Cold winter nights are a great time for the home decorator to plan ahead for those long sunny days and balmy nights of spring and summer, and to gather creative ideas for new window treatments that maximise daylight and fresh air as well as affording privacy. Decorating windows doesn't have to be about choosing new curtains and can transform a window space into a stunning room feature.
Using Shutters to Frame and Dress a Window
Interior shutters are an excellent way of darkening a room and giving privacy at night without the heaviness of thick lined curtains. Shutters can either be bought new, or recycled from old louvred cupboard doors and painted, stained or decorated to suit your existing or new décor.
Exterior shutters can enhance the outsides of your windows and look very continental. Again, these can afford shade, coolness and privacy during the day or night, and look really attractive against exterior walls. Even small barn doors can make great shutters for downstairs windows and as an added bonus are an excellent extra security measure.
Muslin and Calico
No need to get rid of the old curtain rail unless it’s really had its day, in which case just use a wooden pole or a length of thick bamboo suspended between two large hooks on either side of the window.
Natural calico is very cheap, light and beautifully crunchy when washed and dried, and it even looks good when it’s left un-ironed. Simply make ties or loops to attach the lengths of calico to the rail or the window pole, or use big curtain rings.
Combined with calico or on its own, yards and yards of white muslin look gorgeous when hung at full length and allowed to billow into the room with the breeze. Buy a bale and simply unravel long lengths to hang and hem, or drape it round the old curtain rail using deep drops and allow the ends to float down and settle on the floor.
Indian Cotton Bedspreads
Mirrored Indian cotton bedspreads in vibrant colours add richness to a room. Simply drape and create full, rich folds, and consider using two to allow for fullness at the top. Sunlight will sparkle in the mirrors and reflect shimmers and patterns on the walls.
French Doors or Room Dividers
These versatile pieces of movable furniture can be bought, or they can be made at home using wooden battens, panels and a few hinges, and backed with fabric or decorated with decoupage. Small castors can be added for greater ease of movement if the wood used is heavy.
A neatly painted window without curtains looks very elegant with French doors standing at the side, and all one needs do is pull them across the window for shade or privacy.
Beads, Stained Glass, or Coloured Tissue Paper Collage on Glass
Measure up the lower half of the window frame. Buy, make or recycle a thin wooden frame that fits the space, and recycle a glass panel that fits the frame. Draw a design, or find an illustration and photocopy to a larger size if necessary, and lay it out on a flat surface. You can go for bold blocks of colour, a simple picture, or just wavy lines. It’s up to you and whatever design would fit the room.
Place the glass on top of the design and then let the imagination run riot with one of these three design ideas to give the illusion of contemporary stained glass:
- Use small transparent beads and clear adhesive such as Loc-Tite to attach them in a swirling pattern with a rising top edge, like waves. Use coloured beads too for accent or to define the design. You might find it useful to set out or draw the bead design first and then once you’re happy with it, transfer to the glass panel bead by bead.
- Use grey caulking to mimic the outline of stained glass panels or shapes and then fill the spaces with muted or richly coloured translucent paint. Alternatively, use coloured silicon caulking smudged with a gloved finger for a thin layer and which suggests the cloudy quality of old glass.
- Use a clear, thinned adhesive to attach coloured tissue paper to make a semi-transparent collage. Sun on a landscape, perhaps, or an underwater scene with fish. Once the design is finished, paint with a waterproof sealant.
Once the design is finished and dry, attach two D-rings on each side of the frame and then mount the decorated glass panel into the frame. Slip the D-rings over four hooks you have attached to the window frame. Two can work just as well but four gives a degree of extra safety in case of a sudden strong breeze.
This lovely stained glass effect lets in a vibrant play of colour into the room when sunlight falls on it as well as giving some privacy.
Plan Your Window Treatments Now
These interesting and creative ways of decorating windows will give accent and focus to rooms that may simply need new window treatments to recover their freshness. Use online sourcing for materials like beads, calico, muslin and coloured tissue paper, and get networking with word of mouth to find recyclables for shutters and French doors. Browse for beautiful Indian cotton bedspreads to add vibrant colour and texture.
Once the days become warmer the home decorator will be well set with everything in place to transform each tired old window into a beautiful focal point.
Suggested additional reading: How to Decorate a Small Window and How to Put Life Back Into Tired Old Curtains
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