Decorative Window Treatment

All human living spaces are characterised by an opening to let in light and fresh air: a window. Though primarily, a functional feature of a room, a window is the quintessential candidate for adornment. When used as a part of interior décor, a window can be a glittering jewel in a decorating scheme. Window treatment is the general term for the art of window decoration.

Window treatments define the personality of a room. A shade or blind or curtain or drape may block light and provide privacy: but also add trim and can transform a window from practical to elegant or whimsical instantly.

The art of window treatment is broad and cannot be comprehensively covered in a blog piece like this one. However we will attempt to explore some elements of window treatment and the considerations you ought to make before you embark on this exercise. But first let’s look at a few useful window covering terms

• Drape: A fabric window covering hang from a traverse rod. Typically have pleated headings and a lining.
• Curtain: A casual fabric window covering that is usually hanged from rings or a casing that a rod passes through.
• Balloon Shade: A shade made with vertical rows of horizontally gathered fabric that can be drawn up to form folded or pleated layers.
• Blind: A hard treatment of narrow strips made from plastic, wood or metal that raises with a pulley system.
• Center Draw: When a pair of draperies open and close exactly at a window’s center point.
• Cornice: A shallow (usually wood) box atop a window to hide drapery or curtain hardware.
• Dress Curtains: Stationary curtains meant for decorative purposes only.
• Festoon: Decorative drapery made of folded fabric that hangs in graceful curves, framing the top of a window.
• Flounce: An extra long heading sewn at the top of a rod pocket that falls over the rod to create the appearance of an attached valance.
• Jabot: A docorative vertical end of an overtreatment usually finished in a horizontal festoon.
• Lambrequin: A fabric cornice that completely frames the top of a window.
• One-Way Daw: Drapery designed to draw one panel in one direction.
• Passementerie: Trimmings and decorative edges.
• Roller Shade: A horizontal shade operated by a spring device.
• Roman Shade: A corded shade with rods set horizontally in back to give it a number of neat folds when raised.
• Shirring: When a rod shorter than the fabric width is slid through a rod pocket to create a gathered curtain or valance.
• Valance: A horizontal fabric treatement installed at the top of dreparies to hide hardware and cords.

Window treatment Considerations

Before you spend money and time in treating your windows, you need to consider the following:

Objective: Curtains and drapes can be used as the focal point of a window, to reduce the amount of direct sunlight, to increase privacy in certain areas of the home, and to tie in all of the elements in the room.Care should be taken when searching for decorative curtains and drapes, as settling on the wrong fabric can affect how the curtains and drapes hang, thus preventing you from achieving the desired effect of the window treatment.  You want to take into account how well the fabric will blend in and enhance the surrounding décor.

Style and Fabric: The following are some fabric commonly used for decorative curtains and drapes:

• Canvas
• Cotton
• Linen
• Organic Hemp
• Polyester
• Rayon
• Sheer
• Silk
• Velvet

Keep in mind that when selecting a fabric for curtains or drapes that you consider where these window treatments will be located since some rooms receive a lot of direct sun.  Fabrics, such as silk, may be damaged with excessive sun exposure, and therefore are not suitable for certain rooms.

Other fabrics, such as cotton and rayon are perfect for curtains and drapes, but tend to wrinkle easily.  While brocade fabric looks lovely in a formal setting because of its room darkening characteristics, it is not ideal for the kitchen, which should typically feature curtains that are light and airy.
In some cases, decorative curtains and drapes look spectacular as a stand alone or may require a combination of curtains and blinds or drapes to complete the look.  It all depends on the style of the window and what type of look you are trying to achieve.

Decorative curtains and drapes are available in the following styles: