Large windows bring daylight into homes and other buildings, but they also increase exposure to the sun’s heat, ultraviolet rays, and harsh glare. These conditions can make interiors uncomfortable and damage furnishings, while window treatments can also support privacy, safety, and sound absorption. Planning treatments early allows their practical functions and appearance to be considered alongside the rest of the interior. The right combination of fabric, style, hardware, and accurate measurements helps meet the needs of each space.
Why Window Treatments Matter
Planning furnishings for an interior is not complete without planning for window treatments from the beginning. Window treatments are an essential component for many reasons. Today, the inclusion of more and larger windows than ever before in homes and other buildings means increased exposure to the intensity of the sun’s heat, ultraviolet rays, and harsh glare, which can damage costly furnishings and make the interior uncomfortable and less livable.
Window treatments protect the people who occupy the space from the dangers of UV light, heat, and glare. Sheer or translucent treatments soften daylight and can assure daytime privacy. Opaque treatments can darken rooms for daytime sleeping, home theater, and temperature and brightness control in warm climates or seasons. Window treatments that provide nighttime privacy give users a sense of well-being and may play a key role in keeping them safe against burglary or personal harm. Layered treatments can accommodate all these needs.
A design professional who fails to plan for and advise about protective window coverings may be guilty of negligence if an occupant is later harmed or the interior is burglarized or otherwise damaged. This may justify litigation against the professional. A tort occurs when harm to a person or property results from the action or inaction of another person or firm. Personal safety and welfare, along with protection of furnishings against UV and heat fading or damage and vandalism, make window treatments a paramount consideration in interior design.
In nonresidential settings, employee productivity can be directly affected by window treatments, and sunlight damage to computers or other equipment is a potential hazard. Another practical function of fabric at the window is to absorb sounds produced inside and outside. This quieter, lusher-feeling interior produces a sensory effect that is more than audible: rooms with fabric literally feel quieter. A sound-absorbent window treatment makes an interior more comfortable and livable than one with bare walls and naked windows that amplify sounds, turning them into irritating noise. This is desirable in many settings.
Visually, textile window coverings are effective at softening the hard lines of architecture. The pleasing juxtaposition of hard and soft materials makes a complementary and complete statement, just as does the balance of angular and rounded shapes and the straight, angular, and curved lines that window treatments can provide.
Window treatments can establish fashion and thematic authenticity. When planning backgrounds and furnishings, there is usually a theme that lends itself to ideas for creative window treatments. From traditional to contemporary and ethnic to country, window treatments are as much a part of the entire plan as any other element, from carpeting to furniture to accessories. Look to decorative elements in upholstery, shapes of furniture, or patterns in area rugs, wood or metal furniture, and wallcovering designs for sources of inspiration for the window treatment.
Clip magazine photos where window treatments are featured, and group them according to style, period, or category, or use a window treatment software program. Photos can be placed in sheet protectors and organized in a binder so clients can see the range of choices and possibilities. Present the window treatment along with the other furnishings for budget consideration. For the sake of not only the design elements but also safety and peace of mind, put window treatments at the top of the furnishings priority list.
Window Treatment Specifications for Nonresidential Buildings
In new nonresidential construction, architects write window treatment specifications to meet code, function, or aesthetic requirements. These are addressed by the design professional who selects or sells the specified product. Window treatment specifications may be general or for a specified product. The main criteria include:
- Type of treatment: Draperies, horizontal or vertical blinds, shades, window film, solar screens, or motorization.
- Maximum or estimated allowable cost: Per item or per project.
- Fiber or material, finish, and other required details: Such as durability for headrails or mechanical features.
- Minimum acceptable ratings for health and safety:
- Flammability: Fire ignition, flame spread, and smoke density tests.
- Microorganisms: Resistance to mold, mildew, and bacteria.
- Guidelines for durability:
- Dimensional stability, including resistance to sagging or elongation and hiking.
- Inherent strength or tenacity.
- Aesthetic standards:
- Colorfastness or resistance to fading.
- Drapability or hand, including good body and ease of maintenance.
- Daylighting:
- Fabric or treatments that allow natural light to diminish electrical consumption.
- Operable treatments that can be opened easily, possibly by remote control or wall switches.
