Here is How To Dress Up Your Windows To Bring More Light Into Your Life

Lindsey - October 31, 2023
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Here is How To Dress Up Your Windows To Bring More Light Into Your Life
Photo: Photo: Jen Spends Less
Photo: This Old House

Window Seat or Bench

If you have the space, consider adding a window seat or bench with built-in storage beneath. This could transform an unused space into a unique, cozy vantage point to take in the outdoors. A well-designed window seat can seamlessly blend with your room’s decor, offering an opportunity to introduce cushions, throws, and decorative pillows that coordinate with your style, too. Moreover, its dual role as a decorative element, practical seating area, and perhaps even storage makes a window seat a great addition for those seeking to optimize both space and comfort in their homes – form and function.

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Photo: Apartment Therapy

Window Mirrors

This isn’t exactly a treatment for your window, exactly, but it does add more light to your home with the use of a window: hang a mirror on the wall opposite a window. A mirror’s light reflecting qualities can make rooms appear larger and brighter. So, pairing one with an existing window is a great way to enhance natural light. Plus, in addition to their practical function, mirrors also introduce an element of visual interest, making them a valuable and versatile tool in interior design.

Hanging a mirror on the wall opposite a window is an ingenious way to amplify the natural light streaming into your space. The mirror’s ability to reflect light not only enhances the brightness but also creates the illusion of a more spacious room, making it feel even airier and inviting. Beyond its utilitarian purpose, a well-placed mirror infuses a touch of elegance and visual allure, adding a layer of sophistication and depth to your interior decor.

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Photo: The DIY Mommy

DIY Ideas

For bold and budget-friendly ideas, get creative with do-it-yourself window decor. The DIY world offers an array of creative possibilities for you. One avenue is to embark on a treasure hunt at thrift stores, where you can discover unique and cost-effective fabrics that can be transformed into no-sew curtains or drapes. These versatile alternatives allow you to choose fabrics, colors, and patterns that resonate with your personal style and can be customized to fit your windows perfectly.

Consider crafting a valance out of placemats with the power of a hot glue gun. For an artsy and playful touch, take old book pages and craft them into a whimsical paper garland to drape above your living room windows. It’s an easy and captivating DIY endeavor that not only adds a unique decorative element but also sparks conversation. The ideas are endless – you just have to find what works with your time and skills. Oh, and if you have an old, rustic window you no longer use? Repurposing the windows as frames for art or photos.

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Photo: Urban Outfitters

More Fabric Options

Fabrics like cotton or linen may fall into the traditional curtain material options available, but that doesn’t mean you have to go the traditional route. Macrame curtains or hangings can add a bohemian and artistic touch to your windows. They come in various styles and sizes and are particularly popular for creating a relaxed, beachy vibe. If you’re a beachy person at heart (wherever you live), it’s an idea worth exploring.

Likewise, if your home leans more 60s or 70s, a beaded curtain may be the way to go. Beaded curtains made of colorful or natural beads can be a fun and whimsical way to divide spaces or add a playful element to your windows. A different kind of vintage – more Victorian – could look to lace as an elegant option. Delicate lace curtains create a timeless and romantic look. Plus, both of these choices allow filtered light to enter while maintaining privacy.

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Photo: The Spruce

Window Lights

String lights can add a warm and inviting ambiance to your home, and they look particularly charming when used in windows. There are SO many creative ways to put simple string lights to use in your space. First, string lights can be hung around the perimeter of the window frame. This creates a cozy, inviting glow and highlights the shape of the window. Next, you can incorporate them into your current window treatments. Attach string lights to a curtain rod or tension wire just behind the curtains or combine string lights with curtains.

Hang the lights on a tension wire or curtain rod behind a sheer curtain. This diffuses the light and adds a soft, romantic glow to the room – inside and out. Remember to use window-safe hooks, adhesive clips, or suction cups to secure the string lights to the window, ensuring they don’t damage the surface. String lights come in various colors and shapes, so you can easily find a style that complements your home’s decor and the atmosphere you want to create.

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Photo: Go Smart Blinds

Smart Blinds or Shades

If you’re already in the smart-home club, this may come as no surprise, but smart blinds and shades are gaining popularity. Compared to the fabric and hand-operated window treatments most of us are using, smart versions represent a significant leap forward in window treatments and home automation. These intelligent window coverings offer a range of benefits, including enhancing convenience to improving energy efficiency.

They can be programmed to align with your daily routines, optimizing natural light and temperature, which can lead to reduced energy consumption and cost savings. With the convenience of remote control, scheduling, or voice commands, smart blinds and shades allow control over the amount of light and privacy in your home, right from your smartphone or smart home devices. Cost is, of course, a consideration. However, even companies like IKEA are getting in on the smart blinds options.

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Photo: Style by Emily Henderson

Wood or Fabric Shutters

Installing interior shutters as window decor is a timeless choice that brings a touch of historical charm and practicality to any home. These window treatments consist of hinged panels or louvers that are mounted inside the window frame. One of the main benefits of interior shutters is their ability to provide light control and privacy. You can easily adjust the angle of the louvers to let in as much or as little light as desired, while still maintaining a level of privacy. This versatility allows you to create the ideal ambiance in your living spaces.

Interior shutters also contribute to energy efficiency. When closed, they act as effective insulators, helping to regulate the indoor temperature. This can lead to reduced heating and cooling costs, making them a practical addition to any home. If traditional, wooden shutters aren’t your taste, you can soften them with fabric. Shutters with space for fabric panels can let more light in, depending on the fabric you choose. They also won’t look as heavy as traditional wood versions. The customization options are greater, too, allowing not only paint/wood choices, but fabric interest to compliment your room.

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Photo: The Spruce

Window Sill Herb Garden

In addition to regular window plants, you may want to consider choosing edible herbs for a window sill garden. This can offer benefits that extend beyond just culinary convenience, but that is a big plus. Growing herbs on your window sill provides immediate access to fresh, flavorful ingredients that can elevate your cooking. Whether it’s basil, rosemary, mint, or parsley, these herbs infuse your dishes with vibrant, just-picked tastes that can’t be matched by dried counterparts.

It also saves you trips to the grocery store and the cost of purchasing packaged herbs. You can trim only what you need, reducing waste and saving money in the long run. Plus, pre-packaged fresh herbs often go bad quickly. With the right conditions, you can enjoy fresh herbs year-round, and experience the aesthetic benefits of a window garden.

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Photo: Hunker

Prisms

Incorporating prisms in your windows is a perfect way to infuse your living spaces with a play of light and color on the daily. These faceted glass or crystal shapes, when suspended in a sunny window, catch and refract sunlight, creating rainbows that float around the room. Prisms can turn a mundane window into a dazzling display of artistry, enchanting people and perhaps even your pets. Whether you choose to hang a single prism or an array of them, these small, multifaceted wonders could be a magical addition to your decor.

Incorporating innovative window decor ideas into your home is a journey of personal expression and creative design – sometimes even DIY! Choosing to express your style through your windows can enhance what you need from your windows – privacy, seating, bird watching, too. So, explore your options and choose what’s best for your space.

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