The Ultimate Guide to Window Treatments

Just as you showcase a beautiful painting with an equally attractive frame, preserve nature's artwork by flanking a window bank with softly gathered curtain panels united by a wide tailored valance that spans the window's top. If exposure from outside elements is a concern, sheers can hide behind the fabric panels and be drawn across the opening when needed.

If sweltering sunlight or howling winter winds come calling, mount treatments snug within the frame of each window to help insulate your room. Tent- flap-style curtain panels offer clean lines that look nice both open and closed depending on weather conditions and privacy needs.

With today's worldly selection of woven materials and plethora of pretty-to-playful fabric patterns, Roman shades are far from a simply practical covering. Embellish shades with decorative contrast binding or trim and you've treated your window grouping with style and function.

Curtain panels trailing from a decorative rod are the most classic of treatments for any window configuration. Accentuate the architecture of multiple windows by suspending a narrow panel between each pane. For a bay window that projects beyond the room's footprint, simply mount the rod on the foreground wall.

As tried and true as the window itself, pleated drapery panels deliver elegance in the most straightforward of treatments. For a more formal, decorative statement add an angular valance pleated to mimic sophisticated jabots. Or for a more laid-back effect, top panels with a flouncy scalloped valance.

Unify a pair of side-by-side double-hung windows with asymmetric swags draped across the top of each and cascading down the outer window edges. For spaces requiring a touch of privacy, layer sheers beneath the decorative swags.

The beauty of the versatile double-hung is its ability to wear the most casual curtain panels or the most formal bellowing draperies. For fine-dining sophistication or great-room grandeur, pour rich, full panels over a grand curtain rod and bustle one or both slightly aside on matching tiebacks.

To open a double-hung window on a warm summer day is to treasure the refreshing breeze floating into the room. Capture the sensation visually by framing the window with flowing panels clipped to rings that draw easily across a decorative rod.

Complement the casement's contemporary appeal with a tailored, pleated shade. Mounted neatly within the window frame, these fabric treatments enhance clean-line design with a soft touch.

Winning a resurgence in design with its retro style, the roller shade enjoys many decorative options in patterned facades, embellished hems, and charming pulls.

Echo the booklike function of the casement window with panels hung on swing-arm rods (airy sheers work particularly well).

A proven fit on nearly any window, drapery panels can be formal or laid-back. Tab-top panels lend casual comfort to any space.

Simple, clean lines complement shapely arched windows. Shutters mounted on double-hung or casement windows below an arched top provide classic design with light and privacy control. For additional privacy, fan-shape shutters fit many standard arched shapes

Transoms add natural light plus visual height to a room. A curtain rod mounted at the ceiling enhances the height trick, while dual-fabric panels - sheer on top attached to opaque tails - let the extra light shine through.

Homes of elegant, traditional decor often feature transoms. When style directs a full, robust window dressing, treat the main collection of windows with drapery panels connected by a valance (adding blinds beneath for privacy, if necessary), but mount the rod as you would without the transoms so the architectural addition is still enjoyed.

For a soft touch applied directly to French doors, hang curtain panels cinched halfway down to let in the light. Don't forget the view from the outdoor living area - use a coordinating fabric for the curtain backs.

With careful placement, even the most sophisticated window treatments can apply to French doors. Crown the door frame with a shapely cornice that disguises a rod from which curtain panels flow. Be sure the panels can move aside to allow the doors to open.

Follow the natural flow of the sliding door with flat fabric panels mounted above on a gliding track. The visual parallel is striking while the stack-aside function keeps the decorative treatment practical.

Use horizontal shades or blinds mounted on the wall above the door frame to give sliding doors privacy and light control. To disguise their less-aesthetic headers, top the shades with a decorative valance. Be certain the valance and raised blinds are mounted high enough to easily allow passage through the door below.