- Privacy and light control:
- Daytime privacy with screening fabric or operable shades or blinds.
- Layered treatments in hospitality settings for both day and nighttime privacy.
- Blackout lining for hospitality hotel suites.
Types of Window Treatments
All window treatments are made of textiles, with the exception of wood, aluminum, and vinyl blinds and shutters. Vinyl is technically a manufactured textile as well. There are two main categories of textile window treatments: soft window treatments and alternative window treatments.
Soft window treatments include draperies, curtains and hardware, top treatments, and soft shades or shadings. Some are available as ready-made or stock items, and all can be custom-fabricated. Alternative window treatments include blinds, shades, and shutters. They are also available ready-made, but can be ordered in custom sizes and a variety of options and styles by the design professional.
Ready-Made and Custom Window Treatments
Ready-made soft treatments are mass-produced in factories in specific styles, sizes, and a limited number of fabrics to be sold by mass merchandisers. Draperies, curtains, valances, and swags, as well as some alternative window treatments, are available in retail stores and through mail-order catalogs. Although primarily purchased by consumers as economical and easily obtainable window coverings for their homes, they can be used by residential interior professionals when the budget is tight and the product is suitable, or when the product is needed immediately.
Custom soft window treatments are made to specifications. The design professional and client select the style, fabrics, trimmings, and hardware. After the order is confirmed, a work order or specification sheet is completed and delivered with the textiles to a workroom. The workroom fabricates the treatment by cutting, constructing, sewing, trimming, and finishing it. These treatments are typically installed by a professional installer.
Custom window treatments are made as one-of-a-kind installations, although for hospitality, health care, offices, institutions, and public buildings, one treatment may be mass-fabricated for multiple or repeat window installations.
How to Choose Fabrics for Window Treatments
Fabric Weight and Opacity
Textiles at the window have much to offer an interior. According to their weight and opacity, groups of fabrics perform in similar ways. From lightest to heaviest:
- Transparent window film
- Transparent sheers, semisheers, and casement fabrics
- Lightweight and medium-weight semi-opaque fabrics
- Heavyweight fabrics
Window Film for UV and Glare Control
Window film is a transparent extruded polymer textile applied directly to the interior of a window. It is sometimes referred to as window tinting. Look for products that are natural gray rather than tinted bronze or green, as colored film tends to unduly influence the light source, whereas gray is neutral and will not affect the appearance of furnishing colors.
High-quality window film eliminates at least 99 percent of harmful UV light, reducing fading of interior furnishings and harm to human skin. It eliminates glare without darkening the interior. Good window film decreases solar heat by at least 38 percent and is effective at keeping heated air indoors, thus creating a more even temperature throughout the building. Window film should be resistant to scratching and window-cleaning products. It will prevent impacted glass from exploding, thus increasing safety. Look for a product with a lifetime residential guarantee and a ten-year nonresidential guarantee. Window film does not replace other window treatments where privacy and light control are requirements.
Sheer and Lightweight Window Treatment Fabrics
Sheer and lightweight translucent or casement fabrics screen bright light, thereby decreasing or eliminating irritating glare. They screen the harshness and temperature intensity of direct sunlight, making the interior more comfortable. Sheer, translucent, and casement fabrics provide daytime privacy, as one can see toward the light source through them. However, at night, a person outside can see directly through these fabrics into the interior. An opaque treatment is required for nighttime privacy.
Sheer, translucent, and casement fabrics absorb interior and some exterior sound, making the interior quieter and audibly more comfortable. Visually, this group of fabrics softens architecture but does not obscure it. Sheer fabrics that are artistically draped are sensuous and romantic; textured casement and semisheer fabrics offer visual security and textural interest to daytime working conditions. The screening of light helps the occupant focus on furnishings or computer screens without discomfort, thus making the interior more visually pleasing and functional.
Sheer and semisheer fabrics are also offered as pleated and cellular shades and shading systems.
Semi-Opaque Fabrics for Curtains and Shades
Light- to medium-weight semi-opaque fabrics are used for nearly every type of soft custom window treatment: draperies and curtains, soft shades, and all top treatments. They may or may not be lined, but lining is almost always recommended to protect the fabric from fading, to provide a uniform appearance from the outside if there are no alternative treatments beneath, and to give body and substance to the treatments.
