Whether you are looking for style, privacy, or both, figuring out which window treatment you should select for your space can be a very daunting task. Then you need to square away whether you are wanting a formal look, do you want wood blinds, sheer, manual or how about motorized?

As you probably already know, your windows can be an awesome focal point for a room, and blinds and shades can be both a functional and decorative accent to add to your room.

Here are a few things we believe you should consider and keep in mind when selecting windows treatments for your home:

Your Budget

Depending on the room you are wanting to fit with window treatments, you might want to consider spending more or less money on certain types of windows over others. Since window treatments are priced by size, you should expect to pay more for larger treatments. Another cost to consider is a custom size, specialty fabrics, patterns, and other features for your window that can scale the price up.

Privacy vs. Light

Are you wanting a bright room or a room that’s more cozy and comfortable? Whether your goal is to block out light so you can sleep in pitch darkness or if you want the sunshine to come thru your kitchen windows, you might want to consider a sheer fabric treatment.

You are also going to want to consider the placement of the windows. For example, do you have windows on the sunny side of the house? Do you have windows that need a particular type of coverage to keep your privacy?

Your Decorating Style

Whether your style is casual, chic, comfortable, or formal, you are going to want to make sure your vision comes through. Then there’s color- bold, calm, fun, dramatic. Selecting subtle hues create a perfect mood for a room decorated in earthy and neutral colors.

Then we need to look at cord styles. Would you like sleek, streamlined cords or would you like to go cordless altogether?

Safety

If you have children or need to child protect your house from children, you’re going to want to select window treatments that not only look good, but that are safe as well. Please view our video on cord safety.

Cleaning

The standard blind can be rather time-consuming and costly to clean based on the amount of time it takes to clean them and the amount of money it’s going to take to purchase the right equipment to clean your particular style of window treatments.

Why Blinds

If you prefer adjusting your tiltable slats in order to allow the sunshine in or not, blinds are a good way to go. Blinds offer a clean, custom-looking, attractive fit for the money and they offer plenty of privacy.

Pricing for blinds generally scales in this order: vinyl, aluminum, faux wood (or textured vinyl), and wood.

When choosing blinds, keep in mind …

Slats that are horizontal and wide create the illusion that the windows are bigger than the room that has more space. This works well in apartments and small rooms. Slats in the GH line range from 1 inch to 2 3/8 inches.

If you prefer vertical blinds, note that these types work best for windows that are wider and that are tall. These are great for rooms that have sliding doors or that open up to a grand view.

The Upside: You don’t have to put blinds half the way to let in light, as you would do with shades. You could always cover the full length of the windowpane in order to create a more finished look even when the slats are open. This works well for bathrooms and bedrooms because the blinds can be left down for privacy or they can be adjusted as needed for light.

The Downside: Blinds require more of a commitment to keep clean due to slates typically attracting dust and grime.

If you’re looking for a tremendous amount of versatility and style, shades are your best choice. Shades provide a wider variety of options and moods using texture, pattern, and fabric weight.

The Upside: Shades are a versatile way to easily refresh any room and provide a softer look than blinds while also offering a warmer feel and appearance.

The Downside: In order to keep shades fresh and clean, it is necessary to handwash vinyl shades. Fabric shades should be vacuumed with a hand wand or some other tool on a regular basis, spot cleaned, and or outsourced for a professional cleaning.