Innovation or tradition? Modern or classic window treatments? Answering this question isn’t simple, because many factors and variables, both technical and practical, come into play as we make our decision and that’s without considering personal taste and aesthetic qualities.
Window treatments are an essential design element, capable of deeply affecting the space where they are used, and so it’s crucial to take our time when choosing them.
Modern and classic window treatments have individual characteristics that define and distinguish them from each other, as well as offering very different final results.
Let’s take a look at how this happens.
Modern window treatments: simplicity, style and practicality
Modern solutions differ from classic ones due to aesthetic and structural elements.
More specifically:
- They have a strong linear style, with few embellishments
- They often feature light, simple and harmonious colours
- They are easy to assemble
In this category are glass curtains, roller blinds and panel blinds, Roman blinds but also Venetian blinds and blinds for inside double glazing.
Glass blinds
Glass blinds are a practical and economical solution, especially in highly used rooms like kitchens and dining rooms, but also for smaller rooms like bathrooms.
They are very easy to install because they can be attached directly to the window frame, thanks to different solutions like Velcro rails or small iron or steel rods.
With this solution, you will save money as well as gaining space as you will avoid the bulkiness of classic curtains.
Roller blinds
Like glass curtains, roller blinds don’t need much space to be installed and are particularly suitable for highly used rooms in a house – but there’s more…
If your home has large windows with elegant frames – perhaps wooden ones, it would be a great shame to cover them with heavy curtains.
With roller blinds, you can enhance the windows in your home, allowing the sunlight in, and at the same time protecting your privacy.
Panel blinds
Panel blinds are made of stiff, rectangular strips of fabric that can be hung on the window using a traditional curtain rod.
This solution is suitable for almost any room and allows you to use different colour tones to make your home brighter.
Panel blinds will allow you to regulate the amount of sunlight in your room easily and, depending on your needs, you can choose filtering or black-out blinds. They are very versatile and can also be used to separate spaces, as wardrobe doors or to create small storage spaces.
Roman blinds
Roman blinds are perfect for rooms with a modern interior decor because they are a perfect mix of practicality and aesthetic qualities.
They can be fixed directly to the window frame, and are perfectly suited to rooms with large windows.
The main characteristic of Roman blinds is that they can only be closed vertically and there are two kinds:
- flat – they have a rod at the base of the curtain that keeps them straight when opening and closing
- pleated – they don’t have a rod at the base and, being made of soft fabrics, they can create a more rustic, but still very pleasing, visual effect.
Venetian blinds for interiors
We are used to thinking about Venetian blinds as a good option for exteriors, installed on a balcony or terrace, but there is definitely more to them.
Venetian blinds are an interior design solution that is extremely popular with modern styles – especially in public spaces, shops, professional studios and so on.
Thanks to their movable slats, Venetian blinds allow you to manage sunlight easily, and they are particularly beautiful, especially those made of wood.
Double glazing blinds
This is a truly innovative, modern and cutting-edge solution featuring a blind inserted directly in the cavity between the glass that forms modern double glazing.
With blinds for inside double glazing, you can forget any issue with space and bulkiness, you don’t need to make any holes in your walls and don’t have to worry about dust.
Lastly, they will also provide you with a beautiful and unique visual result.
Classic curtains: a long-lasting tradition at your service
If your home is furnished in a classic style, with traditional furniture, in the so-called Arte Povera (poor art) or Shabby Chic style, it’s natural that you might be thinking of more traditional solutions.
Classic curtains can take a lot of space in a room, they tend to gather dust and darken your room too much during the day, but it’s important to remember that they can be stunning to look at and there is a huge variety available on the market.
Classic folding curtains
One of the most popular solutions is classic folding curtains.
Folding curtains can be made of any fabric, from light-filtering to heavier ones, and you can choose different types of folds depending on the effect you want to achieve.
Usually, a classic folding curtain consists of two elements:
- A white or light-coloured filtering curtain that will allow natural light to brighten your rooms.
- Two additional elements on each side, usually made of heavier fabrics and in stronger colours that, once closed, will help to darken the room, as well as offer increased privacy.
Pleated blinds
Although they are often used in modern spaces, pleated blinds are also extremely suitable for a house with a more traditional decor.
The frames may be made of aluminium, but pleated blinds are still made with very light and elegant fabrics and have the great advantage of being suitable for any window.
They can be made of fabrics in different colours and feature special decorative elements if they need to match closely with the rest of the decor.
Classic or modern window treatments: your choice!
When talking about window treatments, there really are many options available on the market, and it’s clear that, once you have considered the practical and functional side of things, you also need to think about your personal taste.
What you always need to bear in mind though is that your taste is important, but you also need to consider whether your choice will go well in your home, with the fixtures, the colour of the walls and furniture.
Whatever you choose – classic or modern – don’t make the mistake of disregarding these elements, because the final result might not be as good as you were hoping for.