wood shutter

Minimalist Home Décor Ideas – Custom Window Treatments

/ Larry Walker

By SelectBlinds.com

The idea of minimalism encompasses a return to simplicity. Reducing the number of objects in your living space, to leave only the most necessary of items. Less clutter to make the most of your available space. 

Crisp lines, maybe some quieter color tones, and the silent allure that define minimalism have been shown to nurture a healthier sense of stillness and well-being.

Maybe Zen isn’t exactly your thing, but consider the relaxing benefits of keeping objects and clutter to a minimum in your home. Everything in its place, without anything you don’t need. Imagine minimalist window treatments to keep things simple, practical, and aesthetically beautiful. Here are three tips to help you bring that kind of minimalist feel into your home.

Minimalist window treatments like rollers give your windows a nice, clean finish, without bulkiness or clutter.

1. Minimalist Window Treatments Should Be Functional

Minimalist design emphasizes the importance of every included element in a space having a tangible, practical function.

Think about the simplistic elegance of roller shades. Cordless (especially motorized) roller shades crisply pull down to where you need them with just a gentle tug. No cords, no clutter. Top Down Bottom Up cellular/honeycomb shades work in a similar manner, but with some additional applications. You can get your TDBU cellulars to open from the top down also, offering you plenty of outdoor light, and privacy at the same time. They also provide a soundproofing effect for a quieter interior, and they are energy-efficient at the same time.

Shutters offer a nice minimalist look and feel as well. Throughout the day, you can tilt the louvers exactly where you need them to be for the right amount of lighting that you want. Whenever you need to, just shut the louvers completely for full privacy. Let the full light in with a wide open view when you swing open the panels entirely.

Shutters as minimalist window treatments.
Shutters offer quick control of incoming light as well as privacy when you need it.

Solar shades not only offer a crisp, minimalist look (like roller shades), but they also help protect your floors, furniture, and framed items from the harsh incoming UV rays. And they help preserve your view. 

Fabrics vary in openness factor (typically 1% to 14%) to increase UV protection and reduce glare or to allow a better outward view when they’re closed. For rooms where you want some natural light coming in, but you want to maintain privacy at the same time, they’re perfect.

And don’t forget bamboo/woven woods. What could be more Zen/minimalist looking than natural bamboo minimalist window treatments?

2. Minimalist Window Treatments Should Be Set in Close to Your Window

One thing minimalist designers make a point to do is to use as little space as possible. They might implement a desk or table, but without bulky lamps, large plants, or “clutter-ey” items to throw the clean, tight design off-kilter. In a similar manner, minimalist window treatments should be set in snugly to the window, without fussy cords, frills, or fabric spilling outward and onto the floor. 

Roller shades, cellular shades, shutters, bamboos, and solar shades all lend themselves well to this idea of physical closeness to their windows. Remember that “minimalism” implies being direct in your design, and that “less is more.”

You can’t beat the natural look and feel of bamboo/woven wood shades for a perfect minimalist finishing touch.

Speaking of set close to your window: Similar to the textures offered by cellular shades, panel tracks can offer a warm, personal touch with various options in textured upholstery and fabrics, in a variety of colors, including neutrals.

Since a tight fit is important for your minimalist vibe, note that custom panels can very elegantly frame your windows, while offering ample cover. Just remember not to let saggy fabric or uneven floor gaps between panels throw off the precision of your minimalist look.

Panel tracks as minimalist window treatments
Panel tracks meet all the criteria you could want for minimalist window coverings, and they beautifully provide cover for
large/wide windows and glass doors.

3. Minimalist Window Treatments Don’t Have To Be Neutral

Minimalist designs have been traditionally known to utilize neutral whites, blacks, and grays. But this isn’t a requirement. Consider eye-catching splashes of color, including on your minimalist window treatments. Color can really add some nice accents especially if the furniture in your room features a neutral palette. Without color, your space can look and feel cold and impersonal. If you already have some color accents (e.g., rugs, furniture, pillows), neutral window treatments might be the way to go.

Select Blinds Staff Recommendations

Here are some minimalist window treatments our staff loves and offers as recommendations.

Classic Fabric Room Darkening Roller Shades

Lifestyle Light Filtering Cellulars

Architect Stained Shutter

Lifestyle Motorized Solar

Premier Woven Wood Shades

Modern Architect Panel Track

With the wide variety of fabrics, textures, styles, and colors available to you, finding the perfect custom minimalist window treatments should be a breeze.

Selecting the Best Kitchen Window Treatments: Over the Sink

/ Larry Walker

By SelectBlinds

The kitchen and dining room are the heart of any home. Holidays, laughter, Sunday dinners, cooking, homework, late night chats, etc. That’s why so many of your best family stories start in the kitchen.

Custom window treatments provide a fashionable finishing touch that accents and complements the way you design your own interior spaces. Lots of opportunities to highlight with colors, patterns, and texture. Window coverings provide light control, privacy, and peace of mind.

