Modern Window Treatments for Updating Your Kitchen
When it comes to upgrading your home, some people tend to think too large. Whether it a complete remodel of a bedroom or bathroom, an addition to a garage or even a complete overhaul of the front or backyard, homeowners can run the risk of biting off more than they can chew. In reality, some of the best and most noticeable improvements start off much smaller than you realize. The kitchen, for most families, has long served as the hub for all the home activity so it would only make sense to start there when thinking about updating your home. Luckily, we’ve got you covered with a few tips to help modernize window treatments and give your kitchen a more up-to-date look.
1. Mind Your Materials
Because most kitchen windows tend to be found near sinks and stove tops, a little bit of discretion must be practiced when selecting blinds, shutters or drapes. Any sort of spatters or spills that occur can be soaked up by certain materials, like fabrics and wood, more than others. This translates into more time spent cleaning or conditioning, in the case of wood, your window coverings. Plastics, vinyl, metals and other easy-to-clean surfaces work better overall and cut down on the time spent to clean them.
2. Maximize Natural Light
Natural light is essential to creating a more inviting and larger look kitchen space. Sticking to monochromatic colors for your drapes or curtains not only reduces the risk of making your kitchen look too “busy”, it also establishes uniformity.
3. Embellish A Little
Many of today’s modern-day kitchens are crammed full of stainless steel appliances, dark and brooding counter tops, cabinetry and post-contemporary accouterments. It only makes sense to utilize window space to give your kitchen a sense of color and personality. Patterned Roman and roller shades have the best effect and come in a virtually limitless array of colors and designs. Tailor specific patterns and color palettes to your liking, maximizing the modern look in your kitchen.
4. Keep it Zen, Man
Bamboo blinds and rice paper shades are just two examples of a handful of ways you can enhance the modern look of your kitchen windows while creating a calming, Zen-like atmosphere in the kitchen area.
Accompanying decor such as a lucky bamboo plant, oriental tea set or even an elongated sand garden can be placed in the window’s sill to accentuate the look and feel.
5. Go Green!
For people who like the eco-friendly look, natural fabrics and materials like hemp, jute or 100% recycled paper are all alternatives to more synthetic choices. Remember, though, to keep your colors as natural as possible. Prices for these kinds of material tend to go up when you do more to customize and alter them.
6. Always Use Protection
As much as you may rely on your kitchen windows to bring the light in, some emphasis should be placed on keeping harmful UVA and UVB rays out as well. When selecting curtains or blinds for your windows, look for brands that advertise any kind of protection qualities against any harmful rays. Products, such as blackout shades and solar shades, usually have an indicator number on the packaging that displays what percentage of protection they provide.
7. Beat the Heat, Too!
Speaking of solar shades, they are doubly useful by protecting your kitchen, and invariably your home, against direct sunlight. This can raise temperatures within the home and directly affect cooling costs, especially as you move into the warmer spring and summer months. And much like if you leave your car in direct sunlight for too long, over time that light can fade wooden cabinets and floors, crack and age any leather accents and completely wash out fabric curtains. Tackling home improvement projects with a more focused approach can open the doors to a whole new realm of possibilities. Although modernizing kitchen window treatments may seem like a drop in the bucket of all the things you may want to accomplish with your home, it’s both an aesthetically and financially sound decision that can put you on the path to home improvement success.
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