By Aglaia Rara
When it comes to choosing between window shades and blinds, you have to think beyond the aesthetic. Convenience, light control, energy-efficiency, and privacy are all factors to consider.
You're decorating a new room or updating an existing space. You've chosen wall colors, floor coverings, and lighting fixtures. You've picked out furniture and accent pieces. But what about window treatments? Will you opt for slim horizontal blinds, wooden vertical blinds, or fabric Roman shades?
Window treatments should never be afterthoughts in your interior design. After all, not only can they tie an entire room together, but they're also one of the only interior design elements visible from outside your home. They also have a variety of functional considerations, from light control to energy efficiency. Consider all of the options available to you, and consult with an interior design or window treatment professional to make an informed decision.
Horizontal Blinds
Horizontal blinds are one of the most common residential window treatments, which is due primarily to the fact that they come in a variety of shapes and materials. You can choose thick wood slats or thin vinyl ones, depending on your design needs and budget. Horizontal blinds can raise to provide a view outside and lower for increased privacy, and you can even rotate the slats to control the amount of light that enters through each window. They can be a great way to cover a window without overwhelming it, and the straight lines of the slats provide a sleek, clean look.
Vertical Blinds
There's a reason that you often see vertical blinds in front of sliding doors. They offer floor-to-ceiling coverage for glass doors and can be pushed out of the way when you need to exit. If you have patio or porch doors that need window treatments, vertical blinds might be your best bet. Vertical blinds offer the same light control and privacy control features as horizontal blinds, though their effectiveness at light control will vary depending on the width of each slat and how closely they're spaced together. One other advantage of vertical blinds is that the individual slats are easy to replace if one gets damaged; with horizontal blinds, on the other hand, all of the slats are connected, top to bottom, making repairs considerably more difficult.
Window Shades
Love the convenience and ease-of-use of horizontal blinds, but want a softer look? Consider installing window shades instead of blinds. Shades operate in the same way as horizontal blinds, either rolling up or folding up to allow light into the room. The main difference is that shades are made up of a single sheet of material, rather than multiple slats. You might purchase sheer shades in a soft colored fabric to diffuse the light in the room when rolled down. You also might prefer Roman shades, which look more like draperies and fold up into themselves. Shades can be engineered to block out all light or to filter out UV rays, and they come in a variety of materials and patterns to match any design scheme.
Your window treatment choice will depend on your design style and your budget. However, functional considerations--such as how much light the room gets and whether you want the blinds or shades to help your home be more energy-efficient--are also important. Whether you choose blinds, shades, or even a completely different option, such as plantation shutters, you'll want something that meets your physical needs and adds the right aesthetic touch to the room.
You're decorating a new room or updating an existing space. You've chosen wall colors, floor coverings, and lighting fixtures. You've picked out furniture and accent pieces. But what about window treatments? Will you opt for slim horizontal blinds, wooden vertical blinds, or fabric Roman shades?
Window treatments should never be afterthoughts in your interior design. After all, not only can they tie an entire room together, but they're also one of the only interior design elements visible from outside your home. They also have a variety of functional considerations, from light control to energy efficiency. Consider all of the options available to you, and consult with an interior design or window treatment professional to make an informed decision.
Horizontal Blinds
Horizontal blinds are one of the most common residential window treatments, which is due primarily to the fact that they come in a variety of shapes and materials. You can choose thick wood slats or thin vinyl ones, depending on your design needs and budget. Horizontal blinds can raise to provide a view outside and lower for increased privacy, and you can even rotate the slats to control the amount of light that enters through each window. They can be a great way to cover a window without overwhelming it, and the straight lines of the slats provide a sleek, clean look.
Vertical Blinds
There's a reason that you often see vertical blinds in front of sliding doors. They offer floor-to-ceiling coverage for glass doors and can be pushed out of the way when you need to exit. If you have patio or porch doors that need window treatments, vertical blinds might be your best bet. Vertical blinds offer the same light control and privacy control features as horizontal blinds, though their effectiveness at light control will vary depending on the width of each slat and how closely they're spaced together. One other advantage of vertical blinds is that the individual slats are easy to replace if one gets damaged; with horizontal blinds, on the other hand, all of the slats are connected, top to bottom, making repairs considerably more difficult.
Window Shades
Love the convenience and ease-of-use of horizontal blinds, but want a softer look? Consider installing window shades instead of blinds. Shades operate in the same way as horizontal blinds, either rolling up or folding up to allow light into the room. The main difference is that shades are made up of a single sheet of material, rather than multiple slats. You might purchase sheer shades in a soft colored fabric to diffuse the light in the room when rolled down. You also might prefer Roman shades, which look more like draperies and fold up into themselves. Shades can be engineered to block out all light or to filter out UV rays, and they come in a variety of materials and patterns to match any design scheme.
Your window treatment choice will depend on your design style and your budget. However, functional considerations--such as how much light the room gets and whether you want the blinds or shades to help your home be more energy-efficient--are also important. Whether you choose blinds, shades, or even a completely different option, such as plantation shutters, you'll want something that meets your physical needs and adds the right aesthetic touch to the room.
Aglaia Rara is an interior design buff and a senior Internet marketing strategist for Prospect Genius, a leader in local online advertising.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Aglaia_RaraBlinds 4 Less
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