A kitchen is a unique space, and you may have different considerations for how you decorate the windows, based on where each window is located. Your choice of window treatments offer additional opportunities for touches of softness and style in the middle of bulky, metallic appliances and smooth, hard surfaces.

Select Blinds bamboo / woven wood shades for the kitchen window
Select Blinds bamboo / woven wood shades look great in your kitchen sink window,
but be careful about water and moisture in the area.

Maybe you want kitchen window curtains. If you only have one window in your kitchen, you’ll want window coverings that let as much light as possible filter in, while still being able to maintain privacy. You may consider sheer shades. If you have a kitchen window that faces the street, privacy might be a primary concern, with incoming light also being important, but perhaps slightly less so. You may want window coverings that offer a unique view, like Top-down Bottom-up shades. Then there are those windows immediately over the sink. What looks best over them? Time to get cooking. Read on as we serve up a deeper dive into kitchen window ideas and considerations as you find what fits best with your personal style and sense of décor.

Decorative Window Coverings

If you’re thinking about a covering for a kitchen window over the sink, be extra careful that you keep the right kind of materials in mind. You can still go with stylish bamboo/woven wood shades or Roman shades, but be aware that because this area over the sink often involves water splashing, spills, etc., you might have to be extra careful to avoid water damage. Wood blinds are also at risk for getting wet and possibly warping or discoloring, but you might just love the way they look in that window over your sink. It’s always up to you, just be aware of the risks that are involved if you decide on a material that doesn’t take well to water.

Select Blinds light filtering roller shades for the kitchen window
Select Blinds light filtering roller shades allow just the right amount of light
and view into your kitchen, without compromising your privacy.

Privacy

As mentioned, privacy may be a concern if your kitchen sink window faces the street or a neighbor’s home. Roller shades may be what you’re comfortable with in terms of providing privacy, and perhaps with some light filtering functionality.

Light Control

If your kitchen sink window faces the east or west, you’ll especially want to take account of direct incoming sunlight. Direct UV rays can be harsh on your eyes, your skin, your furniture, and they can definitely crank up the heat in a room. A stylish, but heavy-duty solar shade may be what you want to employ over your sink to protect yourself and your interior while you’re doing dishes after evening summer cookouts. Solars are typically constructed of durable PVC materials, so they’ll look great and maintain that “brand new” look for a long time to come. You can also custom order them with the degree of UV blockage of your choice.

Also, consider aluminum mini blinds for your kitchen sink window. Aluminum shades built to last, with plenty of light and privacy settings.

Select Blinds Solar screens for the kitchen window
Select Blinds Solar screens help block out harsh UV rays,
while keeping your kitchen cool. They look great, too!

Functionality and Longevity

In addition to durable solar shades and aluminum blinds for your kitchen sink window, there is another excellent option for a food-prep, dishwashing area. If you love the look of real wood blinds and shutters, but can’t bear the thought of them getting wet and warped, faux wood blinds and shutters might be just the perfect find.  

Not only do they perform amazingly at maintaining light and privacy, they also look great, they’re also super easy to care for, and they’ll last forever. You can clean them with little more than soap and water as needed. Many faux wood slat constructions also feature insulation against heat and cold. The lush look and feel of real wood in your home, and their resilience ensures they’ll never warp, crack, chip, or discolor when exposed to water, food stains, or steam. And much less expensive than real wood. Low-maintenance, and no worry.

Select Blinds Faux Wood Blinds for the kitchen window
Faux wood blinds give any kitchen window a crisp look and feel,
along with privacy and light adjustments.

SelectBlinds’ Staff Recommends:

Here are some of our favorite suggestions for the window above your kitchen sink.

Remember, kitchen window treatments can serve a design/decorative function to go with your kitchen’s décor, but especially for the window over the sink, it should also be durable, provide privacy, and block out harsh UV rays. Choose whatever kind of blinds work best for you, but remember that the most functional ones for that particular window are moisture- and mold-resistant. Happy decorating!

#BlindsWeLove     #kitchenblinds

5 Reasons Shutters Are an Excellent Home Investment

/ Larry Walker

by SelectBlinds

Wood and faux wood shutters feature a classic stylish dignity and look for any home. Heck, in some parts of the country, window wooden shutters are the ONLY kinds of window coverings you see. They also offer some energy-efficiency, and they are incredibly easy to operate.

Another great thing about shutters is that you can choose them in wood, or in less expensive but durable, moisture-resistant, and attractive faux shutters (faux wood tends to last longer, especially in areas of high humidity and moisture, where wood shutters can easily fade, mold, and warp). There are also degrees of added insulation and light control you can find for your shutters. You can even find more eco-friendly shutters made from recycled materials, if that’s your preference. What’s not to like about shutters?

Shutters for your home offer privacy and light control.
Shutters can be mounted either on the inside or outside of your window, on windows or on doors.

Are Shutters a Good Investment?

