Hard Window Treatments: Blinds, Shutters & More

Welcome to another Window Wednesday!  Today I thought we would talk about hard window treatments.  So, what are hard window treatments?  My description of them would be factory-made window treatments, such as blinds, shades and shutters.

Be sure to check out our Decorating With Window Treatments page for more ideas, tips and techniques for your windows!

Even though they are called hard treatments, not all of them are physically hard.  For example, roller shades or fabric- slat verticals.  Many people like the clean sleek look of hard window treatments.  They can give you privacy and light control without adding a lot of texture or color.

There are three main categories of  hard window treatments:

1.  Shutters –  Shutters are usually installed into the window frame, and are horizontal slats that can tilt up and down, or are stationary.  I have heard shutters called “furniture for windows”.  They are more of a long term, expensive option for window coverings.  Shutters do not move up and down like blinds, but can fold across the window.  Below you can see an example of some shutters that I did for a client’s bathroom.  They were custom made for her arched window.

Shutters

2.  Window Blinds – Blinds have louvers or slats which tilt open or closed.  They allow you to open to a view without lifting the shade.  Types of blinds are wood blinds, faux wood blinds and aluminum blinds (usually mini blinds).  Below is an example of a wood blind.

Wood Blind

3.  Window Shades – Shades are a piece of fabric which rolls, stacks or folds, opening to a view only when the shade is rolled up.  Though there are now certain shades that do allow you to see out to the view.  Below are two examples of window shades.  The first is a cellular shade which stacks up in small pleats, and the second example is of some Provenance woven roman shades from Hunter Douglas that I did for a client’s home.

Cellular Shade

Provenance Roman Shades

This is a broad list of hard window treatments.  There are new styles coming out all the time.  Hard treatments are available as stock items found in home improvement stores, or can be custom made to order.  Stock merchandise comes in standard sizes, and custom made treatments can be made in any size.