The Benefits of Using Custom Shades in Interior Design

The interiors of our homes and offices reflect our personal style, tastes and personalities. The things we use to decorate the interiors of our private spaces should be carefully chosen so that they complement each other and provide us with a look we will feel welcomed and comforted by. One of the decorations that we use in our homes and office is the window treatments. There are many different types of window treatments, blinds of different varieties, curtains, shades and draperies are all parts of the treatments we do to our windows to create unique spaces. With so many different options open to us for use as window treatments why would we choose custom shades instead of draperies or curtains or regular shades? Window Treatment Options Roman Shades Roman shades or Romanblinds are a very popular method of covering windows. These shades can be made with fabrics that are heavy enough to block out light and visibility or the material of the shades can be thin enough that it allows the light to be filtered into the room. It is said that the Roman shades were the direct result of the usage of damp towels in the windows of homes around the Roman Coliseum. During this period, people had previously not covered their windows because these openings provided much needed light and air into the rooms. They began to hang damp towels over these openings because of the dust in the air. This dust would enter the room and coat, the furnishings and the clothing of the people as well. Once the use of the damp towels caught on the people of Rome began to experiment with different fabrics, styles and ways of placing the items over the window openings. They began to use these protective barriers as ways to make their rooms look prettier and reflect their sense of style. Today Roman shades are used for their practical purposes, as well as for their ability to make a room look prettier and reflect the personal style of the occupants. Roman blinds generally have soft pleats that are created by the dowel rods that are attached to allow the material to be raised or lowered, thus exposing the window behind the blind. The fact that these shades are made from fabric means they look more like draperies than like blinds. Roman blinds can be custom designed to create a unique look in a room. Interior designers love this aspect of this window treatment. They can cover large windows easily and they can order pieces that reflect the personality, preferences and style of the individual customer. Shades These items are generally made of thick woven fabrics that have been cut to fit the window opening. Shades do not generally extend past the frame of the window. They are normally kept within the confines of the window frames. Shades are usually made to roll up onto a dowel rod placed at the top of the window. You generally grasp a tab that is on the bottom of the fabric and pull the shade down to cover the window pane. When you want to let the shade up your grasp the pull and gently tug twice so that the material will roll back up onto the dowel. Shades can be made from a thin plastic material. These types of shades are used in commercial applications in storage areas and in residential areas, they are placed in windows that are going to have sheers and valances used as decorative accessories in the room. Most of the time shades are used as a means of blocking a great deal of light or creating a barrier so that visibility into the room is restricted. These items are not usually used as focal design points in the room. Windows that are large or oddly shaped may pose a problem when you start to order shades to fit them. Roman shades are often used over the larger windows in commercial and residential areas. Blinds Blinds are used in both residential settings and in commercial buildings. In commercial buildings, you are more likely to see blinds used as window treatments instead of fabric items like draperies or Roman shades. Blinds are made of several separate pieces. The pieces are attached by a cord and then the cord is used to manipulate the various pieces and make the blinds open or close. Blinds usually are made with slats so that they can be opened in increments that allow the operator to let the exact amount of light they want in the room to enter. Blinds can be made from wood, plastic and other materials. They can be placed between the panes of glass that is placed in windows or doors. They are a contemporary style window treatment that is most frequently used in offices because they are benign and can be paired with any furnishings. White blinds are the most popular, but these items do come in many different colors. Blinds can be difficult to repair when they start having trouble opening correctly and they can be difficult to clean. You must clean between each slat of the blind and then clean each side of the blind. There are specialized tools that help you to clean these items. If your windows are very large, it may be difficult for you to find blinds to fit them. Roman shades are a better alternative for large windows. Draperies and Curtains Draperies are the most common style of window treatments in residences. You may recognize these items by the names curtains or drapes. There is very little difference between curtains and drapes. The main way to determine the difference between the two treatments is that draperies are normally heavy fabrics made to block out as much visibility as possible and curtains are often airy and light fabrics made to enhance the décor of the room. All draperies are fabric pieces used to cover the window. The fabric is made in panels and it will take two or more panels to cover a window opening. Each of the panels will be placed on a curtain rod that hangs above the window. When you want the window to be able to shine light into the room, the panels of the draperies are slid back on the rod and you apply ties to the center portion of the panels to hold the panels open. Some draperies are placed on rods with cords that pull them open, but some of them are manually pulled open by grabbing the fabric of the panel and pulling it on the rod. Sheers Sheers are simply curtains made of material that is sheer enough that you can easily see through it and light has no trouble penetrating it. These fabric panels are used on windows to enhance the look of heavier draperies and to soften the look of plastic shades. The sheer material gives the windows of the room the opportunity to blend in with the rest of the décor and yet they allow the window to have a shade placed in it four times that more visibility needs to be blocked. Sheer panels are often placed in windows that have heavy draperies. When the heavy panels of the draperies are pulled back to expose the window behind them, the sheers are there to soften the look of the window. The sheer material may be one of many different colors or it may have depictions of flowers, birds or other images stamped on the fabric to allow