So we bought a house!!! We’re so excited! We can finally stop fretting about not truly loving anything on the market. DH wasn’t happy at first, but a new subdivision recently completed its model & I made him walk through it. He loved it and we put down a deposit yesterday.
Having never built before, this should be some new territory for us. Timing could be stressful b/c I don’t want to move in before we’re able to get most of the window treatments up. But they think the house will be done late Apr-early May and our lease isn’t up till end of June.
Right now I’m trying to decide where to put in blinds. I’m not a huge fan, but it seems like the trend is to cover every single pane of glass w/ a blind. Am I wrong here?? Should I go ahead and put blinds everywhere or should I pick and choose?
I’m also considering using opaque decorative light filtering film (I’ve used it before) in a few places like above the master tub. And of course curtains. I like the use of sheers under a slightly thicker semi sheer or light filtering. I don’t love heavy blackout curtains. This will be a very modern home that we’re going for a cozy-casual look. Lots of greys, blues, and that light teal-y aqua everyone seems to be in love with. So I don’t want the look to be too stuffy.
Opinions???
I would say it would depend on how much privacy you desire. Also, if you have a room with a western exposure, this could play into what kind of window coverage you desire.
We just bought an existing home. The family room and breakfast room windows just do not lend themselves to any kind of blind whatsoever, due to the way they are made. Fortunately, we do not have a privacy issue there because those windows face our back yard, which has a lot of tall trees, and so, privacy. All front facing windows and all windows in our bedrooms will have shades for privacy (and for sleeping in if applicable).
The way our house is designed, there are very few windows that could even accommodate curtains, which is a shame, because I like simple panels to bring in color to the rooms.
They do make temporary paper shades you could put up if your blinds are not ready on the exact day you move in.
Congrats on your new house. We are doing a major re-model before we move into our house, and I’m fairly overwhelmed with all of the selections I’m going to have to make in a quick time frame.
ETA: you don’t necessarily have to use “blinds.” If your house is fairly contemporary, take a look at sheer shades. @jym626 loves hers. I have some in my house which are very similar ("Silhouettes), but hers have some better functions, I think. I’m probably going to go with what she has in her house.
Very nice!! DH isn’t a fan of shades but those are nicer than what I was showing him. Our house faces west with three of the bedrooms at the front. The game room, DH’s office, master retreat, and breakfast room are going to get ALOT of morning sun. There are a few trees at the end of the lot, but they’re the thin Carolina pines, so not very light filtering. There are no houses behind us, but houses to the front and sides.
I think it also depends on your design likes and style. Do you have a home design blogger or designer from tv or something whose style you like? If so I would go on their blog or their Pinterest and see how they have used window coverings.
We have window coverings on the bedroom windows in the front and in DSs room at the back. Our back facing bedroom has no window coverings.
Downstairs and back facing bathrooms have no window coverings.
BUT we live in the northeast where it’s not as hot for as long.
If your house will be hot hot hot without window coverings, then get some. I was in a newly decorated house recently that had those nice pleated blinds, no strings, that went up from the bottom and/or down from the top. They were very nice…and when not opened took up roughly two inches at the top of the window…so not noticeable at all.
I definitely think it depends on where you live, the exposure from the sun, and privacy issues.
Our family in FL all have plantation style shutters on every single window and then stationary curtain panels to “frame” out the window decor.
We live up north and I like having unobstructed light when we can. On the first floor, I have curtains on the street facing side of the house and the kitchen. The sunporch has sheers for blocking out the setting sun so we aren’t blinded when we eat out there in the warm months. All bedrooms and bathrooms have window treatments. We have room darkening curtains in our master because we love to sleep with it dark and top down roman shades in the master bath/closet. The other bedrooms have thick slat blinds and curtains. The family room on the 3rd floor has no window coverings at all. My favorite space in the whole house :). We have a lot of mature trees and it still feels very private.
My D1 and her DH just bought a house in North Carolina, and they installed what sounds like your are describing. They are kind of a honeycomb shade? I love how they don’t need any strings.
I like the kind of shades I described because you can open them when they are down, so you still let lots of light in, yet you still preserve some privacy.
But D1’s are very nice indeed. And not very pricey. They simply brought their window measurements (I think top, middle, bottom) to Lowe’s and their staff cut them to fit. D and Dh were lucky that Dh’s parents were there and love projects, so they took care of all of it (except paying for it, haha). D and DH are very happy with them.
We’re in North Carolina and it can get pretty steamy in the summer so we definitely need something on most if not all of the windows. I like the idea of privacy and some light filtering, while still allowing the house to be bright and airy looking. I think a mix of opaque sheers w/ framing curtains to bring in some color, and some blinds or shades will work best.
I’m a fan of bamboo/roman shades if your decor isn’t too traditional or “fancy”. I actually prefer as little window covering as reasonable. The bamboo shades are not opaque and allow for some light filtering. You can also pair them with a curtain which can be pulled to the side or closed as sun or night dictates.
@abasket I think valances in a kitchen can give it a sort of “cafe” look. Plus, the valances will hide the blinds completely when they are up.
We have valances in our LR and DR that we love…and that’s what matters. When the house eventually goes on the market, they will be taken down. They are on compression rods so no big deal. While we like them, we won’t leave them up for showings.
We had top down honeycombs in our last house’s breakfast area because someone built a house right behind us and in the winter, there was no privacy. Since I’m often in the kitchen in a bathrobe, I wanted privacy. No valance. I think that would have looked too fussy.
Being new construction the house is definitely very neutral. We’ll be painting of course, but I don’t tend to choose outrageous colors. I few throw pillows is about as far as I’ll go. Although back in the 'oughts we painted a dining room a very deep burgundy above the chair rail, and a medium latte under… that was really pretty and needed very little else! But the DR in the new house is too open to flow well into the rest of the house for something so dramatic. I’ll be sticking w/ plenty of neutral greys for the walls.
Having said all that… siiigh… my 12 yr old. At breakfast this morning… “Do you think you could paint the Tarheel argyle going around the wall in my game room??? Pleeeeeezzze!!!”
You could paint 1 wall Carolina blue and purchase a comforter/quilt for the bed in something more specific for Carolina. Easier to change when the hope for Carolina changes to State!!
I’d go with the temporary blinds for bath and bedrooms that they sell. Then live in the house. Drive by at night with the lights on, have someone home, and see what you can and cannot see from the car. You might be pleasantly surprised, or not.
@katwkittens You made me snort!! LOL
It’s not a bedroom, so no comforter. But I see your point. He has a huge Ramses fathead, so that with some throw pillows or blanket on the couch would be alot easier.
I prefer straight simple panels, nothing fussy. But that’s just me. Do what YOU like. If you’re trying to go contemporary, you can get away with no treatments (again, depends on light, privacy concerns, etc.) or do simple shades/blinds, or curtains that have clean lines and are not too overbearing.
I love Houzz. You can plug in “transitional window treatments,” and it will give you thousands of photos. You can create an idea book for your home.