Drapery Design Ideas
Window Furnishings or Window Dressings?
If you’re considering a window treatment upgrade in your home, consider the difference between window dressings and window furnishings. Hard window treatments including blinds, shutters, screens and shades are more like window furniture in that they’re made of hard woods and/or tougher materials, and primarily customized to fit inside of your window frames in order to assume the window’s shape. If you’ve chosen window furnishings to block out your light sources, you can combine them with drapery fabrics in order to soften the atmosphere of your room while still providing you the privacy you need. Window dressings involve unique designs and color-coordinated fabrics with lush trimmings and beads, or fabric panels and shades. Window dressings always consist of fabrics whose colors and patterns will make a substantial impact on your home décor as well as your style and personality.
Colors, Defined
Color. It surrounds us in every aspect of our lives. It can expand your room space and make it warmer, cozier, cooler or more modern. It can inspire sleep or it can awaken the senses. Or, it can even define you. If you’re deciding on the right window treatment color, we recommend that you begin with a favorite room in your home or the one you would like to invigorate as a showcase room. Next, work with your window treatment professional to help you hone in on the paint and furnishing colors that you already have, in order to create a window that pulls it all together.
How Light Affects Color
Color as we perceive it is controlled by light and therefore, will always be affected by it. This can complicate colors you choose for your next window treatment because the red fabric panels with beige sheers you chose might cast off a different light in your room when storm clouds gather versus when the sun is shining bright. It’s always important to consider how your interior colors – and especially those colors you choose for your window fabrics – will reflect natural light based on the climate you live in and the season.
Light changes each minute and hour of the day. Depending which way your room’s windows are facing can greatly affect how light transforms the color from your window treatments. For instance, if your room has a window facing south, then on sunny days you may find that those bright hues can add different colors to your fabrics and other room interiors. The opposite is true with windows facing other directions.
Quick Guide to Window Exposure and Natural Light Quality:
- East-facing windows: warm yellowy sunlight before noon
- West-facing windows: warm orange-red sunlight after noon
- South-facing windows: warm orange-yellow sunlight all day
- North-facing windows: no direct sunlight, cool bluish light all day
Here are some tips and pointers for colors best suited to light in your area of the United States:
- In Southern regions where sunrooms are prevalent, pale colors and white reflective fabrics will soothe the interiors and will also help stave off heat.
- In Northern climates, dark colors work well for nighttime rooms, as they’ll make you feel warm and retain heat.
- If you live in a warmer climate, try to avoid dark colors because they can stifle your interiors.
- In a cool or north facing room you can warm up the look of your color scheme by adding reds, oranges or yellow to your windows.
- In warmer, south-facing rooms, you can cool your color palette by adding whites, blues, mauves or greens.