Dressing Your Windows: Your Design Guide of Colors and Trends for Your Windows (and so Much More)

It’s time. You’re scouring magazines (HOME obviously), searching webpages, and planning your new look. Spring is here, summer is just a few months away, and you’re well on your way to the makeover of your dreams.

It’s 2011 and never have we been more accustomed to the fast-paced, “in-one-day-and-out-the-next” trends. Keeping up with the ever-changing styles can be pricey when you consider redecorating an entire room – let alone your house – based upon what’s hot now. Keyword now.

After thawing out from the chill of winter and being trapped indoors for those bleak months, you may be ready to update your décor and give your rooms a fresh look. But before you slap a new coat of paint on the walls or order new furniture, consider giving your windows a new look. Window treatments may be the last thing you consider changing, but can be the first thing that dates a room.

You might not need new wall hangings or reupholstered furniture. Take a look at your window treatments and consider new colors and looks that could liven up a possibly out-dated style.

Color Me Happy
Some of the latest color reports are showing trends toward not being trendy at all. That’s good news for those of us worried about making a purchase only to find out it will soon be yesterday’s news.

Still, if you’re looking for a guide of what hues are topping the palette, a myriad of colors have been grouped together to set the stage for what’s hot. Colors such as smoky wine, blue-gray, lavender, cocoa, bright pink, chartreuse, copper, wheat and teal are all a part of what’s new and now, but also give the staying power for what’s to come.

As the global authority on color, Pantone provides professional color standards for design industries. Their color of the year is honeysuckle. But before your mind immediately goes to a yellow hue, think pink. Pantone says honeysuckle is a dynamic reddish-pink meant to be encouraging and uplifting.

Trend forecasters are predicting chameleon neutrals – or neutrals with more color – will be more prevalent than ever. Grays may look blue or purple and browns may be metallic. Consider painting a room with these new neutrals and modernize window treatments with the trendier pop of color.

The Fabric of My Life
Luxury fabrics, bold prints, and organic materials are topping the charts for what should be atop your windows.

Many luxury fabrics are opulent and showy with bold colors and textures. Consider velvet, damask, fur, leather and suede. Overall fashions are sticking to simplicity, but those who desire adornment and extravagance can indulge in these rich fabrics. These styles may even feature beaded tassels and lavish embellishments all the way down to the hardware.

If you’re not ready for the richness of luxury fabrics, consider grosgrain ribbon or bits of velvet woven into existing shades or as tiebacks for your current draperies. The lavish shine and sheen of silk may be a pricier option but can instantly wake up a dull room. With embroidery, plaid or paisley designs, silk treatments are exploding onto the scene.

Bold, bright patterns serve as top choices, with bright florals and graphic geometric patterns. These eye-catching choices offer stylish updates. Counteracting these bold patterns are simple, sleek lines that come from flowing drapes and chrome or brushed nickel hardware.

If bold is not beautiful to you, consider the simple art of bringing nature indoors with organic materials. Custom motorized shades or cellular shades are increasingly popular for blinds. Exposed wood grain, birch and maple are the materials of choice for hardware and accessories. Available in different colors of wood and materials, some even include grassy woven accents, helping bring diffused light in and giving a natural look and feel.

To gain a fresh timeless look, incorporate classic silhouettes and fabrics that will not age over time. These include pinch- pleat drapes, grommet hung drapes or roman shades.

Accessorize, Accessorize, Accessorize
Today’s drapes are not just about fabulous fabrics and colors. Creative rods, finials (ornaments that decorate the ends of the rods), hardware and tiebacks are treated almost like jewelry. You can get everything from wood finishes to varying metal finishes like chrome and brass, or even glass or ceramic. If you like the shape and look of your current window treatments, consider replacing with new hardware and accessories.

Add grommets, ribbon, tassels, or beading to enhance and modernize curtains. If you don’t have the money for full silk panels or other luxury fabrics, consider valances, cornices or swatches of the fabrics that can be decoratively added to the top or bottom of your existing draperies.

Consider the placement of the window treatments. Mount draperies above the window, or extend them beyond the frame to add height and/or width.

Whatever pattern, fabric, or color you choose, however you decide to accessorize and hang, modernizing your window treatments could be the fresh look your windows – and your rooms – deserve this spring!