A Hitchhiker's Guide to Window Treatments

Hey Readers!
It's been a while. Life has been busy for us wrapping up our time in school and preparing to find a career. I just started my last semester at BYU. It's a little surreal and I'm super busy, but lucky for you, I am required to blog once a week for my business writing class. As a result, there will be LOTS of content over the next few months, as well as some exciting announcements, so stay tuned!

To quote the actual Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, "Don't Panic." With regard to window treatments, it's a LOT easier than it looks. There is a seemingly endless and daunting list of the types of window treatments. Use this post as a guide through the world of window treatments to help you choose the best type of treatment for your space.

Prep-Work:

When hanging a curtain rod, hang the rod about 4-6 inches from the ceiling. (Especially if you have a small window) Drawing the eye up will make the window appear to be bigger. You can use just about anything rod-shaped as a curtain rod such as: branches, wire and eye-hooks, piping, a board with hooks to loop onto tabs, even string and clothespins. Think outside the box here and express yourself!

Curtain clips are a great way to hang DIY curtains and help the curtains slide on the rod easier. Grommets are also very easy, but if you are doing these yourself, practice a few times on some scrap fabric. There is a great tutorial here. Tabs are also an easy way to hang your curtains. They hide flaws quite well and are very forgiving, especially with unconventional curtain rods.

Types of Window Treatments:

The most common type of window treatment is the simple curtain panel. This is great in almost any space. I wouldn't use panels in the kitchen or bathroom, as the floor tends to get wet and can affect the curtain panel fabric. Curtain rods should be hung just under the ceiling, and panels should barely touch the floor, which will trick your eye into thinking that the room is taller. For a tutorial on how to fix highwater curtains, click here. Panels are great in bedrooms, living rooms, or any other room.

The simplest window treatment that provides the most flexibility is the blind. They make so many different kinds of blinds these days, that you can almost always find something that will work in your space. My personal favorite is the bamboo blind. I find it adds much-needed texture to any space and have a very warm glow to them. Rolling shades are also in the blind family and an inexpensive and high-impact way to bring color and interest to your windows would be to purchase a plain, simple white roller shade to fit your window and adhere fabric to the front with fabric adhesive. You don't have to spend the time figuring out how to make one, and it only takes a few minutes. Adding ribbons with some glue after adhering the fabric is a wonderful way to make your shade look custom.


The last major type of window treatments is the valence. I find these useful on windows that already have blinds and are in areas of my home that are frequently dirty and/or wet, i.e. kitchens, bathrooms, etc. Valences are insanely simple to sew and can be customized quite easily as well. The valence in my kitchen is simply four seems on my sewing machine and then I took some yellow ribbon and tied the valence up in two places for a flirty and dramatic twist. You could even just sew some elastic along the back to gather the valence in whichever way you find more beautiful or what would complement your space.

Happy Window Dressing! Keep sending those questions in and we will get you some solutions in the next Kari's Korner. Also, be sure to follow us on Social Media (the green circles to your left) for more exciting news and a few more giveaways!