Should Top Curtains Be Put Up If I Have Mini Blinds in My Den?
While some people are perfectly happy with the look that plain, unadorned mini blinds give their windows, others would rather dress their mini blinds up a little. One way to dress mini blinds up is with some sort of top curtain, or top treatment. Top treatments add decoration, color and softness to your mini blinds without totally covering them as full curtains do. Whether or not you add a top treatment is completely up to you. Does this Spark an idea?
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Not Functionally Necessary
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For purely functional purposes, a top treatment is not necessary. Top treatments serve little purpose and for the most part are simply decorative. If your mini blinds fit your window properly, they provide privacy and block at least some light, which is what they're meant to do. However, a top treatment, for example a valance, is an easy option to attractively cover up unsightly blind hardware at the top of your window.
Benefits
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Other than hiding window or blind hardware, a top treatment can add color, softness, texture and beauty to your room. Walls are obviously hard surfaces, as are mini blinds. Add hardwood or tile floors to the mix, and your room may be harsh and lacking in softness. Fabric curtains, whether top treatments or full draperies, help foil the hard surfaces. Luxurious fabrics such as velvets, taffeta and chiffon are especially good at softening a room. If you don't like the look of mini blinds, you can cover them completely with curtains. As a bonus, acoustics in your room will improve as well.
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Drawbacks
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If you desire a minimal look, adding a top treatment could spoil your outcome, as they are not functionally necessary and may seem fussy in a minimalistic room. If you do decide to go with a top treatment, choose something crisp and tailored, perhaps in a solid color. With their clean lines and hard surfaces, mini blinds may work very well on their own in a minimalistic room.
Another drawback is expense. If you are on a very tight budget, there is no functional reason to add top treatments to mini blinds. Top treatments or other curtains will only add expense to your decorating budget.
Get Creative
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If you like the idea of a top treatment over your mini blinds but don't necessarily want traditional curtains, consider some of the more unusual possibilities. For example, you could hang tea towels above your kitchen windows, layer tree branches above your window in a rustic den, attach silk flowers above the window in a girls bedroom, or hang up oars or hockey sticks in a boy's room. There are many, many ways to dress up mini blinds. The possibilities are limited only to your creativity.
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References
- Photo Credit Curtain image by RUZANNA ARUTYUNYAN from Fotolia.com
