It’s a common question and one that seems overwhelming. It’s all about breaking the process and decisions down. Keeping it simple will reveal the solution. Let’s face it, shopping for window furnishings isn’t something that is done every day like a quick run to the supermarket.

Often when you’re dealing with large projects such as a renovation or a new build, there’s a lot to consider and there are many decisions to make! The first few questions I ask are:

  • what rooms are we working with?
  • what type of design have you had in the past?
  • did this work for you?
  • what is important to you now? Such as privacy, darkness, energy efficiency, low-noise.

Working from a house plan can be difficult as it’s harder to visualise and know how the room and home will function. Generally, working on previous experiences and current circumstances will guide you in finding the right window treatment application. This process is also how we work with existing homes too.

  • If you’re a family with young children, the main concern is having bedrooms where darkness and noise reduction is a priority. We would almost always recommend block-out lined drapes that fall from the cornice to floor, or perhaps are housed within a pelmet. This is a great solution for making a room dark and quiet.
  • If you’re a shift worker, the above solution is often what we would recommend.
  • If a room faces the street and is open to passing street and foot traffic, privacy is important together with keeping the room dark if it’s a bedroom, or cool if it faces west. In this case, a suggestion of two tracks. One track with a block-out lining for darkness and insulation, the second track with a sheer curtain to provide the vision from the inside to the outside, but the privacy from the outside.
  • If you like to sleep with the window slightly open of a night time, then blinds are definitely NOT the right solution here. No-one likes the banging of a blind’s base rail from the summer breeze in the middle of the night. We either opt for a soft approach such as block-out lined drapes, or perhaps shutters may be the right application. Shutters are great as nothing moves in the breeze, but you can angle the breeze (and light) just right.

There are many options that are open to you when furnishing your home. It’s not to be overwhelming; we take this away. Simple questions break down the complication and stress, delivering the perfect application for your home that will last until the next renovation in 20 years! We’ll guide you every step of the way.