Choosing the Right Privacy Window Treatments for Your Home
Privacy Window Treatments are like choosing undergarments. Not the most enjoyable thing to buy ;) I remember the look on my kids faces when I would give them new underwear for Christmas. Not a favorite, but an essential.
It might be tempting to choose your privacy window treatments strictly based on budget. Sometimes, that’s okay. But if you really want to understand how to choose the right privacy window treatments for your home, it will enhance the experience of being in each room.
The objective of privacy window treatments is to provide the right amount of light & privacy throughout the day. They also have the special duty of providing a sense of security, day & night. The added benefits of privacy window treatments are that they can regulate the temperature in the room & protect your furnishings.
Basically there are 3 types of privacy window treatments.
1) Shades
Which include anything that simply goes up & down or open & close. Falling into this category are Roman Shades, Roller Shades, Cellular Shades & Draperies. These are the basics.
2) Blinds
Are anything that have an adjustable louver that allow you to control the amount of light & privacy needed. In addition they can be pulled up or down. Falling into this category are Louvered Metal Blinds, Wood Blinds, Shutters, Vertical Blinds & popular products like the Hunter Douglas, Silhouette.
3) Draw Draperies & Sheers
These seem like a more traditional approach but can be a rock solid solution in many cases in both traditional & contemporary applications. I will only be touching on draw draperies in this post because they deserve there own post. Watch for it ; )
When choosing privacy window treatments you might be tempted to call the local discount dealer just to get something up there.
before you do…It’s important to educate yourself on understanding how to choose the right privacy window treatments for your home for the best results.
5 Things You Should Know
1.Exposure
The first thing that should be considered is the orientation of your windows. In most cases, South & West exposures will require more flexibility with your privacy treatments than North & East . Blinds will offer more flexibility in most circumstances since you have the option to adjust the louvers. However, in some situations where you have multiple windows you can utilize shades by choosing which ones to raise & which ones to lower at certain times of the day.
Your exposure can greatly affect the temperature in the room. Some of the best choices for providing more insulation are cellular shades, shutters, vertical blinds & wood blinds all in the closed position. What’s nice about the cellular shade is that you can choose a fabric that is light filtering to offer a soft light even when they are closed. Shutters, verticals & wood blinds will still offer some insulation with the louvers in an open position but it will be compromised.
Regulating the temperature & Light in your bedroom is key to helping you sleep better.
If you haven’t already, be sure to read my previous blogpost, The 5 C’s to Designing a Bedroom for a Good Night’s Sleep.
2. Objective
What’s outside your window? Do you have a beautiful view of your landscape? Maybe a body of water, like a lake, the ocean or a river. Or, are you looking into a brick wall or a dark alley? The point is, is your objective to frame your view or mask it? In most homes you’ll have both.
Some years back, I was working with a client designing a custom built home in a very desirable neighborhood in the Western Suburbs of Chicago. For several months, I assisted them on every single selection for this home. When it was time to select their privacy window treatments I really started paying attention to their views. It turned out that the homes directly to the south & north of them were never updated. Both of them were small orange, brick, bungalows. Although they were well maintained, they were not desirable to view from this beautifully designed, custom home.
The rooms affected were, the foyer, the upper hall, the library, one wall of the family room & the children’s bedrooms. What I found to work the best in this situation were shutters. What I love about shutters, is that, you can have a divider rail built-in at whatever point it makes sense. In this case, it made sense to have it mid-point which allowed my clients to open the top independently from the bottom. This application allowed them privacy & a masked view at the bottom & light & a view of the sky from the top. It was the perfect solution. This application also works very well in a bathroom.
When you have a magnificent view, shades offer better visibility since they’re much easier to raise & create a clear view. When you have the luxury of looking out to a park or beautiful landscaping or a body of water you really want the shades to get out of the way. The focus should be on what’s outside. You don’t want anything obstructing that gorgeous view. However, gorgeous views tend to come with lots of light, so you still need some protection for other reasons.
Some of my favorite choices for the clearest view are roller shades or other products that disappear into a cassette & vertical treatments with fabric that stack back tight. Roman shades can work too, however you want to limit the stack as much as possible. It helps when you can do an outside mount & utilize some of the wall space above.
So what do you use if you have an undesirable view besides shutters? Wood blinds or 2” metal blinds would be my next choice for a view you want to obscure. Even though you don’t have the benefit of the divider rail, at least not yet, you can still change the tilt to allow light to shine in yet distract you from the view you don’t want to see.
3. lifestyle
We may all be created equal… but,we choose to do things different.
We each have our own, unique ways to go about life. Some of you have chosen careers that have you working through the night, a Doctor or a Nurse or maybe a Police or a Security Guard. and….Some of you follow the traditional path of working 9-5 & in bed by 9 or 10. Why does this make a difference? Ahhh, because for those of you who’s careers or lifestyle choices don’t allow you to follow the Circadian Rhythm you’ll need to choose the right privacy window treatments for your home that allow you to sleep best during the day.
For those of you that sleep by day & work by night, room darkening isn’t really enough since the light is so intense outside. If you want solid sleep you need blackout shades or draperies. Think of when you stay at a hotel. That’s what they use. You can achieve this with simple roller shades. They don’t have to be the stereotypical roller shades you imagine pulling down & popping up like on the 3 Stooges. Companies like Hunter Douglas & other brands offer very nice fabric choices with multiple options for raising & lowering. What’s nice, is they can be hidden behind another treatment that does allow a light filtering view. The roller shade can be an extra layer.
Hunter Douglas has some products that have both in one shade. It’s the Duolite feature that has a blackout shade in the back that operates independently of whatever semi-opaque shade you choose for the front. I’ve used these several times for various conditions with great success. It really offers a lot of options especially when paired up with their Silhouette.
4. Design Style
This is where it’s easy to fall short of achieving the best look for your home.
This is where an Interior Designer sets themselves apart from someone who sells only the window treatments. I don’t mean to sound pretentious… although we tend to have that reputation. The thing is, that most of the time you will select & purchase your privacy window treatments before you select your decor. You might have a sofa & a chair but you probably don’t have your artwork, paint color & all the other things that pull it all together. What an ID can see is the whole picture. Although shades & blinds might seem style neutral, some of them lend themselves to being more contemporary or more traditional. If the style doesn’t then the fabric might.
So what do you do? My recommendation is that before you pull the trigger on purchasing your privacy window treatments, you have a mood board in place. You can easily do this on Pinterest, for free. Have fun choosing components that create a polished look. Even if it’s just a dream right now.
What a wonderful place to dream & envision your future.
Or you can solicit an Interior Designer, like me, Virtually to help you figure it all out for you. Be sure to see the bottom of this post.
Once you have your look in place you can make a professional decision on choosing the right privacy window treatments for your home. A decision you won’t regret.
5. Budget
Okay, it’s time to talk budget. because Money does talk.
If you tend to be one of those people that is drawn to the finest of everything , that comes with a $$$$ Price Tag. Then these will get you there.
Draperies
Hunter Douglas Silhouettes
Ado Wrap (my preference for verticals with a sheer fabric)
Shutters
If you want to be somewhere in the middle $$$ with price. Then these will get you there.
Wood Blinds
Roman Shades
Cellular Shades
If you are cost conscious $$ with price but want a good product. Then these will get you there.
Metal Blinds (I prefer 2”)
Roller Shades
Verticals
But remember, I urge you to act like a professional designer & don’t base your decision completely on budget.
You will have your privacy window treatments longer than your car. Choose wisely!
Now you can choose the right privacy window treatments for your home & enjoy the benefits of making a wise decision.