What did Your Curtains Say About You? - Curtain Decorating Tips

Windows are something we stare through every single day without paying too much attention to them. Are they simply just for those lazy days when you want to feel like you're outside but are really more interested in laying on your sofa and staring out the window from the comfort and warmth of your home? Windows should really be given a lot more attention when you're decorating though. Not only are they a portal out onto the world but they also give the world outside a chance to look in at you. What do you want your windows to say to the outside world.

Here are some hints and tips for curtain styles and what they say about you to the world around you.

Who could ever forget those ruffled kitchen windows we grew up with? School mornings would never have been complete if it weren't for those yellow, frilly things that decked the kitchen and made pancakes look slightly plain and uninteresting. Although they can look unmistakably dated and girly, they can actually transform into a more sophisticated window item given the right kind of fabric. Are you the kind who sneezes the day away? If so, then I'm afraid you might need an extra Benadryl if you choose this kind of curtain. They get dreadfully dusty in no time, and no, you can't afford to have another addition to the dust mite colony inside your nose!

Sheer and nearly-transparent curtains have had their share of fame these past few years. They are especially nice options during the summer since they allow all that sunshine to seep into a room. Be careful though, peeping toms may be lurking about and sheers don't offer much privacy since you can practically see through them! Don't trust this kind of curtain to keep the cold away during winter too. As a suggestion, why not combine a sheer curtain along with one that comes in a heavier fabric? This way you can pull the heavier curtain and leave the sheer one aside during the winter. No need to freeze yourself to death for loving the sheer beauty of sheers!

Tired of those standard curtains that don't do anything at all? To spice up your curtains, use tabs and attractive ties. If you have a particularly nice and new curtain rod, you'd want to show it off right? Tabs and ties do the trick by exposing some details of the rod instead of simply placing your curtains limp against it. However if your rod happens to be in bad shape, forget about all that unnecessary exposure! Long curtain tabs look wonderful in formal dining areas that benefit from the added length it lends. This gives your dining area that added posh quality to it. If you have a slightly less formal dining area in mind, then ties do the trick better. Add some playfulness to plaid or a touch of glee to striped curtains! They will be anything but dull after you add those ties!

Bear in mind that your curtains should fit in with the overall theme of your home. There's no real point in having a window full of lace and ruffles if your home looks like an advert for a futuristic home. A set of curtains done in a neutral tone in a semi-transparent or sheer finish can work well with almost any decor scheme.Jacob Ginsbrook 

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Role of Curtain Designs in House Decorating Ideas

Contemporary curtains are available in a variety of unique curtain designs which play an important part in influencing contemporary home decorating concepts. No home that is well decorated is complete with regard to its decor if appropriate curtains haven't been used. Contemporary curtains come in numerous colors and are successful in bringing about sea changes in any room of a given house. It is important, however, to carefully select the right materials and patterns for putting up curtains. In fact, curtains need to be considered at the very outset of the house decoration plan.

Before you choose contemporary curtain designs, you have to inspect your windows because shabby windows with broken glass or chipped paint obstruct light from entering the room and also fail to complement the best quality modern curtains that are used. Once you have the right windows, you have to take careful measurements to obtain the correct size of the curtains that you intend putting up. The right measurements in every aspect are indispensable to the basics of house decorating ideas and the wrong measurements could lead to extra costs. A drape for instance, provides privacy, but is required to be slightly larger than the actual window size and this principle too, is stipulated by current house decor concepts that also work with Venetian or Roman blinds that are placed between curtains and window panes.

Modern curtains come with the sole objective of making the room look more cozy and homely. You may choose between warm colors or pastel shades that allow natural light to enter the room. Shades, however, are for chambers that are already exposed to strong and natural sunlight during the daytime. Subtle patterns and designs may be chosen to blend the drapes in a better way with the interior decor and this again forms an important component of house decor concepts.

