Window Treatment Ideas

Hello At the Picket Fence friends! It’s me Julie from redheadcandecorate.com and I’m stuck indoors these days due to the frigid temps, how about you? I thought it would be a perfect time to show you some of my “Window Treatment Ideas”. I warn you though, some of my window treatments are a little outside of the box, or should I say “off the window”?

First, let me explain that I am actually not a big fan of window treatments for a couple reasons. As we all know window treatments are extremely expensive, difficult to install, and attract dust. In addition, if you have a beautiful view, they block it and the sunlight that comes with it. Let’s face it though, we need privacy, and we need to be able to block the light if we don’t get up at the crack of dawn, or if we enjoy taking naps-like me.

I am lucky enough to not have to worry too much about privacy because of the distance between our homes and the privacy the trees give. However, I am not a morning person, so I need to block the light. Let’s get started and I’ll show you what I’ve done to solve these issues…

The kitchen is definitely one room where I do not need privacy. Our windows face the back of our deck/property, and there is nothing but trees, water and wild-life creatures. I assume the people that built this house thought it would be a great idea to put the sink in front of the window because we spend so much time there doing dishes. I completely agree and love that I can look out at the water and trees while I’m scrubbing with my S.O.S pad. So, I decided to leave the windows plain and without window treatments. Then, one day I took it a step further and removed the dated muntin bars and added flat 1-1/4 in. “pine stop moulding” to form a big X in the window. All I had to do was measure corner to corner and have each piece cut to that exact measurement. Then I painted them black, and stuck them in. That’s it. I didn’t use any adhesive. The trick is to get your measurements right so they are snug. Of course not all windows are capable of this design depending on how they open.

When we moved into our home I immediately knew I didn’t want to cover up the beautiful windows in our bedroom with curtains or blinds. However, we obviously needed full privacy and to be able to take a nap during the day with low light. Plantation shutters were ideal because they actually enhanced the look of our windows and wood, and keep 99% of light out. They are also a breeze to clean. All you have to do is wipe with a damp rag. The downside is that they are pricy and once they are up, they are up to stay. We ordered ours through Home Depot and they came and installed them in one afternoon.

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Another room that definitely needs privacy is the bathroom of course. I opted for bamboo roman shades that have full privacy. I see now how it looks like you can see through these in the photo above, but I assure you I have pretended to be a peeping Tom several times to check, and they cover well. I love the rustic feel of these shades and they are very affordable and easy to install. They also go with all decorating styles.

Here’s where you can find some like ours: Bamboo Roman Shade. I opted for 2 small shades instead of one large even though that is one window.

Here’s a fun idea that I came up with for our sidelight windows in our foyer. My husband and I stained pine wood boards from the local lumber yard and created these rustic wood shutters that slide back and forth on an actual pipe. At first I wanted to do shutters that are open & close on hinges which is another fantastic idea, but as you can see my console table would get in the way. The best part is that these only cost us $75.oo total. Here is our full tutorial if interested: DIY Rustic Wood Shutters.

Okay, so this may seem a little odd to have ruffled curtains hanging in our kitchen/office doorway, right? Well, the main reason I put these here was to help keep our kitchen warm in the Winter, and it totally worked. The adjoining office has a lot of windows, so it gets very cold in there. When ever I was doing the dishes I could feel the cold air coming from that room. So boom. Now It’s gone. Keep in mind, I do not keep these up all year long. I also switch them out with other curtains. I’ve used the ruffled curtains in several other areas in our home including my daughter’s bedroom, our laundry room, and even as a cover for our shower door. They are really versatile, come in many colors, and are very feminine. If you would like more information on them, here you go: Ruffled Curtains.

One more idea and this one is very crafty. I used “Gallery Glass” paint to add a little privacy and charm to our side door. This is something that you can get very creative with on doors, windows, or even mirrors. It is not permanent, but stays on until you remove it. First, I had to apply the removable black leading (this was my own design that I drew on the glass first with an erasable marker and ruler) that sticks on easily. It reminded me of string that sticks. Then you finish off the lead by connecting the ends with liquid lead. Once that is all in place and dry, you apply the crystal clear paint straight from the bottle tip or apply with a small paint brush. It goes on white, but dries clear (supplies are high lighted).

Of course the easiest and most beautiful window treatments of all is when you don’t use them at all…

Please let me know if you have any questions on any of these “Window Treatment” ideas. See you next time~

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