Taming the Modern Day Propensity for Complication
When we begin a window treatments search, the part we often look forward to is exploring the luscious variety of fabrics and the stunning craftsmanship evident in many of today’s high-quality products. They are beautiful, and it is fun to do! Today, however, we have a slightly different aim.
Let’s face it. Choosing window treatments for a home or business can prove to be more complicated than expected. What seems a simple proposition — “Please cover my window” — can quickly expand into a dizzying morass of colors, styles, terminology, technology, aesthetics, functions, benefits, limitations, and the ever-present and appallingly large spaghetti charts of options. As with so many things, it is easy to become overwhelmed by all there is to know, and how little of it we often do.
So where do we begin?
“Why?”
Why do we want new window treatments? There are many possible answers, but answering this question will do more to focus our search than almost anything else we can do. As we proceed, we will often find that our priorities are in fact different than first assumed, so it is an extremely helpful exercise to return to.
Your answers to this most basic of questions might include some of the following points:
Privacy
Security
Light control
Temperature control
Price
Eco-friendly products
Sustainably sourced materials
Aesthetics, style, or fashion
Protection from UV light damage
Accessibility
Convenience
Safety
It is uncommon for just one of these concerns to exist in the complete absence of all others. So, determining which of these items are most important to you and to your spaces, and periodically returning to this question to reorient your search, is the single best piece of advice we can offer from our years of experience with our clients.
Each type of window treatment brings a unique blend of functional benefits, aesthetic variations, and practical limitations. Carefully determining what your specific needs are and what specific issues you most wish to address will allow you to quickly whittle down your search to only those treatments that are most likely to satisfy your unique requirements.