# How to select the right window treatment?



## ifi.131 (Sep 1, 2012)

Hello everyone
My bedroom is painted white and i would like to have a soft and cosy feel in my room. What type of window treatment should i use?? should it be blinds or curtains? Please help 
Thank You


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Can you describe your windows---how many and what size? And how do use the room? Do you need window treatments that allow airflow (notice Sri Lanka in your profile)? Should they be light blocking? Need privacy from them? Will you need to clean them often?


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## ifi.131 (Sep 1, 2012)

Thanks for the reply... I have 2 windows and the size is length" 5 feet by 3.5 feet each. i would like to have light coming into the room. I need these for my bedroom windows... maybe cleaning would be done once in 2 weeks...


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## KevinPh (May 25, 2012)

The best way to control the amount of light coming in would be shutters with slats that can be adjusted. Curtains can also allow a certain amount of light to penetrate, depending on the material, but cannot be adjusted to different amounts of light penetration.

Many options exist for shutters, including materials (wood, plastic, material, etc.) colours and patterns. Depending on your taste, the window treatment can blend in with the furniture and style of your room, or it can be the central focus or a piece of art itself. You could try shopping online first to get a sense of the options available, and mail-order to get the ones you want. But if you have fantastic suppliers in Sri Lanka, best to shop local.

Kevin


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Interior shutters can be nice but also pricey for custom ones. And they are not the easiest thing to clean. Not sure I would classify them as soft and cozy either?

Vertical or horizontal blinds would control the light as well. I would have the same concern about cleaning them. And you said you would have to do so on a regular basis.

In my California home my interior designer set me up with sinfully inexpensive double layer cotton gauzy sort of panels for the family room. They were tab topped and she made the hardware out of PVC pipe, fittings and L hooks. Painted it and it worked out great. We used two layers by alternating the tabs and they pooled informally on the floor. People liked them and they went in the washing machine easily when they got dirty.

I have something similar here in Chicago in the bedroom. 

You could certainly find something heavier if need be. 

The designer insisted on these poofy/puffy roman shade type things for the front bedrooms. I never had to stay in them so didn't care that much. And if I were a guest the frilly things would make me want out in just a couple days which was usually fine. They were just a bit overboard for my tastes. 

Corner dining windows had fun cafe curtains and tiebacks. Same PVC hardware scheme but covered with matching fabric in that room. 

Living room had the second fireplace and was more formal with pleated drapes. You could sit around the semi-circle fireplace in the family room so the living room got little use unless I was pre-interviewing young women for their worthiness to enter private quarters. Seeing how they held their wine glasses, roach clips and all that. The piano was in there and that drew a crowd at times. 

The master bedroom had recycled sails and nautical fittings for window treatments but it opened on a very private deck with hot tub so I never used them unless I was with woman. Vanity and all that. They seemed to think somebody would single them out, climb over the perimeter fencing, tripping the alarm system and sneek a peek through the one 1/4" gap in the fencing. 

I had no need for AC the way the house was designed and built, and but for a few horrid days each year N California never got that hot and it was sea breeze cooled most evenings. So windows were usually open. The rattling of blinds would have driven me crazy. 

Loved that house at times. Like I needed 3,800sf and tons of yard. NYC living snapped me out of that nonsense! Too bad it was where it was. N California, at least the Bay Area, turned into an awful place when too much money hit it too fast. Some people are just now learning to behave. I do miss being able to hug a redwood tree within a few minutes and ten minutes more being on the Pacific Coast. And of course I miss sailing the Bay and that ocean so much.

By the way, do your window treatments need to be bullet proof or has that situation calmed? Had a good friend who wholesaled tea that came through Sri Lanka. And of course Arthur Clarke was one of the first to send books electronically to his publisher and from Sri Lanka of all places. I bet it can be beautiful.


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## ifi.131 (Sep 1, 2012)

Thanks guys, your replies were very helpful


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