From the Floors Up

Different Window Options for Your Home

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Every window on our home serves a purpose. They let in the outside light while opening up your atmosphere. They can also be used to let in fresh air from outdoors. Additionally, quality windows can be necessary for keeping your home insulated. If you are looking to replace your outdated windows, you have many options to consider. There are several great window options available today, but here are four options you may want to consider for your own home:

Transom

Transom windows are usually used for trim. They allow light to enter the home but do not open. These are more ornamental for the exterior of the home than used to ventilate your property. However, they do allow light to enter and can be installed over doorways.

Slider Windows

Slider windows are installed on a track. They can slide horizontally across a track and are often used in many Modern home designs. In most cases, they can be opened from both sides, allowing the window to be in the middle while air wraps around both sides, ventilating the home.

Awning

Awning windows have a hinge that allows them to open outwards. These will not take up space in your interior and can help direct wind into the home. This ventilation option is excellent, even on rainy days. Opening from the top makes an awning effect, which will also prevent rain or snow from coming into the house.

Double-Hung Windows

These window frames hold two windows: one on the top of the frame and one on the bottom. The frame allows these windows to travel vertically up on down along the rails. This is great because you can open your window from the top or from the bottom. This will also prevent the windows from protruding into the room like some windows do.

When looking for the right windows for your home, consider all the options. Some windows may be a better choice for your house needs. You may even consider different options for different areas of your home. Just be sure to do your research before committing to any one type of window.

Small Spaces Series – How To Decorate and Design a Tiny Bedroom – Part 2

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WINDOWS

Windows are one of the most reliable ways to work magic in a tiny room. First and foremost, try not to cover them up with anything. If you are going to use the floor space beneath them, choose items that are low profile and won’t obstruct any light. Harness the power of the natural light as much as possible because it has an airy quality not found in artificial lighting. Airy rooms seem bigger. Increase this effect by flanking the window with sheer drapes. The window will seem larger and the lightweight fabric will add visual volume to the room without weighing it down.

Opt for long, tall, sheer drapes and hang the rod high near the top of the wall. The long line will make the ceiling seem higher. Try putting two sheers on each side and bunching them together to increase the sense of size and volume around the window. It’s okay to make a small window seem much bigger in a tiny room. To add additional light, and a bit of whimsy at night, hang small, twinkly holiday light strands behind the sheer drapes.

COLOR

The use of color is an art unto itself. To keep it simple, though, let’s take look at a few basic concepts for visually maximizing a tiny space. Try selecting a palette that adds distinct color but is light and subtle. Crisp colors work well also. Avoid strong, dark colors as they will make the space seem much smaller than it is. Softer colors create a sense of flow, and they blur the hard lines at the edges and corners of the room so that it feels less restrictive. Furthermore, a low ceiling will seem higher and you can even paint the ceiling the same color if it’s not too intense. Lighter tints are also excellent for reflecting light. Options such as antique white, buttery yellow, and ballerina pink do wonders for opening up a room.  Especially in day light when pastel colors help reduce the harshness of direct sunlight.

GO BACK AND READ PART 1 – DECORATING TINY BEDROOMS – INTRO & CORNERS

Shutters Create Soft Mood

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Shutters

Window coverings can be one of the most challenging design choices in a home. Balancing light access, privacy, cost and design benefits can be complex. In the meantime, you may be living with sheets tacked to the walls with painter’s tape.

This space shows some of the advantages of shutters. The look is clean and inviting, and light is completely under your control. A simple adjustment of the louvers allows you to let in plenty of daylight without compromising privacy. And the light provided is soft and appealing.

This corner feels like a perfect place to settle on a summer Saturday morning. The white-on-white style is well suited to the filtered sunlight, and yellow-green accents keep the space feeling cool and clean. You can curl up and read a book – the light is just right – or talk with the person sitting in the matching chair on the other side of you.

Notice that there are just a couple of features in other colors. The dull silver of the labels is a good foil to the green, and the little turquoise-colored box on the top shelf pops gently in comparison to the other hues. Someone spent some time planning this corner, and the shutters provide just the right background for this design.

If you’re planning your window coverings, why not consider shutters? They can be custom-made to suit any size or shape of window, and provide a wealth of options in terms of color and materials. They make a great companion to almost any design, and can be a major contributor to the overall look and feel of a space, as this corner shows.

Choosing the Right Window Treatment

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18055454_SWhether you have just moved into a new home or are redecorating a room in your house, choosing the right window treatment can make or break your decorating scheme. There are so many options when it comes to treatments so you’ll need to do your homework to decide if you want blinds, shades or draperies.

Keep in mind the style of the house, your budget, the room the windows are in, and, of course, the windows themselves. Large draperies will look overpowering on small windows, while blinds on large windows may be overwhelming. Think about your color scheme when selecting the treatments.

You also want to think about how easy your window coverings will be to keep clean. Options for blinds include plastic, faux wood or aluminum. With regular dusting and an occasional wipe down with a damp cloth, blinds are fairly easy to maintain. If you pick heavy draperies they will need to be washed or dry-cleaned a couple of times a year.

Do you want your window treatments to provide privacy and block the light or do you want them purely for aesthetic reasons?

To get ideas look through home magazines, go through model homes, surf the web and look at what your friends have done. You definitely want a foundation of what you love before you start looking in stores.

Most importantly, measure, measure, measure! You don’t want to purchase a window covering, get ready to install it and then find out that it doesn’t fit or isn’t long enough.

Windows Instead of Walls

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There is a lot of talk about focal walls in decorating. What if you have more windows than walls in your room? Sun rooms and rooms with walls of windows can be tricky to decorate given you don’t have wall space as a focal point. In the case of too many windows, let the view outside be the star.

 

Garden rooms and sun rooms can have three walls of windows, leaving just one wall as a place to hang art or place a television. Place furniture in an arrangement that highlights both the view through the windows and the focal wall. Common arrangements of furniture right up against the perimeter will mean you are facing away from the view in a room full of windows—and not taking advantage of the view.  Some furniture that faces into the room is acceptable to create conversation areas.

 

Use flooring to designate seating areas in the sun room or garden room just as you would a living room. Often sun rooms feature both sitting and dining areas so rugs can help distinguish these two spaces. Ask your retailer about color stability in sunlight when purchasing flooring for a sun room or room with a wall of windows.

 

A wall of windows can be dressed with window treatments that allow you to control the light flow into the space. Curtains and shades, even when left open, will give the windows a more finished look. Coordinate these design elements with other colors and patterns in the room.

From the Floors Up

From the Floors Up blog was created with the goal of providing a destination for consumers, designers and those interested in the flooring, design, and kitchen and bath industries. Here you’ll find, current, accurate and informative information that is always just a click away!

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