Kitchen Window Treatments: 6 Best Tips To Consider When Decorating

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Choosing Kitchen Window Treatments

When you are searching for new kitchen window treatments, keep in mind the task that you are trying to achieve. Do you want blackout types or just light filtering or highly decorative? You can choose to mix and match window treatments when you choose to have custom window coverings.

Considerations in Choosing Kitchen Window Treatments

You likely spend a lot of time in the kitchen preparing meals for the family and friends and entertaining as well. You have thousands of choices of kitchen window treatments. The best window treatments achieve the right level of privacy and sunlight control depending on what direction the windows face. If you think about what you are trying to achieve, it can narrow down your possibilities so you can get on to the fun part of decorating.

#1. Sunlight Exposure

The damaging rays of the sunlight are both UVA and UVB rays. Direct sunlight streaming in your windows is amplified through the glass, much like a magnifying glass. This can fade most all of your materials, raise your indoor temperatures to a point of being very uncomfortable, dull your cabinetry finishes, dry out any type of wood, and fade fabrics. If you get harsh morning or evening sunlight through your kitchen windows, consider a window covering with a protective quality. In this type of product, you can start your first layer with a performance shade, such as a cellular or solar shade that allows some diffused light in, but blocks the sun’s harmful rays. If you want complete control of the sun, you can choose opaque window coverings or treatments that are lined with a blackout layer. Don’t forget that window shutters and blinds, no matter what material they are made from will control the sunlight great too when they are closed.

#2. Privacy Levels

Most people won’t take the time to really think about their level of privacy in the kitchen. But, it’s a good thing to consider. One night, turn the kitchen lights on and venture outside to see exactly what you can see through your windows from the curb and in your driveway or on your lawn. The shorter days in the winter give you more hours of darkness at night and you really don’t want people peering into your windows anyway. In shared spaces, such as a breakfast nook, you may drink your morning coffee and watch the news in your fuzzy robe, which requires some privacy. For privacy, it’s a good idea to choose a type of screening material that allows you to see outside very well but blocks views from the outside to the inside. Two great examples of privacy window treatments are Roman shades and roller shades made in beautiful woven wood shades or translucent materials. You can also use sheer fabric drapery panels, which can be very decorative.

#3. Consider Shared Spaces

Most modern floor plans have shared spaces that also have windows. It can be a breakfast nook or a dining room that is next to the actual kitchen. If you have a large bay window or French doors, consider floor-length drapery panels with many opportunities to use color and patterns for decorative windows. You may think about a swag of patterned fabric that is draped gracefully over a flat drapery panel for a single window to make a statement. Valences and cornices are ideal for kitchen windows and adjoining rooms so they can showcase your windows. For the best effect, choose your materials, textures, designs, and hues that express your lifestyle to make your kitchen window treatments as truly unique as you are.

#4. Choosing Softness or Embellishment

When you think about your kitchen, it is a functional room that serves a purpose. What about the materials and furnishings? Kitchens are packed with metal appliances, wood cabinets and hard floors. So your window treatments are about the only manner to bring some softness or embellishment to your entire space.

#5. Easy Care Products

No one enters the kitchen and intends on making messes that they must clean up, however, it’s very common to have mishaps and drop things on the floor. That’s why most all kitchens have some sort of hard flooring that is easy to keep clean. If your kitchen window is near the sink or stove, you will want to choose easy-care products to erase the inevitable splatter, odors from foods, cooking oils and dishwater. You can simply wash and dry fabric valances and drapery panels and then re-hang them so they appear as they did when they were new. Vinyl blinds, solar shades and shutters can be cleaned with a bit of soap and water to simply wipe them down. These types of kitchen window treatments don’t require you to even remove them from the windows to clean them. Hardwood blinds are bit more difficult to clean because you can’t use water on them, but instead, you need to use a specialty wood cleaner. If you have trim on drapery panels, you will likely not be able to launder them and will need to have them dry cleaned. Cellular shades are designed to be vacuumed to clean them quickly and easily, but make sure if you use cellular shades to keep them away from the sink so they don’t get splashed by water. These are all very important considerations when choosing kitchen window treatments for your own home or especially for a rental home so you have much less cleaning to do between rentals.

#6. Bring on the Prints

Roman and roller shades are both fabricated from fabrics to give you a huge variety of colors and patterns from which to choose. You can choose a bright and cheerful pattern for your kitchen window and any adjoining room windows. If your kitchen window is above your sink, Roman and roller shades work great when pairing them with an adjoining room’s windows in a full-length matching pattern on drapery panels. You can add any decorative items such as trims, tassels, fringes or bold banding to give your kitchen window coverings a finished appearance.

Custom window treatments for your kitchen and adjacent rooms can convey anything you like. You can go with ultra-sleek and calming or you can use playful colors and prints to make your windows actual statement pieces.

Bobby Nakamura

Bobby Nakamura

Third-generation of Naka's legacy, Bobby brings over 30 years of industry experience, a passion for design, and a love for food and travel.

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