Decorating Guides

Layout Ideas Using Wood Blinds

Wood blinds may not seem right for every room or home, but you can often make them work very stylishly. Such window treatments add texture, style and warmth into the decor. Just take a few wood blind design hints and flip them into your own to match your space.

Inside or Outside Mount

If your window frame depth allows, mount your hardwood blinds inside the frame for attractive contrast against white or pale-colored trim — or wood trim that’s lighter or darker than the blinds. This installation also gives you a stylish, tailored appearance when compared with outside-mounted blinds. When window depth does not allow for inside mounting, hang appropriate-sized blinds; they need to extend hardly past the side trim for good-looking outcomes. For further neatness, install them to sit just over the top trim when they’re raised or pulled into the header.

Match Them With Softness

Although wood blinds present a clean appearance on their own, they’re able to have a sterile effect in the event the room lacks fabrics. Flanked by curtains or drapes, they’re visually warmer. After pulling, the fabric acts as insulation, keeping out cold in the cooler months and heat in the summer. You do not have to coordinate with the window treatments’ colors; if you want, go with complementary tones which work together with your room’s scheme — such as umber pine blinds and magenta drapes, or deep, dark walnut and icy blue — for a standout look.

The Way To Top That

Unless they blend together with your wall colour, dark wood blinds are able to make a small window look smaller. White or pale-colored walls paired with white painted hardwood blinds or light wood-tone blinds have the contrary effect, allowing a smooth flow — and airiness. A topper — mounted high, but not so high that it exposes the top casing — visually lifts the window vertically, making the room and window look taller than they are. Use curtains, hung high and wide, to stretch the window visually flat.

Wider Is Better than Narrow

White blinds reflect more light than colored or wood-tone blinds. Whenever possible, utilize wide, 2- or 2 1/2-inch wood-slat blinds to get more window exposure. Inside-mounted, narrow-slat, 1- year or 1 1/2-inch blinds utilize shallow casings, but have a tendency to “litter” the window when they’re tilted open, particularly if they’re a dark shade. And, because of the extra slats, the kind a header which stacks thicker than wide slats, also consuming some of this window’s view and light.

Wood and More Wood

A design “blooper” happens when you attempt to match wood finishes or types through a space. The appearance reads about as cheesy as matching bedroom furniture — another design no-no. Mix it up. If your home boasts hand-scraped chestnut hickory flooring, elect for mid-tone maple blinds, and generate a bleached-pine focal wall, for example. Be prepared, though: When you know how to make wood elements, from flooring to furniture to blinds, “coexist” in any room, your guests might start asking you for room styling hints.

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