Should you choose curtains or blinds?
If you're renovating your home, you may find yourself stuck when it comes to dressing your windows. If you can't decide between curtains and blinds, take a look below at these four main concerns.
Fashion
Trends for both curtains and blinds are moving away from light colours towards vibrant colours and patterns which add some personality and warmth to a room. Curtains can add a certain luxury to the décor, with soft, flowing fabric framing your view outside. Curtains come in a variety of materials for the eco-conscious, including linen, cotton and recycled fibres. For added decadence, they should always touch the floor.
Blinds have become more fashionable throughout the years and come in a variety of materials including cotton, aluminium and timber, each of which gives a different, albeit modern, feel to a room. However, blinds can't quite give a room the cosy feeling that curtains can.
Light and heat
Curtains of lighter materials will let through some light, whereas lined or heavy curtains won't. In order to stop heat escaping from your home when it's cold, your curtains or blinds should cover the entire window, leaving no gaps for air to escape. You are more likely to achieve this with curtains than blinds.
Blinds can disappear to let natural light into a room. They also allow for more control over how much light is allowed in the room. Blinds not only stop a room from overheating on hot days, they also protect your furniture from fading due to UV rays.
Cleanliness
Curtains can be taken down and put in the washing machine or they can be dry cleaned. In-between washing, you can keep curtains dust free by vacuuming them and spot washing small stains out. However if someone in your family suffers from dust allergies, choose light cotton or synthetic curtains.
Slatted blinds are often considered to be time consuming to clean, and only particular blinds, such as some roller blinds, can be washed. Clean your blinds with a microfibre cloth and vacuum. Mould on bathroom roller blinds can be particularly difficult to remove.
Safety
Children being caught and strangled to death—by blinds cords in particular—feature in news stories from across the world. At least 15 young children have been killed in this way since the 1990s in Australia.
With either curtains or blinds, the same rule applies: keep looped materials, whether looped curtains or the blind cord, away from a baby or child's reach. To be on the safe side you may prefer to have straight curtains rather than blinds in your child's bedroom and in any room your child plays in, and try to keep your child's bed away from the windows.
If you're still having trouble deciding whether curtains or blinds would be more suitable for your home, why not consider having both on your windows to get the best of both worlds. For more information, contact a company like Sebastian's Carpet Court.
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