It’s no secret that I have a passion for interior design. However, I do struggle when it comes to choosing window treatments. If I’m completely honest, I have in the past, suffered from a degree of curtain-phobia. I’ve never been an enormous fan of potentially heavy drapes and adornments. Indeed, I have a bit of an allergic reaction when I think about mounds of ruched fabric gathering dust and blocking out precious light. However, in recent years I have needed to address my fear of the upholstered window and throw myself wholeheartedly into its pleated depths.
What I’ve discovered is that window treatments don’t have to overwhelm a space. They can, in fact, accentuate a window’s natural beauty and the view beyond. They can frame it and make a window the focal point of a room. Window treatments can also hugely help with sound and heat insulation, particularly in a draughty old single glazed victorian pile. They also don’t have to be made using reams of fabric! The options for shutters and blinds these days are endless.
Two homes, two different styles
Over the last two years I have had the pleasure of designing and fitting out two homes, both the one we live in now and the holiday home we renovated during lockdown. Both homes have such a completely different style. One is a Victorian gothic townhouse and the other is a monochromatic ‘60s deckhouse on stilts overlooking the sea on Emsworth Harbour. Each home requires a very different look when it comes to window treatments.
High ceilings and the oversized window
Our master bedroom at home has ceilings, which are nearly three metres high. The huge window, which overlooks the garden is roughly 2.2 high metres by 1.5 metres wide. It’s enormous! So, it’s going to need quite a lot of fabric to cover it and I don’t want to be getting into the realms of too much ruching. However, if there’s one type of curtain I’m not a fan of it’s the pencil pleat. They’re the ones where you have to pull the cords to gather the curtain. I find them slightly suburban and haphazard in nature. Just my opinion and I know they are very popular.
The Double Pinch Pleat
The room is quite formal now that I’ve finished the design. Wainscot panelling adorns most of the walls in a calming blue called Pompadour by Craig and Rose. There is a rich dark wood four poster bed and the ornate cornices have been highlighted in a rich barley colour called Deep Sung Cream, also by Craig and Rose. So, this room demands something a little more refined than the average curtain, but without being overbearing. To me, the perfect style to balance the space is the double pinch pleat. The pleat keeps the curtain’s folds pleasingly in place, which panders to my slightly OCD mind.
I wanted the curtains to drape beautifully and be slightly on the heavier side. My hubby needs blackout for sleeping, so that was another factor to take into consideration. It was important to pick out the blue and cream colours I had used in the room too, but I wanted it to be subtle. So, I chose an embroidered linen fabric, which had country cornflowers adorning it by Tuiss and made by Blinds2go. The exact style is called: Country Flower Embroidered Cornflower Curtains. I have to say I am so happy with them. They suit the room perfectly. They arrived perfectly packaged and I didn’t even need to use the steamer to get rid of any creases!
Measure Up!
Blinds2go are able to offer such a high quality product, but at affordable prices because you measure and fit the window treatments yourself. Fear not though my friends, as I found it very easy to do and I really am no expert when it comes to curtains and blinds. Whether it be eyelet, pinch pleat, wave, shutter blinds, roller, perfect fit, or roman blinds, Blinds2go have a very simple and easy guide for measuring up and fitting your chosen window treatments. They have really covered everything, so it’s very hard to go wrong. However, I would, as I did, double check every single measurement, just to be sure. They actually do most of the hard work for you as you’ll see. So, don’t worry!
The loft guest bedroom
I was so incredibly impressed with the double pinch pleat curtains I chose for the master bedroom that I decided to use the same style of window treatments in one of our loft bedrooms. It was a fast turnaround as we had guests staying for christmas and it was already November and I hadn’t even started prepping and decorating the room, let alone ordering the curtains. This room has much lower ceilings, but it’s actually one of my favourite rooms in the house. It has a real charm about it.
I chose a pattern called: Emilia Embroidered Sand also by Tuiss and made by Blinds2go. Again, I chose a linen type fabric in a sandy tone, with little soft gold flowers embroidered on it with an olive green stem. They are super pretty and I just knew they would be perfect to add some pattern to the space, but without being too busy. The olive green embroidered stems would pick out the colour on the walls and the sand and gold tones would work with the richness of the wooden floors.
