Boost Living Room Style with Drapes and Valances
When it comes to elevating the aesthetic appeal of a living room, few design elements make as dramatic an impact as tactfully chosen drapes and valances. Strategically hung over windows and topped with decorative valances, drapes introduce softness, texture, and even a dash of drama to transform lifeless spaces into relaxing, welcoming retreats.
But drapes and valances serve more than just a decorative purpose. They provide privacy, insulation, sound absorption, and light control--all while contributing to your overall interior design scheme. By expertly marrying form and function, living room drapes and valances can take your space from bleh to breathtaking!
Choosing Drapes and Valances
With so many styles and options to consider, selecting the perfect drapes and valances may seem daunting. But keeping a few key factors in mind will help you narrow down selections tailored to your unique space and style.
Factors to Consider
Privacy Needs: Assess how much you'd like to conceal from the outside--do you need blackout opacity or just soft filtering? Location and window visibility impact privacy needs.
Light Control: Consider how prone you are to glare and how dark you'd like the room. The right fabrics and linings help regulate incoming light.
Insulation: In spaces prone to temperature fluctuations, thermal drapes in insulating textiles help retain warmth in winter and block heat in summer.
Aesthetics and Style: Choose patterns, colors and textures aligned with your interior decor style--whether clean-lined and modern or heavily ornamented and traditional.
Budget: Prices range widely based on fabrics and customization levels. Assess how much you'd like invest to achieve your ideal aesthetic.
Drape Styles
From billowing and soft to precisely tailored, drape styles make a statement. Consider the impact you'd like to create along with functionality needs.
Tab: Defined box pleats with elegant symmetry. Provide excellent insulation and blackout capabilities.
Goblet: Distinct organized puffs. Allow some light filtering while optimizing privacy.
Inverted Pleat: Versatile classic style with pleats facing inward. Softly diffuses incoming light.
Pencil Pleat: Narrow, evenly spaced pleats. Lightweight style offers fullness control options.
Fabric Considerations
From sumptuously soft velvets to breezy linen sheers, fabrics influence the drapes' functional properties and overall vibe. Consider opaqueness, texture, breathability, cleaning methods and light filtration needs.
Valance Styles
Ranging from whimsically ruffled to starkly sleek, valances influence the window framed aesthetic. Types include:
Tiered Valances: Graduated horizontal levels for dimensional interest and height accentuation.
Swag Valances: Vertically draped swaths anchored at a center point create soft, graceful arcs.
Cascading Valances: Single piece of billowing fabric offers effortless, romantic elegance.
Scarf Valances: Oversized swatches of fabric, sometimes pleated at mid points. Casually chic style.
Cornice Box Valances: Crisp, structured horizontal rectangles with optional vertical returns. Heightens sophistication.
Creative Inspiration
When working in tandem with valances, drapes become a blank textural canvas. Have fun playing with shapely curves, dimensional tiers or contrasting colors and patterns for seriously captivating window dressing!
Design Principles
Achieving optimal aesthetic impact and functionality requires awareness of basic design tenets. Keep these guidelines in mind.
Proportion Tips
Allowing adequate fabric fullness while maintaining ideal vertical extensions creates pleasing proportions.
Drapes: For harmonious height-to-width ratios, drapes should just graze the floor. This draws the eye downward and lends grounded elegance.
Valances: Mount valances close to the top of window frames about 6-12 inches below the ceiling. Valances mounted too high appear disconnected and diminish cohesion.
Coordination Guidelines
Well-coordinated drapes and valances look cohesive while still allowing each element to shine. Think about color and pattern interplay.
Color: Choose a valance lining or trim that picks up a drape color for subtle unity. Or opt for complementary or analogous hues on each for vivid yet harmonious pairings.
Pattern: Match drape and valance motifs for a pulled-together custom look. Or mix patterns in compatible scales and color families, allowing more variety.
Balance and Scale
Regardless of window dimensions, tailored fullness levels and ideal mounting heights promote versatility and everyday functionality.
Width: For wider windows, use more paneled drapes or heavier weighted fabrics requiring minimal fullness for clean cascading folds.
Narrow Windows: Employ billowy sheers or goblet drapes that artfully puddle without overcrowding the frame.
Overall Coverage: Extend rod-mounted drapes and board-mounted valances about 6 inches beyond the window frame for a custom inset look.
Functional Benefits
In addition to elevating style, drapes, and valances offer practical perks like light control, insulation and sound dampening.
Privacy
Opaque Fabrics: Thick, tightly woven textiles in darker hues prevent light penetration for cocoon-like seclusion.
Linings: For enhanced darkness and insulation, pair sheers or light-diffusing fabrics with blackout or thermal linings.
Insulation
Retain Heat: Heavy drapes in textiles like velvet help prevent precious warm air from escaping in winter--lowering bills!
Block Sun: Same principle in summer--drapes form a barrier keeping intense rays from heating up interior spaces.
Light Control
Blackout Effect: Opaque and tightly woven fabrics prevent ambient light passage--ideal for media rooms.
Filtering: Sheers and lightweight textiles diffuse harsh glares--great for playrooms or offices.
Installation Best Practices
Achieving an expertly dressed window requires meticulous planning and execution. Follow these best practices for a polished end result.
Measure Carefully
Record width and height precisely. For floor-length drapes grazing sills, measure height from above the window frame down to where you want drapes to hit. When taking width measurements, note any obstructions impeding full coverage.
Select Proper Hardware
Drapes: Choose rings, grommets or tab tops that coordinate with weight and texture. Heavier fabrics may require more anchoring points.
Rods and Poles: Opt for widths extending 4-6 inches past window frames. Sturdy metal rods support heavier weights.
Valances: Match board or decorative upright lengths to optimal mounting height. Include corner embellishments for a custom finish.
Mounting Methods
Center Precisely: Install drape rods and valance boards in exact center over windows for symmetrical elegance.
Support Wide Spans: On extra wide windows, use multiple rods or add ceiling-to-floor supports at center points to prevent sagging.
Fine Tune Positioning: After hanging drapes and valances, make minor positioning tweaks to perfect placement and fullness distribution.
Inspiring Style Ideas
When thoughtfully combined, drapes and valances form a powerful design duo. Apply these style ideas to give windows a covetable custom look.
Modern Contemporary
Make a sleek statement with floor-length linen panels topped by narrow, board-mounted box valances. Opt for solid neutral hues and clean lines for quietly sophisticated edge.
Cottage and Country
Embrace romantic charm with gathered tiers of breezy, floral-strewn sheers paired with a ruffled eyelet cotton valance. Miscible mismatch prints and prefer a relaxed billowy silhouette.
Traditional and Formal
Epitomize refinement with lush, fully lined velvet drapes punctuated by ornamental swag valances decked out in coordinating trims and tasseled tiebacks. Strive for sumptuous sophistication via luxurious fabrics and formal shapes.
Eclectic and Bold
Make an unabashedly dynamic display by pairing graphic ikat patterned dupioni silk drapes with an abstract-printed digitally designed valance. Contrast textures and patterns for an adventurous spirit and stunning showcase.
Few design details can amplify the aesthetic, function and overall vibe of a space like living room drapes. By factoring in privacy, light, insulation and style goals, while following fundamental design principles, you're sure to fashion an Windows framework with serious wow-factor power. Soon, your living room will become the coveted entertaining space you've always envisioned!