Window treatments are not just curtains and blinds, they can also be shutters. In most historic homes, these shutters were exactly what the original homeowners used to give themselves privacy, as well as keep the much needed heat in their home.
In addition to shutters though, they used other window treatment types that we usually don’t think twice about today. Treatments such as wood blinds, instead of plastic ones, and lace curtains, instead of the cotton, mass produced ones we use today.
So when you are thinking about window treatments for your historic home next time, don’t go with what everyone else uses in their home today. Instead, think historical to give your windows the historic treatments they look best with.
Lace Window Treatments in your Historic Home
Lace window treatments aren’t restricted to just curtains. Yes, full-length lace curtains are gorgeous in a historic window, especially in a Victorian home or an Arts & Craft style home, but it is just one of the different ways you can decorate your windows.
You can also add lace in the form of a tie-back, a jabot or a swag.
The best look for lace is when it is paired with another elegant fabric, instead of just alone. Pairing it with another fabric can also give you more privacy than you would have with lace alone. For example, pairing a fabric curtain with a lace swag will give you more privacy than just a full-length lace curtain.
Wood Blinds to Cover Historic Windows
Blinds are thought of by many as something that is rather modern. Unfortunately, the only blinds that these people are aware of are the plastic ones that are used so frequently in homes today.
Blinds have actually been around since the Egyptians, so it is not a new trend in home décor. Wood blinds were available for Victorian homes before there was a switch to other blind materials. The nice thing about wood blinds is that they come in a range of sizes and you can match the color of the stain of the blinds to the stain for the other wood in your home.
Interior Shutters Perfectly Matched for Historic Homes
Shutters are a more permanent window treatment. They are also more durable, more energy efficient and more pet resistant than any other form of window treatment.
You can find many forms of the interior shutters from the plantation shutter (that is seeing a revival currently) to the raised panel shutter. The type of shutter you choose needs to be heavily based on the type of historic home you have. Before you choose an interior shutter, do a little research to see if you can find what type of shutters were originally in the home (if any). If there were no shutters in the home originally, look up the different types of shutters that are found in homes that are of the same architecture class.
Matching the correct interior shutter to the architecture of your historic home is essential to obtain the perfect look. We have solutions to your questions. Schedule a free in-home consultation with a Renewal by Andersen team member today.