These groups of fabrics drape well, but individual fabrics may vary dramatically in performance. In other words, some are sturdy, some are fragile, some are stiff, and some are soft. Select a fabric with the hand and drapability that matches the window treatment. Stiff fabrics are good for pleated draperies, Roman shades, and some valances; soft fabrics are suitable for balloon shades and swags, for example. If a fabric is selected that is not compatible with the style of treatment, the results can be disappointing. Some medium-weight textured polyester fabrics are used as vertical blind vanes.
Heavyweight Fabrics for Drapery Panels
Heavyweight fabrics for window treatments include leather, tapestries, and velvets, for example, and are used for panels where heaviness equates with richness. Generally, these fabrics are used as flat treatments: drapery panels, flat shades, and pelmet-like valances. They usually work best where the look is somewhat flat or lower on the fullness scale, up to 200 percent fullness, or double fullness. These fabrics can be insulative and are often prized for their heavy tactile and visual texture, appropriate for rich historic, traditional, or rustic interiors.
Fibers for Custom Window Treatments
Fibers most commonly used for custom-fabricated window treatments are cotton, linen, silk, rayon, acetate, modacrylic, and polyester. Alternate or manufactured shade products are primarily polyester. Residential use of cotton, linen, silk, polyester, acetate, and rayon is higher than that of other fibers, while nonresidential use of wool, polyester, acrylic, and modacrylic is higher than that of other fibers.
Drapery and Curtain Styles
Generally, draperies are long, formal, or custom window treatments, while curtains are typically cottage-looking. Draperies are usually pleated but may also have tabs or shirred headings.
Pleated Draperies
There are many styles of pleated draperies. Some are intended for operation with a traverse rod, while other pleats are ornamental and planned for stationary panels only. The most common and functional pleat is the French or pinch pleat. It is made by interfacing the drapery top or heading with buckram, also known as crinoline, and then folding and stitching a cartridge-shaped loop in place. Three or four small folds, called fingers, are then made and bar-tacked with single reinforcing stitches at the bottom. This causes the drapery to fall into precise folds and the pleating to fan out handsomely at the top.
If the fingers are pressed flat into sharp folds, the pleat is a pinch pleat; if they are left unpressed and a little more relaxed, it is a French pleat. This type of pleat is best for draperies installed on conventional or traverse rods, where hooks are inserted into the back of each pleat and installed on carriers in the rod. The buckram between each pleat is carefully creased vertically so the draperies can open and close with perfection and dignity. Pinch-pleated draperies result from 200 to 250 percent fullness, with 300 percent fullness used for sheer draperies.
Pinch-pleat applications and variations include the following. Pinch- or French-pleated draperies have long been a standard treatment for residential windows. Generally, pinch pleats are precise, folded, and pressed, whereas French pleats are not pressed and are less precise. Sheers with over-draperies that are opened and closed by a traverse rod still have wide application and versatility. They can be used in nearly any room and in any weight of fabric, from very sheer to heavy. They are often lined for a consistent exterior appearance, to protect the life of the fabric and prevent drapery fading, and to insulate against heat gain and loss and noise. Pinch pleats are also used as valance headings. The pinch pleat is used in many nonresidential settings, from offices to health care. However, when this approach results in too much fabric, the architectural or accordion pleat, sometimes called a single pleat, may be used.
In hospitality design, especially in hotels and resorts, pinch-pleated draperies are used almost exclusively because of their consistent appearance and durability. In hotel rooms and suites, they are often blackout-lined, or a separate blackout lining drapery is constructed and installed on its own rod. Pinch-pleated sheers or semisheer draperies are also often specified. A wand is attached, grommet-style, to the leading overlap edge on each side, so no traverse mechanism is needed. This eliminates damage to rods by abuse or misuse of the mechanism. The wand is used in place of a traverse mechanism, and the guest can open and close each side separately.
Variations of the pinch or French pleat have become a way of designing variety and individuality in draperies. Common variations include:
- Inverted pinch pleat: The inverted pinch pleat is created by bar-tacking the pleat fingers at the top. This is stiff where buckram or interfacing is used and can be spaced and made into a slouch heading if no buckram is used. Inverted pinch pleats are appropriate for stationary panels and wand-drawn draperies. They should not be specified for traverse rod applications.
