You want your bedroom windows to be as large as possible, to let light in and open up the space when desired.

But, you also need privacy and the ability to shut out the light in your master bedroom, guest or children’s bedrooms.

If you are redecorating a bedroom, then it’s the perfect time to add new window coverings, and you have a lot of options to consider!

Bedroom Theme Sets Style for Window Coverings

Are you trying to make your bedroom look modern or perhaps Art Nouveau; with flowing curves and floral patterns? Or, maybe you prefer something more traditional, like English Country, with a plain and natural feel or Victorian, with rich, dark colors and more ornamentation and drama in your bedroom?

Regardless what theme you pick for your bedroom, the window coverings should be well matched both in style as well as color considerations. If you plan the type of window covering you want in advance by looking at photographs online or in books and magazines, it will make your job that much easier when you’re shopping. And if you shop online you may well save yourself a bit of money as well.

A large part of designing and selecting bedroom window treatments must be based on more practical considerations. Do you work night shifts and need to block out light in order to sleep well during the day? Then you might want to consider blackout shades.

Lovely draperies and arched windows give a feeling of romance and elegance to this bedroom design.

Bedroom Privacy and Light Control

If privacy is a concern, which is typically the case unless your bedroom looks out onto a private courtyard or other private area outdoors, then you probably don’t want to use sheer curtains unless you plan to install shades or liners underneath, or your neighbors may be in for a bit of evening entertainment!

Layered window coverings are often the right choice for the bedroom, giving you the best of both worlds; open the shades or curtain liners when you want to let in the light and close them when you need more privacy or less light entering the room.

With this layering approach, you can use a sheer fabric for your curtains to give the bedroom more ambiance and color, adding finials, eyelets, tiebacks or other curtain accessories to add to the style.

Curtains also help enhance your bedroom decor by filtering light to cast glowing color and romantic patterns of light and shadow into the interior. Choices for bedroom curtain fabrics will typically include silk, velvet and linen. Plain white or off white will look nice in a country style or modern room, while prints or other textures may give you a more formal look.

Bedroom Window Treatment Alternatives

With so many choices, how do you select the right window covering or combination of shades, blinds and curtains to complement your bedroom design?

Here is a run down on the pros and cons of each bedroom window covering alternative:

Wooden Blinds

Pros – wood blinds offer great light and privacy control, since you can raise or lower them completely or partially and also rotate the slats to let in more or less light. The look of Venetian blinds in either real or faux wood is clean, simple and masculine.

Cons – with hard surfaces, wood blinds can look too sterile and typically need a valance or other decoration to add some spice to your bedroom decor. Dusting slats is a bit of a chore and real wood blinds are more costly than other options.

Wood Shutters or Plantation Shutters

Pros – wood plantation shutters offer a romantic and intimate feeling to any bedroom. With the ability to rotate slats and open or close shutter, you have good control over light and privacy.

Cons – must have room on either side of the bedroom window to open and close wood shutters. It is also impractical to add a cornice or valance above plantation shutters since this impedes your ability to open and close them. Shutters can also be one of the most expensive bedroom window covering options.

Blackout Shades or Blinds

Pros – blackout shades or blinds are a good option if you work nights and need to sleep during the daytime. They also work well in a nursery or young child’s room for better afternoon nap time. Be careful of any blinds in children’s rooms as the pull cords may present a choking hazard.

Cons – generally less attractive than other options, any type of roller shade or blackout shade usually comes in monochromatic colors and styles are more limited. Cost is also higher than other types of shades and blinds.

Roman Shades

Pros – with a soft, romantic look, roman shades are a great bedroom window covering option. Available in a wide variety of colors, fabrics and patterns, the folds add depth and style versus straight panels or shades.

Cons – hanging open on the sides, roman shades tend to let in more sunlight than other options in the bedroom. If you don’t mind a bit of sunshine waking you in the morning, roman shades may the right solution, or you can add roller blinds or pleated shades underneath for more light control.

Bedroom Curtains

Pros – curtains are readily available online or at your local retailer and are very easy to mount. You can enhance curtains with a nice curtain rod and some finials, or add tiebacks for a more stylish look. If you are handy with a sewing machine, pick a fabric and make your own bedroom curtains! If you add a plain roller shade or pleated shade underneath makes, you’ll have a practical and stylish bedroom window treatment.