Organza and satin are two popular fabrics used nowadays for manufacturing modern curtains. There are also other cloths like polyester which is easier to wash and dries faster. Conventional house decorating ideas stipulate using curtains based on actual measurements rather than ready-made stuff. Thus, we clearly see that curtains are not mere accessories. Rather, they turn out to be trendy and fashionable shields for ensuring your privacy. Curtain designs and their colors also form a bridge between all elements that make up the entire room decor.

It, therefore, goes without saying that the unique designs of contemporary curtains form key components of contemporary homes and their effectiveness depends again on the windows where they are put up. Modern house decorating concepts, therefore, suggest that windows be upgraded and repaired first before curtains are put up. Curtains nowadays offer a variety of advantages to compliment home interiors and can successfully change your dwelling place's look. The curtain color is known to affect ones' moods also. For example, very colorful curtains having vibrant Disney character prints on them add a lot of life to the children's room and one can instantly make out that this where a child or a teenager stays. Kunti Sharma

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How to wash different type of curtains? - Useful tips

SHEER GLASS FIBER CURTAINS These curtains should be hand washed in hot bubbles and, like glass fiber draperies, they may not be ironed. They should be handled very soothingly for the duration of washing like all curtains but in this case it is more than ever central not to mangle or twist them. Hard rubbing and rough treatments distort the weave and may break threads. Dirt slides right off glass fibers anyway, so slap-dash methods are totally unnecessary. These curtains are a wash, rinse, and reran proposition no bluing, no starch. Roll them in a towel or let them drip for a while, then reran them and smooth the seams and hems with your fingers.

SHEER WASHABLE RAYON CURTAINS are handled akin to silk but can be washed uniformly well with mild detergents or unadulterated white soap flakes and warm water. Rayon fibers tend to be weak when they are wet and should therefore not be soaked before washing or hung with clothes pins. Roll them in a Turkish towel to remove most of the moisture. Rayon's differ widely in the amount of heat they will stand and if you have the manufacturer's instructions for ironing, be sure to follow them. Otherwise start with a warm iron, dialed for rayon, and raises it if more heat is needed. Iron the top and bottom hems first, then iron the curtains lengthwise with the threads, on the invalidate elevation.

SILK CURTAINS have moved into the luxury class and it is unlikely that many of us will have them, but the directions for handling them are also applicable to other articles such as summer dresses and scarves.

WASHABLE SILKS SHOULD BE HAND LAUNDERED in lukewarm-to-cool suds made with a mild detergent which is better for silks than the mildest soap. Handle silks gently, squeezing the suds through the fabric. Rough treatment damages the fibers. After rinsing put them between Turkish towels to remove excess moisture, and hang them to dry indoors, away from any source of heat such as a radiator.

IRON SILK when it has desiccated to a uniform dampness, with your iron set for it. Silk that has dried completely and has then been sprinkled for ironing is likely to show watermarks when it is pressed. This is especially true of pongee, which is ironed either uniformly damp or when it is completely dry. Iron silk on the wrong side, preferably with a piece of cheesecloth over it as a protection, since silk scorches very easily. If the silk is too wet when it is ironed it will materialize stiff and papery, and too hot an iron will turn white silk yellow.

LACE AND NET CURTAINS are often dry-cleaned. If they are to be washed, measure them first so that they can be stretched to the right dimensions afterwards. Handle them like cotton curtains, using a nylon mesh or muslin bag if they are delicate. The threads of lace curtains are easily pulled or broken. These curtains can be stiffened with gelatin or gum Arabic, which is better for them than starch. To make such a finish add an ounce of gelatin or powdered gum Arabic to a pint of cold water, then heat the mixture until the gunpowder is absolutely dissolved. Add from eight to fifteen parts of hot water to the gelatin mixture and from five to ten parts to the gum Arabic solution, depending upon the stiffness you want to give the curtains. The gum Arabic solution is also good for silks and rayon's. The gelatin mixture is often used in preference to starch for sheer cottons. Grocery store gelatin is what you use. The gum Arabic powder can be purchased at a drug store.

Now we know that sheer glass fiber curtains most not be ironed. Some of Silk curtains are washable, but it should be hand laundered in a lukewarm with a easygoing detergent, dangle them to dehydrated interior - David Faulkner 

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