric: cheap or expensive?

Even if you have a little prior sewing experience, we’d advise against buying very cheap fabric as it can be harder to work with than more expensive options. However, if this is your very first time, you may not want to order luxury silk just yet! Pure cotton is a mid-range textile that offers ample opportunity to experiment your initial tailoring skills on, while thick polyester offers excellent insulation during those cold, winter months. Then of course, there’s corduroy which deserves its own discussion, because of the material’s distinct texture that sets it apart from everything else.

Cheap, medium-range and premium options are all available and ready to ship internationally through reputable suppliers like the Yorkshire Fabric Shop who have a fabric finder to help you choose the right material for your project. Instead of randomly picking what you like without the necessary knowledge, we suggest a prior consultation with the experts to arrive at a more suitable choice. They can help steer you in the right direction to ensure you don’t buy the wrong thing.

Fabric with tape measure, scissors, bobbin and cotton reel

Go with close-weaves

As a final tip, it’s suggested that beginners avoid material with an obvious motif or decoration that requires perfect pattern matching because that’s not a job for an inexperienced sewer, by any means. Making mistakes on the front will be difficult and time-consuming to put right – if not downright impossible. Plain and closely woven fabrics, on the other hand, are much more beginner-friendly and won’t end up looking like an amateur job.

Setting aside the learning curve and some of the inevitable beginner’s mistakes, rest assured that making curtains can be a very rewarding experience. Not only will you be able to create exactly what you want to complement your décor, but they’ll always be hanging around, receiving regular admiration from guests. It’s also an excellent way to market a new business, should you choose to go professional with the curtain-making idea at a later date. Happy sewing!

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It’s curtains for our old pole!

Finial on our new graphite Poles & Blinds curtain pole | H is for Home

We were recently approached by Poles&Blinds to collaborate on a product review. Their timing was perfect! We’ve recently redecorated the lounge, but there was one last remaining job… to tidy up the window area.

Swish Elements Belgravia 35mm curtain pole kit components | H is for Home

As you can see from the ‘before’ photo on the left, it was in a very sorry state! The pole was scratched & very tired looking, there were old Polyfilla repairs – and the brackets were coming out of the wall.

Our old curtain pole - scratched up and bracket hanging out of the wall | H is for Home New curtain pole and tab top curtain

Having looked through their website, we picked out the Swish Elements Belgravia 35mm Curtain Pole with a graphite metallic finish. The room has a combination of cream and dark grey walls with natural colour furnishings in wood, wicker, Hessian, leather and so on. So this graphite shade pole works perfectly in the scheme.

Justin installing our new curtain pole | H is for Home

Justin set about the task (well he does have to earn that afternoon tea & cake somehow, doesn’t he?). It was very straightforward really, the process taking about an hour from start to finish. Drill, screwdriver, spirit level, hacksaw and pencil were the only tools required.

Natural, Hessian-type tab top curtains on our new curtain pole

Sometimes, even relatively simple improvements can make a big difference to the look of a room. We love the pared back style and chunky feel. It also works well with the vintage industrial elements that we have dotted about this space.

New curtain pole and curtains erected | H is for Home

The pole is solid, sturdy and of really good quality. As you can see, we have tab top curtains in this room so didn’t need to use the curtain rings supplied. However, if and when we do (or you have curtains that require them), these rings are nylon lined to give them a smooth and quiet glide across the pole.

Adelle working next to the window in the sitting room | H is for Home

We’re very pleased with the results. That scruffy corner has been irritating us for months! It’s now neat, tidy and colour co-ordinated – and the curtains don’t fall off any more!

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5 ways to dress awkward windows

Unusual exterior windows on a housecredit

Whether it’s their size, shape or location – some windows can be awkward to dress. Here are a few tips to solve the potential difficulties.

VELUX blackout blinds

Dormer windows and roof lights

Windows in attic rooms and loft conversions are often difficult to dress. Windows that slope at an angle are best served by roller blinds. If the room at the top of the house is being used as a bedroom, stopping the bright sunlight from waking you up each morning can be something of a challenge. Luckily, VELUX Blinds are available in blackout options to remedy this problem.

Large bedroom bay windowcredit

Bay windows

Roman or Venetian blinds are often the best solution here. The latter can require lots of dusting but you can get a special tool to make light work of this. And if it’s curtains you want, bay window kits are available to buy that contain curved curtain poles or tracks.

Sitting room with white bottom up blindscredit

Overlooked windows

If you live on a busy main road or there are other people’s windows facing yours at the same height, bottom up blinds are a great solution. This is especially the case if you have a lovely view out of the top of the window but people can peer in at the bottom. Fitting bottom up blinds in our front lounge has been on our ‘to do’ list for quite a while – we could easily block out the view of passing traffic to leave a far more attractive view of the trees and church steeple beyond. We must get that done soon!

Bathroom with patterned opaque film on windowscredit

Bathroom windows

Again, roller blinds are a common solution. Or perhaps try an opaque adhesive film which restricts people’s view into this private space, but still allows light to pour in. It also avoids the need for fabrics which can get wet and attract mould.

Half moon windows with custom made shutterscredit

Arched or angled windows

Custom-made shutters might be the best answer here as they really enhance unusual shapes. Cobbling something together will probably look messy – and just installing a plain rectangular ‘off the shelf’ solution won’t maximise the potential of an interesting house feature.

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