Cons – can look out of date if not done properly. Also, unless you use a heavy enough fabric, you won’t get the privacy and light control most bedroom windows need.

Top Tips for Bedroom Window Coverings

• If your bedroom design is somewhat cluttered or decorated ornately, select a simple fabric, which will complement your bedroom decor with out taking it over the top.
• Roman blinds, roller blinds and pleated blinds are probably the best options if you want blinds in the bedroom. Any of these can be enhanced by adding simple sheer fabric curtains with tiebacks for a more complete window covering.
• Personalised blinds in your bedroom will give the decor a more unique look and the optimal control over light and privacy you desire.
• Remember that natural light is important to making your bedroom look open and airy. You don’t want your bedroom to feel dark and confined by too many layers of curtain fabric, which will make the room feel smaller.

You want to create an environment that makes your daughter feel comfortable and expresses her interests, but those interests are likely to change in a year or so, and you don’t want to commit now to a look that will embarrass her later.

Consider selecting more generic furniture items and integrating the theme du jour with easy-to-change items like the window treatments and bedding.

In a couple of years when she’s outgrown the current look, you can easily transition to something new.

Whimsical window treatments are fun in a girl's bedroom. Sheer fabric curtains combine nicely with blinds underneath for added privacy and light control.

Window treatments are an important design element; consider these tips when updating the window treatments for your daughter’s bedroom.

Selecting the Right Window Treatments for Your Daughter’s Room

Consider your needs carefully before you go shopping. You’ll definitely want to select a window treatment that’s easy to maintain and durable since it will be used in a child’s bedroom.

You should also consider things like privacy and light. If your daughter’s bedroom looks out into the neighbor’s dining room or onto the street, the window treatment needs to be opaque enough to insure her privacy. But if she uses the room consistently as a play area during the day, then she’ll need a treatment that opens easily to let in some natural light.

By thinking about these issues in advance, you may be able to focus on curtains, mini blinds, or shades as the best option for you.

Window Treatment Types

One of the most common window treatments for kids’ rooms is curtains, because they’re relatively inexpensive, come in a variety of patterns and colors including popular character patterns, and they’re easy to install and remove.

They’re also relatively easy to maintain. So why would you want to consider any other alternatives? In comparison to curtains, mini blinds and roller shades open and close much more easily to control the light.

If your daughter’s room gets a lot of strong morning sun, a heavier-weight blind or shade may offer better light control than a curtain, particularly if she keeps the windows open.

Whatever style you select, you can purchase a pattern that ties in with the bedroom theme or you can customize a look with decorative valances and tiebacks that allows your child to exercise a little creativity.

Consider the following ideas to customize a window treatment for a little girl’s bedroom:

• The fairy child – For a little girl who likes fairies in general or Tinkerbell in particular, consider decorating her room in a fairy theme. Light, diaphanous curtains held back with feather-accented tiebacks could be paired with white mini blinds to offer both style and light control. Or hang flower fairy prints on the wall and pair the curtains with a valance. Use a rubber stamp to print flowers on the curtains and the valance.
• The horse lover – If your daughter loves horses, consider a carousel theme. The easiest way to accomplish this is to use wallpaper or borders, which are readily available in carousel prints. Keep the window treatments minimal, with a plain roller shade in a complimentary color, and nail elaborate decorative molding around the window frames.
• The fashion plate – Bright colors and retro prints are very big right now. If your little girl is destined for the pages of Vogue, let her express her inner fashionista with some trendy fabrics. Pair curtains and a valance in the same colors but different patterns, or buy the curtains and customize them with a little paint. Pick up some retro pins and attach them to sheer curtains for a custom look.

You want the room to be a place he enjoys and feels comfortable in, but you also realize that his interests today aren’t necessarily going to last.

The problem is compounded if he shares the room with another sibling, and you have two children whose likes and dislikes are competing for the same space.

To customize the space without committing to something permanent, focus on easy-to-update elements such as bedding and window treatments.

You have more window treatment options than you may realize when decorating a boy’s room into something he will love to show off to his friends!

Consider the following when updating the window treatments for a boy’s bedroom.

Selecting the Right Window Treatment for Your Son’s Room

Sheer white curtains with Venetian blinds make a stylish window treatment with depth and flexible light control and privacy in this boys bedroom decor.