- X-pleat: The X-pleat is accomplished by bar-tacking the pleat fingers in the middle of the 4-inch buckram rather than at the bottom. This makes the pleat flare out at both top and bottom, like an X, and is most satisfactory for stationary draperies. The X-pleat is not recommended for conventional traverse rods.
- Butterfly pleat: The butterfly pleat does not use buckram or crinoline, so the unlined heading is limp. The bar-tack is either in the center or about one-third of the distance from the top. To form the butterfly, the heading between the folds is pulled forward and down, creating a small scallop or dip, and the outer fingers of the pleat naturally fan out. The butterfly pleat is most satisfactory for stationary draperies and is not recommended for conventional traverse rods.
- Single, architectural, or accordion pleat: This is a single, narrow finger pressed flat, resulting in a drapery with less fullness, typically about 150 to 200 percent, or 1.5 to 2 times fullness. This pleat is used in hospital cubicle curtains and some office and institutional draperies. Such draperies are installed on simple architectural rods and drawn with a wand by hand.
- Large and small cartridge pleats: These are made by forming the loops for a pinch pleat and then stuffing the loop with tissue or plastic to create a perfect cylinder or cartridge. The cartridge size is determined according to designer specifications. These pleats are best applied to stationary draperies and are not recommended for conventional traverse rods.
- Goblet pleat: The goblet pleat is a cartridge pleat gathered and bar-tacked at the bottom and stuffed at the top. There may also be a bubble tacked and stuffed trapunta-style just below the large goblet, as often seen in stemware drinking glasses. This is an elegant pleat that may be trimmed with cording or fringe along the bottom. Goblet pleats work best with stationary draperies and are not recommended for conventional traverse rods.
- Pencil pleat: The pencil pleat is a single small pleat repeated across the face of the heading. It is usually formed with shirring or pleater tape sewn onto the back and drawn up with drawstrings. These draperies are often hung with rings and drawn by hand. The drapery body does not fall in precise folds, but that is part of the charm of this style. It is also appropriate for stationary panels.
- Shirring tape pleats: These usually create a smocked or tightly shirred look. They are also used for draperies intended to look imperfect. The draperies may be stationary or hung by rings on a rod and hand-operated.
Slouch or Soft Heading Draperies
Slouch or soft headings are drapery panels made of soft or limp fabric where the heading is dressed to fall forward between rings or tabs. This creates a scallop or dip, and the back of the heading is exposed. Slouch draperies are hung on and below decorative hardware. This style first appeared during the French Empire (Napoleonic) era and has recently received a full-blown revival because of the many decorative hardware options, including rods, finials, and rings, now on the market.
Where an opaque fabric is used, the headings should be lined with a color intended to be seen. Where sheer or lace fabrics are used, the heading can be a simple 1- to 2-inch hem, as the back and front will be the same. Slouch headings can be drawn open and closed by hand or with a wand. They are recommended for stationary panels alongside or over the window when the fabric is sheer or translucent. Stationary panels are often puddled on the floor.
Tab-Top Draperies and Curtains
Tabbed or tab-top draperies and curtains come in many varieties, with strips of fabric sewn onto the top in various widths and spacings. They can be tied in knots or bows, fanned out into Empire styling, ornamented with buttons or jewelry, or kept simple and straight. Tabbed draperies and curtains reveal the decorative hardware that replaces top treatments when desired. They are versatile, appropriate in both formal and informal rooms depending on the fabric, the style of tab, and the hardware, and fitting for relaxed styles of interior design where the fabric is sculptural and even sensuous.
Tabbed curtains originated as medieval window coverings and are still appropriate to country settings. Tabbed draperies or curtains can be as provincial or as sophisticated as the fabric and interior design dictate. The finished look depends not only on the style of tabs but also on the hand, weight, and drapability of the fabric. A stiff or crisp fabric will look more tailored and can be fashioned into folds that hold their shape, whereas limp or soft fabrics, sheers, or lace are good choices for the slouch-tabbed look. Be certain to match the fabric weight and texture to the desired finished effect.