Other than the fact that they look great, and that you can nicely coordinate them with your counters or floor to help tie together any room’s décor aesthetic, there are some other things you should consider in regard to shutters when you’re thinking about how to best dress your windows. For one thing, they can be mounted either on the inside of a window or door, or on the outside. Here are some other advantages:

  1. Personalized Shutters

Custom door and window coverings are always a smart choice, because they speak to your own personal sense of style and taste. They say a lot about you, and truly make your home yours. They also make for better privacy, UV protection, and light management, because custom means custom measurements for a custom fit – no gaps.

2. Shutters help bolster your property value

Real estate veterans will generally agree that any home with custom shutters installed will usually sell faster. Considering the classically styled look that shutters can give any home, indoors and out, it’s no surprise that shutters are such a sought after window treatment. Stylish, elegant shutters can add nicely to your home’s appraisal value if and when you decide to sell. Blinds, shades, and curtains all have their unique benefits and advantages, but they generally won’t add to your home’s value the way shutters can.

Make your home’s interior and exterior look amazing with shutters.

3. Energy efficiency

If being able to select shutters for your home that are made from recycled materials isn’t eco-friendly enough for you, consider the fact that shutters offer varying degrees of insulation to choose from to protect your interior environment from outdoor heat and cold. The outcome? Lower utility bills, lower long-term home maintenance costs.

4. Privacy and Peace of Mind

 Shutters have a likable tendency to give your home a solid feeling of security, and they also allow you flexibility – flexibility to be able to manage and control incoming light along with visibility into and out from your home’s interior. Even with partly open slats, you can still do a great job of keeping your privacy while still letting plenty of light in.

5. Durable and easy to care for

When you install custom shutters in your home, you can rest assured that you are installing window coverings that will last for years. They are almost guaranteed to long outlive whatever warranty coverage you happen to choose for them. They are also easy to maintain and to keep clean and new-looking.

Shutters for a bedroom interior.
Shutters can bring your personal style to light in just about any room.

SelectBlinds staff recommendations:

Here are some popular shutters we recommend for your home. Consider your own unique privacy and lighting needs for rooms where you’re considering installing window blinds. And as always, keep your own sense of décor and style in mind!

Consider custom shutters for your windows. You can add that beautiful, personalized touch to your windows, in a classic style, that will last you a long time. All while adding to your home’s value!

#BlindsWeLove   #Shutters

Bust Out Your DIY Skills for National Upcycling Day!

/ Larry Walker

National Upcycling Day is the perfect time to grab anything slightly worn or used around the house and use your amazing DIY skills to revamp it into something new and wonderful. Here are some of our favorite new ideas for upcycling old window treatments!

Roller Shade → Retractable Chalkboard

  • DIY retractable chalkboard roller shade.
  • Paint and roller supplies to make a retractable chalkboard.

Chalkboards are a staple of childhood, but they can take up a lot of space. The popular solution – chalkboard paint – is great for accent walls, but it can be very dark and is rather more permanent than most parents would like.

So, what’s the solution? Well, and hear me out now, how about a vinyl roller shade with chalkboard paint on one side so you can roll it up when your kids are done playing?

To make this lovely retractable chalkboard, I commandeered some old towels and spread them out on my patio. Then I pulled out the old roller shade and laid it out so I could get painting! After painting on three layers over the course of 6 hours (and letting it dry completely), my new retractable chalkboard was ready to be used! My only recommendation? Make sure your roller isn’t some sort of mesh. We ended up having to rip the old towels off the back because the paint bled through. Thank goodness it still looks amazing on the front side!

Wood Shutter → Picture Board

  • Brown wooden shutter with slats closed.
  • Removing hinges from a brown wooden shutter.
  • Nailing a roman shade backing onto a wooden shutter.
  • DIY picture collage board made from a wood shutter and roman shade.

Picture boards – especially the big ones with real wooden frames – can get ridiculously pricey! But, if you’ve got an old shutter lying around (or happen to find one at your local hardware store or even a garage sale) you’ve got the makings of a great diy picture board!

For my DIY picture board, I decided to remove the slats and create a neutral backing out of a bit of old roman shade. To personalize it a bit more, I painted some cheap wooden letters and glued magnets to the back. Paired with a beautiful set of Harry Potter magnets (or any other magnets that suit your fancy), it’s ready for future pictures to be added! The best part? It took less than an hour to finish – including painting the letters!

Bamboo Shade → Placemats

  • Cutting apart old woven wood shades.
  • Adding a new border to pieces of old bamboo shades.
  • DIY bamboo or woven wood placemat.

Let’s all come clean together…we probably aren’t all fancy enough to have sets of placemats and table decorations for every season and holiday. So, why not make some out of those old bamboo shades? Actually, you could make these out of just about anything!

For this particular set, I used a bamboo shade and some pre-cut strips of ribbon-like fabric. The first step was to cut out a placemat-sized piece of the shade. Thank goodness I had my Cutco Super Shears to help cut through the thicker bits of wood! To create the border, I placed double-sided fabric tape around one side and folded the ends of the ribbon when attaching them so that no frayed edges would be available. If I were to do this again, I’d definitely stick with ribbon, but probably make sure it was the length of a whole side to avoid all the seams.