W hen it comes to what covers the windows, it’s all about what you want.
The latest trend – “window fashions” for those in the biz – is the ability to customize a look, rather than follow the crowd.
Add buttons, beads, lace, fringe, strips, pleats and tabs to window coverings. Go glam with headboards covered in iridescent, gold, silver, copper or platinum-toned fabrics.
Or go simple. Streamlined, pared-down window coverings are replacing heavy drapes and fussy frills. Wood and faux wood shutters and blinds provide a more natural look.
If you haven’t been shade shopping in a while, the choices might be a bit overwhelming.
Janelle Hampton helps people sort through the choices as a consultant for Quality Budget Blinds and Window Coverings in Marysville (425-422-5561; showroom at Furniture World, 11031 State Ave.).
Homeowners should first consider privacy and light control, she said. In a bedroom that needs to stay dark, that means choosing darkening fabrics and blinds with hidden rout holes, so even pricks of light don’t shine through.
It might be better to choose a sheer for a living room window, where a homeowner wants light coming in and enough privacy the neighbors can’t see in. She likes the blinds that provide “step-up” slats that provide more of a view when tilted open.
A window covering slats or louvers is the best choice for someone who wants to control how much light is coming into the room.
Hampton said many of her customers are opting for honeycomb shades and wood faux blinds, which are looking more real than ever, don’t chip and cost about 30 percent less than real wood.
She also is seeing customers choose more customized options. A recent customer dressed up wood blinds with crimson tabs that matched a crimson wall in a study.
Hampton also suggests customers consider lifestyle. Some people are initially turned off by vinyl vertical blinds in front of a slider door. But these surfaces look far better than they use to and clean up more easily than fabric. A household with children or big dogs rustling through the window treatments, might want to go for something easy care.
Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com.
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