The Window Treatments I Have in My Home

What’s one of the most asked questions designers get? What would YOU do in your home? It’s not just interior designers, but window covering designers that get the same question. And, as The Shady Gal, I can tell you–I get asked similar things. I love it. I never mind when friends ask about the window treatments, curtains, blinds or shades I have because I know how important they are to the style, character, atmosphere and function of your home. The window shades in our home have all been installed by Skyline Window Coverings.

Woven Wood Shades

In the bedroom, I chose woven wood shades. The textures of the weave allow the light to filter just enough light. But, my favorite feature about these window treatments is that they are top down shades. The sunlight comes in across the top of the space, lighting up the entire room.

I love the woven look of these shades, combined with the rustic appeal of our faux German schmear brick accent wall.

Top Down Shades

As my favorite feature, top down is extremely useful in the bathroom. This window overlooks the entire neighborhood, so having it covered is a must for privacy. But, the natural light entering across the top is valuable to the best bathroom atmosphere. 

Roman Shades are both beautiful and functional. The fabrics are trained to fold up flat, then pop back into uniform shape when the shades are closed again. The light filtering fabrics invite the textures in the fabric to highlight soft hints of design.

The Kids’ Rooms

Dexter’s Room

I’m going through a “love for velvet” curtains phase right now. Maybe it’s the cold weather? But, the last two times I bought curtains, it was pretty cold outside. And, both times, the color was red, so maybe it’s a “red velvet” obsession?

This Harry Potter themed bedroom has room darkening Roman Shades on the window–the red drapes are there simply for character, but they also block any light gaps coming in, since the original shades we had installed years ago were ordered as outside mount size. The old windows were too shallow for inside mount. Another aspect of these romans is how energy efficient they are. This side of the house is South-facing, and it gets blasted with sun all day. When I was painting the new window trim, I actually went and grabbed a thermometer to see the difference between a window with the shade down vs one with the shade up. 15 degrees. There was a 12 degree difference–it was 72º where the shade was, and 84º where I was painting without a shade. You might not need specialized shades in every window, but where it matters, it matters.

Revi’s Room

I’ve also had moments where I love linen. These aqua curtains were the ideal side panels for Revi’s nursery window. They’ve transitioned perfectly as she has gotten older, as well. The kids all have the cordless shades from Hunter Douglas, called the LiteRise system, where you simply push up or pull down to open and close.

I love Romans for the kids rooms. They look pretty–but, wow. They can endure wear and tear like no other. My kids smush them, smash them, open them at weird angles…and years later, they just pop back into place.

Brock’s Room

And, here we go with the thick velvet curtains again–this was Brock’s room makeover from last spring. He also has Roman shades in room darkening–white fabric–which blocks all the light, surprisingly enough.

The Basement Windows

The window treatments in the basement were originally chosen to hide the ugly, rusted metal framing. But, now that I’ve done a makeover of the windows, they can look beautiful whether open or closed. The square cassette for the top treatment was chosen to highlight the squared-off shape of the windows.

Most of the time, they are partially open, showing off the black trim of the window and the contrasting fabric of the roller shades. These are from the Designer Roller Shades collection, with the cordless LiteRise system. We do get a decent amount of light through these windows during the summer months, so opening and closing them is important when my niece and nephews are in town, helping them stay asleep just a *little bit* longer.

One to Three Windows…The Living Room

Over the years, we transitioned from one large, ten foot wide, living room window to three “standard” sized windows. The wide window was covered with dark Pirouette shades, which means when the vanes open, the sheer backing allows the light and view to enter. 

The new windows have Pirouette shades in a neutral fabric color, but still allow the light and view in when the vanes open. We decided to add power with motorized shades, since the room is used day and night by different family members for various activities. In general, the vanes are left open, but the shades are closed. But, because these are smart shades, with a voice command or the touch of a button, they close up or open up completely. This super helpful when you want to watch TV in the middle of the night, but you don’t want “bright lights” (the neighbor’s flood lights) blinding you.

The fabrics are neutral in color, but check out the gorgeous texture in the close up…

Do You Need Window Treatments in Your Home?

Have questions? Send me a message here or over on Instagram! I’d love to help you choose which type of window treatments would look great in your home, but even more so, I can help you decide which solutions you need! 

Need a Window Covering Specialist? Reach out to me to see who works near you!