If you are in the market for window treatments, take a deep breath and pause. For a moment, let’s give some friendly advice. We love helping homeowners choose the best options for their homes, but we also know the common window covering mistakes and mishaps that happen when you don’t look before you leap. What you want is to have amazing light control, better sleep, and maybe save on utility bills. If you want to achieve this goal, leave it to us, the experts, to guide you through a few common mistakes, so hopefully you can make more informed decisions.
When Beauty Trumps Function
Hear us out–we love a beautiful, stylized window blind, shade, or sheer as much as the next person. We love to help homeowners find the right mix of style and function. What we find happens, though, is not consider other factors for your specific home. Let’s look a bit closer at this window covering mistake. Walk into any home goods store, read a magazine, or glance at someone’s home, and you see ‘just the right thing’ for your home. But is it right for your home? Window coverings are not all equal across spaces. Professionals like us know just how to balance form and function with the right gorgeous window treatment so you don’t regret that life choice today. There are enough other choices to deal with; your windows shouldn’t be one of them! We are here to tell you that the right window treatment is waiting for you just around the corner.
Room-Based Styles
Now you know what you want to do, you just need some time to figure out which window treatments will work best for each room in your home. That’s where we come in with this helpful guide. Learn some quick terminology to help you get started in the right direction:
- Living Room: light-filtering vs light-blocking and privacy
- Kitchens: simple, practical, light-filtering
- Bedrooms: blackout or room darkening with privacy control
- Bathrooms: privacy controls, automated (easy controls), privacy
- Home Office: glare-reducing with privacy
- Dining Room: nice style/design, glare-reducing, privacy
Miscalculated Measurements
We love design consults for homeowners. They are the best way to determine the unique needs of a home’s space to avoid window covering mistakes. Measurements done with professionalism and accuracy reflect accurate, precise dimensions to help us give you the best outcome possible. If you DIY or hire someone who mis-measures, you have more than an “oops.” You can have shades that don’t sit right, function properly, or could (in a worst-case scenario) not hang properly and risk hurting someone. Other issues can include gaps for lighting (so much for filtering) and hardware that damages your windows. The best way to measure windows is top, middle, and bottom, then top to bottom and left to right for best accuracy. Our teams have specialized care and expertise to get the job done right.
Why Proper Measurements Matter
It’s not that taking your own measurements is bad. We love a good DIY as much as the next person. The challenge is really how it’s done. Here are some considerations if you are pulling out that tape measure yourself. First, be sure to get a metal tape measure for accuracy. Measure twice to verify numbers and look at the proper mounting. Identify what you need and how to order shades that fit. Are there handles or cranks that might get in the way? Installations are hard enough. Be sure to note any challenges, like wall space or issues that may arise. Finally, check to make sure the wall material is acceptable for attaching window coverings. Window covering mistakes happen quite often in the measuring process. With due diligence, you can achieve your goal to get the best measurements possible.
Swatch It Up
Everyone thinks about paint swatches, color-matching walls to color, and making accurate assessments before undertaking the job of repainting a room. When it comes to window covering mistakes, don’t jump in without swatches in hand! Home lighting, paint color, and decor all matter when sizing up the right window treatments. From overhead lighting to flooring, the tone and style matter. To create a beautifully designed space, it takes some intentionality up front. Fabric appears different in the showroom, so be sure to get swatches at home to compare with existing decor and more to find the right fit for your space.
Think in Technicolor
Don’t be afraid to jump in and try some color matching. It may feel intimidating at first, but that’s where we come in. To get started, think about the rooms in your home you like and want to add window treatments. Grab those swatches and look at the tones, hues, and patterns in those rooms. Put swatches on the wall to see how it looks with the lighting. Each room will look different. If you’re really keen, tape it to windows so you can see how light looks against the swatches. The goal is to see how light interacts with various colors and fabrics so you can narrow in on the right choices for your space.
Advanced Technology
One of the biggest challenges with window covering mistakes is being unsure how to incorporate new technology into our homes. Today’s window coverings come with cordless operation rather than cords, which can be dangerous and frustrating to handle. Here are some key things to consider when looking into the options for cordless window treatments.
Operating New Window Technology
- Motorized Wand: Adjust with cordless wand for fast, easy operation.
- Motorized Blinds: Quick and easy to control with privacy features. Great for hard-to-reach windows and energy-efficient.
- Cordless and cord-safe: Do away with dangling cords and go with cordless or push-button options.
Quality Over Quick Decisions
One of the hardest choices homeowners can make is how and when to change window treatments. They are a great investment of time and money. To make the wisest choices, consider where you spend time in the home and how you want to feel. Spending time looking over fabrics, styles, and types of window treatments will help you make a good decision that you can feel comfortable with for years to come.
New Day Starts Today
If you are ready to make some changes to your window treatments, we are happy to assist you in those choices. Don’t settle for lower-quality installs or service. We have professionals who understand the business and will strive to meet your needs. Come visit a showroom, take home swatches, and schedule an in-home consultation so we can show you all the best options for your space. We want to create an experience and a home you will love. Call us today to get started.