Types of tab headings include:
- New England tab headings: These were originally used as a means of easily sliding the curtains in colonial New England homes. The rod was a wooden dowel or, in some cases, a piece of twine. The tabs were about 2 inches wide, and the loops were 4 to 6 inches long and placed 4 to 8 inches apart. Today, the width and length of the tab and its placement vary according to the intended proportions.
- Buttoned and tailored tabs: These have tailored-looking top stitching or are embellished with a button or other jewelry.
- Tie-tab variations: These include:
- Knotted tab headings: Two straps are sewn into the heading and tied over the top of the rod in an informal knot, such as a square knot. The remaining strap length hangs down askew. The tabs may be made of contrasting fabrics.
- Bow-tie headings: These are made like knotted tabs, except the straps are tied into bows. Another variation is to construct bows and attach them to the top of looped tabs.
- Spaghetti-strap tie headings: These are made of narrow strips of fabric and are usually longer, so the extra length hangs down in an irregular fashion after the bow is tied. Consider cording or ribbon in place of fabric, or use a contrasting fabric.
- Empire-style tabs: These are gathered or tacked at the bottom so they flare outward at the top over the rod. They can be combined with a slouch or scallop heading.
Tabs of other materials, such as belting or cording, add interest and character to tab headings. Woven leather belting, for example, can form the tabs as well as the ties.
Shirred Curtains and Draperies
Shirring means gathering a panel onto a rod by sewing a rod pocket into the top of the drapery, curtain, or valance. Often there is a ruffle, called a header, above the rod pocket. For good proportion, the header is usually the same size as or a little smaller than the rod pocket, unless a crown- or tiara-shaped ruffle is desired or special circumstances dictate.
Rod-pocket draperies without headers are more contemporary in appearance; those with ruffles are more country or traditional. Shirring is often thought to be less formal, but the fabric can determine the level of formality, and shirring can produce a fairly formal effect. A rod sleeve can also be constructed for the rod itself if the shirring panels are to be stationary side panels and the design calls for the fabric to be visually connected at the top.
Shirred curtains, or cottage curtains, are those we think of as ready-mades, meant for kitchens, for example. Of course, cottage curtains can be custom-constructed as well. These include café curtains with valances, Priscilla curtains, and tiered curtains. Shirred draperies are longer, usually to the floor or puddled on the floor, and more sophisticated than curtains.
Shirred treatments typically are used with curtain rods, from very small brass café rods to flat or oval white curtain rods. Common rod sizes measure 1/4, 1/2, or 3/4 inch in diameter. Wood pole rods, plain or fluted, are also selected for shirred treatments.
Multiple rod pockets and rods can add variety to the treatment, such as two or even three rod pockets next to each other or spaced a few inches apart. Be certain the overall heading size stays in good proportion to the rest of the drapery or curtain, as multiple rods can make a treatment top-heavy and somewhat awkward.
Flat-Panel Draperies and Curtains
Flat-panel draperies and curtains are sometimes called handkerchief panels because they are typically lined and then folded back to reveal the lining, much as a handkerchief is folded on the diagonal. A rod pocket can be sewn into the top so the panel slides flat onto a wooden or metal rod. The panel may also be stapled to a mounting board. Different effects can be achieved by different placement of the folded portion, whether low, high, symmetrical, or asymmetrical. The flat panel is typically tailored in appearance.
Because there is no gathering or pleating in flat-panel draperies or curtains, the calculations vary from those for gathered drapes. The finished width is not multiplied by the fullness but is simply divided by the width of the fabric, less the side-seam allowance.
Victorian Lace Panels and Glass Curtains
Victorian lace panels and glass curtains generally hang under long curtains or top treatments. They may be shirred onto a rod, pleated on a traverse or decorative rod, attached by Velcro to the window frame, or finished with fringe. Where the standard length is too long for a window, the excess may be folded for a self-valance or cut off and sewn as a valance or accessory item.
Victorian glass curtains are short curtains that go inside the casing. They are usually hung on a small rod, with a privacy shade or blind beneath them next to the glass. Glass curtains are usually polyester sheer or semisheer.
Sash Curtains
Sash curtains are usually made to cover three-fourths or the whole of the lower sash. They may be used for the glass of French doors, and they may be shirred, or gathered onto a small rod, at the top and bottom. On sash windows, they are often called café curtains and may have a variety of headings. They are often unattached at the bottom and therefore operable.