If the room is only used as a bedroom, then this may not be an issue, but a combination bedroom/playroom needs light. Or if your son is a particularly early riser, you want a layered window treatment that will successfully blot out the early morning light to try to catch an extra hour of sleep in the morning.

Privacy is another issue, particularly if the homes in your neighborhood are close together or his window faces the street. Once you’ve determined what your needs are, you can focus on treatments that fit the bill.

Alternatives to Curtains

Curtains are a terrific option for children’s rooms because they are so easy to replace as the child grows and his once-coveted cartoon prints become a major embarrassment. They’re also easy to install and maintain, and they’re one of the most cost-effective options out there.

So why consider any other window treatment for a boys’ bedroom? Well, curtains have the disadvantage of being difficult to open and close. Tiebacks are easy to use, but a large portion of the window generally remains obscured. Pull cords require the installation of special curtain rods.

If light control is an issue, you may want to consider an easy-to-open window treatment option like mini blinds or roller shades. Although you don’t have quite as many design options as you do with curtains, they come in a variety of colors and prints, and you can also accessorize with a valance to tie them in with the rest of the room.

You can easily create a customized window treatment using blinds, shades, or curtains to suit any kids’ bedroom with a little creative thought.

Some examples of how you might customize window treatments for a boy’s bedroom include:

• A budding astronomer – If your son is crazy about astronauts, or if Buzz Lightyear is his favorite character du jour, you can easily purchase space-themed curtains, or you can try a more personalized approach. Pair a dark-blue mini blind with a matching blue valance. Stick glow-in-the-dark stars on the valance, or wrap it in white Christmas lights. Or go with a plain black roller shade, and paint the window frame to look like a rocket ship, complete with flames underneath.
• 
  If your boy is a sports nut, then something like this custom valance made using a snowboard will make his bedroom the hit of the neighborhood!
  The star bowler or batsman – Whether your son is into baseball, cricket, football, or rugby, you can make an incredibly easy valance out of sports pennants. Many pennants come with grommeted holes or a pocket upon which they can be strung, or you can buy brightly colored plastic clips to attach them to the curtain rod.
• The avid outdoorsman – If your son enjoys outdoors activities like hiking and camping, why not decorate his room like his very own cabin? Use plain flannel sheets and lots of animal prints on the walls. Try a woven wood roller blind, or pair some plaid curtains with a string of dangling pine cones.

The walls might be covered in posters, pennants, or hand-drawn art.

Regardless of the decorative scheme, this room says quite a bit about your teenager’s personality, likes and interests.

While kids’ rooms often focus on their latest favorite character, teen rooms generally move toward a more adult style centering around activities of interest (such as sports, dance, or surfing) or a personal style like exotic, laid-back, or punk.

You can use Roman shades, curtains or other window treatments to match your teen bedroom theme.

Although you may be tempted to disregard the window treatments and default to a generic set of mini blinds, this is a mistake.

Window treatments can offer teens an opportunity to inject their personal style into the room, and they have the added advantages of being cost-effective and easily changed later.

Selecting a Window Treatment for Your Teen’s Room

Since the room is your teen’s private domain, you may have veto power but will probably otherwise have little say in the actual design.

Whatever teen bedroom idea he or she eventually settles on, it’s important to make certain that the window treatment meets certain basic needs. If the bedroom windows overlook a public area, the window coverings must provide appropriate privacy.

You may need to select a treatment that is easily opened to allow natural light into the room, particularly if your child is interested in art or other activities that need a lot of light.

If your teen’s bedroom is rarely cleaned, suggest that they choose an option that doesn’t require periodic cleaning like velvet curtains or white drapes.

And if you have younger children in the home also, make sure that any cords stay out of reach or retract just to be safe.

Window Treatment Ideas

As with the rest of the furnishings in your teen’s room, consider his or her personality when selecting the window treatments. Feel free to think outside the box.

Certainly, if your teen is the more traditional sort, they may feel most comfortable in a conservative bedroom with plaid bedding and aluminium mini blinds or a fancy room with pink ruffles and lace curtains.

But for teens that have developed a more eclectic style, consider unusual fabrics, prints, and layering to help them create a unique style statement.

