By Stacey Riley

Let’s talk window treatments—most rooms just don’t look finished without them. Unless you are going for an over-the-top modern look and you have amazing windows and/or views…you need them. Of course there are function and style considerations to be made, but today I want to focus on function. We’ll cover style next time.

Ask yourself what you want them to do. Do you need privacy? Are you a light sleeper? What do you do in the room or rooms you need window treatments for? These questions will help you to decide on the fabric type—light or heavy, see-through or dark, full coverage or partial coverage. Seeing the shadow of a figure is different than seeing a naked figure.

Next consider those that live with you—mainly children, dogs and cats. Significant others can usually be trusted, but babies like to grab, dogs like to rub and cats like to claw and swing. This might make a more formal floor length treatment a bad option. You can never pull them up out of the way and they are more likely to get dirty on the floor.

How important is ease of care to you? Natural fibers can fade or be eaten by the sun and cannot be cleaned. They also wrinkle easily. Man-made fibers are generally not affected by the sun, can be cleaned and if they become wrinkled will usually hang out quickly. Some window treatments will need to be “formed” when you open and close them and this can be a routine easily tired by those performing it.

While window treatments are a design statement and are usually a large part of design, you need to think about function first. Mistakes can be costly. Once you have done your homework on the function issue, you can have fun with the design and play with color, texture and pattern.

Design questions? Need help with making a room work? Want to re-do your living room? Stacey Riley can be reached through her website www.staceyrileyinteriors.com