Window Blinds and Curtains: Hot Styles and Colors
Many people when decorating consider window treatments as finishing touches, and sometimes when you start improving your blinds or curtains, the budget often runs low. However, window treatments should never be neglected, as they play an important part in emphasizing the individual character of the place, blending in a coherent scheme, be it classic American style or an eclectic and casual concoction.
Add life and beauty to your window with a variety of blinds. Choose from wooden blinds, vinyl, vertical and aluminum blinds. Pick one that is perfect for your apartment and trendy lofts!
In modern apartments, especially lofts and penthouses with large windows, window treatments should be given a lot of attention, at the earliest possible design stage. Right color and style of window treatments will make the room not only sociable and comfortable, but will also highlight its size and ambience, giving perspective to the place.
White is often a color of choice for many decorators, because it’s really hard to go wrong with white. Timeless and versatile, white provides a unifying base for most window designs. Remember, though, that there are different kinds of white, which a skilled decorator may mix in one room altering the warm to cold to increase the impact from your window blinds or curtains.
Today home decorating makes a comeback from the minimalist era when whites and beiges were abound putting a long-time spell of pure minimalist designs. Venetian blinds are now available in a range of sophisticated colors, as well as vintage-inspired muted colors. Plus, colors make it easier to use sunscreen coating on window blinds which allows them block more than 90 per cent of the UV rays. With carefully placed color accents, you can avoid making the room too impersonal.
The most sought-after design of modern window treatments is fresh, minimal, translucent and light-colored, but today people seek window curtains and blinds that can give real character and individuality to the room. Variety of paint shades and fabric textures allows blending blinds and curtains perfectly with the furniture to match the apartment’s light and mood.
In terms of decor trends, curtains have gone in two opposite directions: they either became more “feminine” made of vintage-inspired fabrics with rich draping, or curtains became as minimal as Calvin Klein suit, made of natural fabrics in neutral tones. To add a personal touch, you may choose to place curtains on elaborate cast metal rings or find an antique details in flee markets.
Color of your window blinds or curtains is also dependent on light. The light in our apartments changes throughout the day and through seasons as well. In a single apartment, when choosing window blinds or curtains, thought should be given to the orientation of rooms and the warmth of light that will enter them. Rooms that receive light early in the day, or not at all, usually need some warming up with color. Rooms that benefit from the afternoon or sunset sun will receive reddish light and therefore need less artificial warmth. The new finishes on blinds, such as brushed aluminum, produce a nice cool effect on windows that need less of warmth.
There are some optical tricks that have to be considered when you pick your window curtains or shades. Denser window treatments, such as Venetian blinds, curtains and vertically striped fabrics can improve the look of the room with low ceiling. Roman and Venetian blinds can create a warm relaxed atmosphere.
Expert decorators say that window treatment must receive the same attention and investment as any other piece of furniture, especially if your windows overlook a spectacular landscape. If the view from your window leaves little to imagination, you can improve the situation by decorating the window with forgiving blinds in carefully chosen colors.