The following are some suggestions to get you started:

• Curtains – The major advantages of curtains are customizability and affordability. You can find a pattern and color to suit any room. Consider layering contrasting patterns for a teen who loves bright colors, or choose a polka-dotted valance and striped panels in coordinating colors. There are also sheers with cutout or raised patterns to add texture and interest.
• Blinds – Mini blinds are a terrific, sturdy option for a teen’s bedroom. To add design interest, select a brightly colored version, add interest with some decorative tape, or layer them with sheers.
• Valances or Cornices – Valances and cornices are great ways to introduce your teen’s interests into the room without overpowering it. Consider pairing a printed valance with solid panels. This allows you to add the coveted sports or cheetah prints to the room without causing a blazing headache every time you enter.
• Roller Shades – Roller shades made from fabric or woven woods are an easy-to-install option that can be customized for a teen with the addition of an embellishment on the end. Glue on a string of beads in her favorite colors, or a strip of grosgrain ribbon, or attach a prize ribbon from a favorite activity.

Does it lack privacy, or on the other hand, feel dark and cramped?

Is it impeding your love life or making you and your partner less amorous than you’d like?

Then perhaps it’s time for new, sexier window coverings in your bedroom?

While not everyone thinks of window fashions as being particularly sexy or romantic, you can set the mood for romance with a little inspiration and sensual creativity when designing your bedroom window coverings!

Start with Window Fashion Basics

Exotic and romantic bamboo window shades give the bedroom a warm, inviting feeling.

Unless you and your partner enjoy exhibitionism … which can be fun sometimes if you’re in to that kind of thing, but probably not something most people want to do regularly … then you want a window treatment that provides complete privacy in the bedroom.

Blinds or shades generally make the best base for a bedroom window treatment. You want something you can easily open and close, like roller blinds. Or, you may prefer Venetian blinds which can be adjusted for privacy, while still letting in a bit of that afternoon light in case you and your partner like the occasional “afternoon delight”.

If you decide to use curtains or drapes, be sure to use a fabric that is opaque or use liners for added bedroom privacy.

Choosing Romantic Colors

Color plays a large part in making your bedroom feel sexier and more sensual. You can use a neutral base for your color scheme and brighter accent colors

Or, you might pick a bolder color scheme; reds are spicy hot while blues and greens tend to give a room a more serene and relaxing feeling.

Also remember that dark colors tend to absorb light, while lighter colors reflect light. Use this to your advantage, whether you want a rich, sexy and darker interior or something airy and romantic. Either direction can work fine as long as it creates the look you want to achieve.

Color choices are very personal, so it’s a good idea to be sure you and your partner both agree on the color scheme!
If you use a neutral window blind or shade, you can easily add color with decorative curtains, a valance or window treatment swag. Pick up colors from your bedding, flooring and other room decor elements that you might like to repeat in your window treatment.

Fabrics like silk or velvet that have a sensual feeling can work well, or you can add texture to your window treatment with chenille, linen weave, suede and many others.

Solid colors tend to be more conservative, but if you want something bold, you might select an animal skin print, tapestry or other pattern.

Sensual Window Decorating

With privacy, light control and color choice out of the way, you can begin to consider decorative elements that will add intimacy and a sense of the unexpected to your bedroom window treatment.

Layering your window covering is the best way to add romantic ambiance. Like make up or jewelry, by layering fabrics you can give your bedroom window high fashion, romantic drama and elegance.

Sheer curtains or drapes are great for the romantic theme. The color should correspond with the bed spread or compliment the color of the walls. For example, blue walls and a brown bedspread could have sheer white curtains.

If the walls and bed spread are solid in color the curtains could have a pattern to them while pulling all the colors together.

A romantic room deserves elegant, extra-long curtains that pool or puddle on the floor.

Put on the Finishing Touches

There are many ways to give your bedroom window fashion a little more sex appeal. Consider hardware and decorative options such as curtain rods and finials, window toppers, curtain tie-backs and tassels.

Adding one or more of these features will give your bedroom window a unique, finished appearance and can help add intimacy and sensual shapes to your window treatment. But be careful not to overdo your decoration; you don’t want to clutter the look of your bedroom with umpteen layers of draperies!

You can also add interest by using scallops, lace fringes or other unique design in your valance. Or try a swag; with seductive folds in the fabric to create depth and appeal to your bedroom window treatment.