It can be quite a cold room, so I opted for the thermal interlining. However, in hindsight I’m not sure that was the right choice for such a small curtain. They’re quite short, even though they are floor to ceiling, as it’s a loft bedroom. The problem is, I don’t think they are long and heavy enough to make them drape as well as the curtains in our master bedroom. The thermal interlining really does its job and keeps the room nice and toasty, but the lining is quite thick and so didn’t flow as well when I first hung them. However, yesterday I popped up to take some photographs of them and they have softened.
Why not try shutter blinds for a different style window treatment?
We have a dressing room next to our bedroom and again it has a large window facing the garden. It’s wider than the master bedroom window, but not as tall. Here we needed a bit more privacy, but without blocking the light out. We opted for shutter blinds, plantation style. We also have a family bathroom that desperately needed a window treatment for privacy. I decided to use the shutter blinds here too.
Again, Blinds2go made the measuring up part really easy. I found measuring for the bathroom much easier than the dressing room. Depending on the width and depth of your window, you may or may not have a central horizontal cross beam. The bathroom has three window panels and did not require a cross beam. This meant I could have three shutter panels that matched my window perfectly. In the dressing room the window is larger and therefore needed a cross beam. This seemed to make it harder for me to get things the way I wanted. There are three window panes again. However, because of the cross beam, I had to have four shutter panels, which wasn’t ideal. However, after installation it looks absolutely fine and totally does the job. They still look beautiful and filter the light perfectly, whilst allowing us to dress and undress privately.
The family bathroom shutter blinds are perfect. The three window panels have original etched and stained glass on them. So, I really didn’t want to cover that up. Blinds2go give you two options for the control bar. You can either have the more traditional front control bar, or a more streamlined discreet control bar, which is hidden out of sight. I chose the hidden one, which is available in their premium range. The Colour I chose was Cotton White. I would definitely use Blinds2go for shutter blinds again.
The Harbour Deckhouse
Our holiday let on Emsworth harbour is a very different type of property from our main home. I designed and decorated it in a simple monochromatic palette and a Scandi relaxed coastal vibe. Here, it’s all about the views. When guests arrived I wanted them to immediately exhale and feel like all their troubles were melting away.
The floor to ceiling windows and sliding doors are in black and frame the views to the harbour perfectly already. If it wasn’t for the tiny issue of needing privacy and needing to get to sleep, I wouldn’t have bothered with a window treatment here at all. The views speak for themselves. However, guests and my husband like privacy and none of us fancy being woken up at 5am by sunlight in the summer months. So, what could I possibly use for a window treatment that would solve all those problems, yet remain paired back? The views and the balconies are what it’s all about. Whatever I chose for a window treatment needed to blend with its surroundings seamlessly. Enter Wave Curtains. I know, I had never heard of them either, but they are a true revelation and I’m hooked!
Wave Curtains
I chose Bijou Linen White Wave curtains from Blinds2go. They come with a free track, which can be wall or ceiling mounted. My windows and doors are floor to ceiling, so I chose the ceiling track option. As I had painted the ceiling white, the track literally disappears. This clever track allows you to draw the curtains back effortlessly and create perfect, uniformed folds. Now, if you know me at all, then you’ll be fully aware that this makes me very happy. Perfect undulating waves are achieved as if by magic, due to the tracks clever pulley system. Trust me, you’re going to love them.
You can have a window or door up to five metres wide and you can either have the curtains either side of the track, or to one side like I did. I had a 50 centimetre space on one side of each sliding door, but not both sides. The last thing I wanted to do was cover up any of the precious view. So, Blinds2go fixed it for me to have them stack on one side only and pull right back, so nothing is obstructed. They really are the perfect choice for a more contemporary house, or apartment.
So, there you have it. I’ve tried to be completely honest and tell you all the pros and cons of each style of window treatment I have tried. I really hope it helps you decide. I love all of the window treatments I have used in both houses. If I had to make one choice and go with one style though, I’d pick the Wave Curtains. It’s the perfect folds. I just can’t resist!
This post is sponsored by Blinds2go. The thoughts and opinions in this post are mine and mine alone and are correct and true. Nothing has been influenced by the sponsorship.
If you loved this, then why not read: New Flooring? Think about your lifestyle first.
Loved the window treatment write up- I too suffer from ‘curtain fear’ but I’m feeling inspired & will look into wave curtains for my bifolds. My window looks out over the sea & don’t want to lose any part of those ever changing views.
Thank you x
Again, another friendly, informative, kind read. Such a clever and interesting take, as always.