Window treatments are vital to the decoration of every home, but they can also be outrageously expensive at times. This can be a major problem if you’re running on a low budget, and yet you want to decorate your home with style or simply improve its value.
If that were the case, then it’s only normal that you would try to save every penny you can by cutting down the cost of window treatments you had originally planned to buy and install.
Still, saving money does not necessarily have to mean skimping on good design. There are a few inexpensive ways to cut down on the cost of window treatments and still refurbish your house to your taste.
But first, you need to ask yourself some tough questions: aside from reducing your cost of living, what else are you trying to accomplish? Are you going for privacy, insulation, or just light filtering? Do you want to buy or make these window treatments?
If you are planning to make them, just how skillful are you? And if you want to buy them, how much are you willing to spend? Here are two tips to help you decide.
Install energy-efficient blinds
Blinds are not only good at keeping the heat out. During winter, they can as well be useful for preventing heat from escaping from your house into the outside environment.
Windows are usually the channel through which most of the heat inside the house escapes into the outer environment. So covering them with affordable smart blinds is an efficient way to reduce heat loss.
There are different types of blinds, some of which are better than others in terms of insulation. Wooden blinds are arguably the best type of blinds as far as insulation is concerned because wood is a natural insulator and an excellent one at that.
Blinds are relatively cheap and are available everywhere, although high-quality blinds may cost a lot more. You may find yourself wondering if the cost of purchasing and installing these high-quality blinds is a wise decision.
Well, when you consider the amount of money they help you save on heating and cooling costs, it’s worth it.
Consider DIY curtains
If you are deft with a needle and some thread, you can save a lot of money by choosing a good fabric and making curtains yourself. Designing window curtains is a fairly easy project, usually only requiring you to sew in straight lines.
Window curtains are most commonly made from inexpensive fabric such as interwoven cotton and other natural fiber, like muslin or linen. This fabric can be bought at various stores, but you can improvise by making your curtains from old lined bed sheets or blankets instead.
Whether you decide to buy the fabric from the store or use the one you have at home, ensure that the fabric fits the dimensions and size of your windows.
One easy way to fashion a curtain is by hemming the edges of the fabric, folding the top down (to create a passage for the curtain wire or rod to slide through), and finally, sewing the top down.
Of course, there are several other creative ways to make curtains. You can always check for these DIY curtain tutorials online.