Window Treatment Hardware
Hardware is the metal, wood, resin, plastic, or vinyl rods, brackets, and holders that support installed window treatments.
- Conventional traverse rods are operable by hand or through remote-controlled cord-and-pulley mechanisms. They come in standard white and brown and as designer or decorator rods.
- Designer or decorator rods are made of metal and composite materials to operate as conventional traverse rods but look like wood or several metal finishes.
- Hand-operated rods are used in hospitality and health care settings, where multiple users raise the odds of inadvertent breakage to the mechanism. These rods may be identical to conventional traverse or designer rods but are operated by a sturdy plastic rod attached to the master carriers and guided or drawn open and closed by hand without cords.
- Cut-to-measure rods are bendable metal channel rods that hold drapery carriers for hooks. These rods are used for ceiling or unusually shaped windows in stationary or hand-operated installations.
- Wood rods use wood rings with eye screws through which the drapery hook is fastened. The drapery is then drawn by hand or with a wand or rod.
- Metal rods, available in a wide variety of styles, have hooks or rings of metal to which the drapery is attached.
- Curtain rods are metal, with white and brass among the most common finishes, and are used for shirred, tabbed, or other stationary headings.
- Brackets are used to project all kinds of rods from the wall about 3 inches per layer of drapery. Along the face of the rod, a bracket is generally installed about every 24 inches.
- Hooks and rings are the usual means by which fabric is attached to hardware. Hooks are inserted behind the pleats and into the ring or carrier.
- Swag and tie-back holders are metal or resin decorative drapery hardware that secures fabric draped over or through them. Fabric may also be secured with drapery hooks or cord attached to the swag or tie-back holder.
How to Measure for Window Treatments
Many design professionals avoid window treatments because of the considerable responsibility of measuring correctly. The following guidance helps prevent errors.
Window Measuring Tips
- Use a sturdy 25-foot steel retractable tape measure, and make a habit of carrying it to each job site.
- Windows are always measured first horizontally and then vertically. The horizontal measurement is the width, and the vertical measurement is the length or height.
- Never allow anyone except a drapery installer to take measurements for you. For example, in the building industry it is typical to take the height or length first, then the width. One real-life example of what can go wrong involved a design professional who allowed the builder to submit measurements for blinds for a 100-unit condominium development. While the dimensions were right, they were backward because the builder listed the length first, then the width. As a result, all the blinds were the wrong sizes, and the designer “ate the job.” Many professionals take measurements, calculate and give prices to the client, close the sale, and then send the installer to double-check the measurements. Be sure to charge the client for the installer’s measuring fee and trip charge.
- Always measure window treatments in inches, not feet plus inches.
- Record each measurement as it is taken. Do not take two measurements and then write them down at the same time; it is simply too easy to reverse numbers. If you get to the paper or laptop and are not sure you recall the measurement you just took, take it again.
- Be certain each measurement is correct and properly labeled on the measure sheet, so there is no guesswork when you return to your office or studio to order or specify the product.
- If the width is longer than your arm span, ask someone to hold the tape end at 0 inches while you read the measurement.
- While measuring and recording, avoid visiting with anyone. Chatting breaks concentration and adds to the error factor. Tell others you are careful to make accurate measurements and ask them to excuse you for a few moments while you measure.
Measurements to Take
Measurements for window treatments include:
- Window width.
- Wall space on each side, in order to stack draperies off the glass. Allow one-quarter to one-third of the window width on each side for a two-way draw or a pair of operable draperies.
- Length of the finished drapery, as determined for the project.
- For ceiling-to-floor draperies, take the exact measurement three times across the width and use the shortest length, as floors and ceilings are not always plumb. Subtract 1 inch for clearance, but note whether that deduction has been taken or whether the measurement is exact.
- Height from ceiling to window or to the area above the window, optional.
- Length from window to floor, optional.
Conclusion
Window treatments must be planned with the people, furnishings, and functions of a space in mind. Fabric weight and opacity, treatment style, hardware, privacy, daylight, and safety all shape the final choice. Careful measuring then turns those decisions into a treatment suited to the opening and its intended use. Bringing these considerations together at the start of a project gives the interior a stronger foundation as it moves toward installation.