them to be more attractive. Valances A valance is a pretty piece of material that can be used alone as a window treatment, or can be paired with other treatments to add a special look to them. They are often placed above draperies, blinds and shades, to create a softer look in the room. Many interior designers use valances to make the room look more unique or to customize the room they are decorating. Shutters Shutters are a type of window treatments that are basically used on the exterior of the stricture. They help to add a measure of protection to the glass if you live in an area that experiences a lot of high wind damage. They are generally made of wood and when the two pieces of the shutters are closed, they are latched from the inside. They were extremely popular in colonial times and today most of the houses you see with shutters have ornamental shutters that do not actually open and close. Draperies help save energy costs by blocking drafts around windows and stopping the light from outside from heating the interior of the room. They also help to protect the furnishings in a room. The light of the sun can fade fabrics, so draperies are sued to stop this light from shining on the furnishings of a room and doing this type of damage. Custom shades from Ostanding are created by the customer. Each shade is completely different, because each customer chooses the images they want placed on their shades. There are endless design possibilities waiting to be created. The beautiful Roman style shades are easy to attach from the frames that hold them. That means they are very easy to clean and when the time comes to redecorate the space, it is very easy to change the entire look of the room by simply changing the decoration of the shades. The customer does not have to come into the showroom to order their custom shades from Ostanding. The unique pieces can be ordered from smartphones, tablets and home computers. Each customer will have the ability to make their selections and create their designs, from the comfort of their own homes, at their own conveniences. Customers will have the option of using pre-selected images that are available on the website, or they can upload their own personal images and have them used to create their Roman blinds. You will not find the constraints of predetermined sizes that you have to work with when you order your custom Roman shades. You will be able to order them in the size that fits your space with no adjustments to make. Over the years, interior designers have discovered that Roman shades are perfect window dressings for personal spaces and for commercial spaces as well. This type of window treatment gives the customer the ease of a shade while providing them with the luxurious look and feel of draperies. When you allow these window treatments to be customized with images the customer chooses, you provide rich window treatments that complete the look of the room. Each item that is placed into a room must be chosen with care so that all of the accessories complement each other and blend in harmony together. You do have to have a focal point for the room and with this custom Romanshades, you can make a focal point that is unique, attractive and easily changed. That means that with careful choices in the other features of the room you can redecorate by simply redressing the blinds, no repainting, no other changes required. Large window areas like the ones created by sliding glass doors, double windows or plate glass windows can easily be transformed into works of art. For an area that is decorated in a southwestern motif, the fabric of the custom shade could be crafted with a desert scene on it. This would cause the window area to blend in well with the other features of the room. The fabric of the Roman shade could be created with depictions of Native Americans and used as an attention grabbing focal point in the room. It would be like having a massive painting in the room. The custom shades could be personalized with pictures of places, people, animals or things that the individual might relate to. That means the shades could be given as gifts on Mother’s Day or on birthdays. A grandparent would love the pictures of their grandchildren and the shade would work like a picture album displaying all of their treasured children. They would love closing the shade to show their visitors all of their pictures. A business executive could actually use the custom shade panels to advertise their products. They could have the panels made with depictions of their products on them. They could either place these custom advertising shades in their own offices for visitors to see or they could give them to other businesses so that their visitors would see the advertisement. These shades could be used like banners on the side of a bus to display products and services. These items could be used to create a darker room in areas that people gather to watch videos. Almost any window treatment could be used to block out light, but what you want is to have an item that will block out the light and then when the video screen is not being viewed, will allow the room to look attractive. Custom designs are the answer to creating light blockers that are also attractive when they are not blocking the light. The way that a person uses their window shades is as individual as the person is. The interior designer needs to find out what the customer wants their shades to do for them before they suggest styles or materials to be used in the creation of them. Some people simply want to filter the ultra violet rays so the light coming into the room does not fade the carpeting or furnishings of the room. When people want their shades to filter light thinner materials can be used and lighter colors can be incorporated into the design. Some people want their shades to block all light from entering through the window. These individuals may be showing video in the room that the light interferes with or they might use the room as a place to sleep during the day and want it dark, so they can sleep. Materials to block out the light will need to be thicker and they need to be created with darker colors so light has a harder time penetrating them. Some people want the shades to help block the intrusion of outside air in the winter months. This helps to keep the utility bills down. If you have a large sliding glass door that leads to the pool, you will want to cover the door in the winter time to help lower the heating costs. Having the window covered in an attractive shade that complements the décor of the room provides you an attractive draft diverter. Since the family is accustomed to seeing the pool from this area in the summer months the material, the shade is crafted from could be created with scenes of the seasons. They could even be created with images of the family at play in their pool. The fabric covering the window would allow the family to have a pleasant reminder of the fun times that will come with the warmth of summer.