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Fall Design Tips: 3 Ways to Emphasize Lighting
BWS Design • Sep 05, 2018
The days of BBQ’s, picnics, and long days spent outdoors are nearly at an end.
We’re heading towards the crisp days of fall, where the days are shorter and the nights are longer. As you make adjustments for the autumn, it’s a perfect time to make sure your home is an absolute haven.
One of the most important — and also the simplest — elements to consider is lighting. As the days shorten and people retreat indoors, nothing is more important that emphasizing the lighting in your home. Here are some considerations for experimenting with light, color, and coziness this fall:
1. It may be time for new overhead lights and lamps
Let there be light. Fall means less natural light from outside, and a greater emphasis on indoor space. Has the same lamp been gathering dust on your end table for the last decade? Do you use way too much energy keeping your house lit? Consider making some changes to the light fixtures in your home, starting with these quick tips:
- Consider installing a dimmer system to gain more control over the overhead lights in your home.
- Take advantage of the summer’s craft and artisan fairs to find unique lamps.
- Contemplate the benefits of light therapy lamps that may help fight the winter blues.
- Think about making a small investment in more energy efficient light bulbs, both to save money in the long run and add a thoughtful, ecological element to your home design.
2. Don’t be afraid to play with paint and color to emphasize light
A dingy coat of paint can really make a room seem small, dim, and cramped. Take advantage of the end of summer by investing in new paint for your walls, and prepare to be amazed at how it can utterly revitalize a room. Here are some facts to keep in mind:
- Light colors like eggshell make rooms seem larger.
- Darker colors — like a gorgeous navy blue or maroon — make rooms cozier.
- White ceilings can help brighten a room.
- Textured interior paint can add a unique vibrancy to any space.
3. Focus on natural light: window treatments, blinds, and shades
Windows are your home’s eyes out to the rest of the world, and offer the best way to suffuse your home with beautiful natural light all year long. Since you’ll be spending more time indoors as the days shorten, it’s absolutely vital that your windows reflect the way you want to see the world. Specialized window treatments, blinds, and shades can add just the right element to your home and help you emphasize lighting for your unique situation.
- Wood blinds — these are an incredible yet subtle statement for any home. Wood blinds can be adapted to fit just about any style of home, and their natural, warm look will create an absolute oasis in your home. They can be adjusted to block out as much light as you need to make a room seem cozier.
- Roman shades — these classy and elegant Roman shades will truly allow your originality to shine through as you choose the fabric that works for you. They’re also a great choice for smaller spaces since they can be adjusted easily to fit any space, and they work well for families with children and pets since there’s nothing to tug on. You can customize the translucency of the Roman blind to allow the most appropriate interaction with light in each room.
- Draperies — nothing says elegance like draperies. Cozy and warm, draperies allow so much variety in light filtering based on the texture. And they’re extremely versatile, allowing you to let more light in during those dimmer fall days while still maintaining privacy.
- Valances — just like adding a splash of paint to a room, a decorative valance can set the mood for a room. Try to consider which colors will brighten up a dim room, and which will add an element of coziness.
The fall is an amazing time to make your home a perfect oasis for the cooler months ahead. Take the time to craft a home that’s filled with comfort, class, and light. If you’re feeling inspired to make the best of the natural light in your home, contact the professionals at Just Blinds today for a free, on-site consultation.
Expert Advice by Just Blinds
Each year, styles in window treatments come and go. Trends that were hot last year may carry over to the new interior decor season or may be replaced by something new. In 2024, we are looking at a delightful set of trends in blinds, shades, and curtains that embrace the developing attitudes and popular colors that are already giving the year a unique stylistic personality. At Just Blinds, we are delighted to keep up with the trends, helping homeowners, designers, and property managers to create stunning spaces that align with the latest in window treatment trends. The Hot Trends of 2023 Blinds and Shades Last year in 2023, we saw a great collection of trends, many of which have evolved and strengthened with the new year. 2023 explored the innovations of cell shades and honeycomb shades for the benefits of insulation and light control. Motorization gained a prominant place in both home and office design, and decorators discovered the dynamic possibilities of shades that operate from both the bottom and the top on floor-to-ceiling tracks. Texture saw a real debut with natural colors like wood finishes, linen, dusty rose, and moss green. Though bold patterns also had their day in the sun. The Trending 2024 Window Treatments In 2024, you may recognize a few trends still going strong from the year before, which is good news for those who decorated last year because your style is likely still right on-trend. But we are also seeing new trends developing with elegant enthusiasm. Smart Home Blinds The trend for motorized shades has naturally evolved to favor smart home controls. With a simple voice command, you can take control of all the motorized shades in a room, in your entire home, or set each shade to exactly the height and opacity you desire. Warm Neutrals and Bold Natural Colors Color trends favor a more natural palette. Neutral colors are warmer, even the grays and charcoals have a honey undertone, while natural colors like mossy and forest green are growing stronger in hue paired with a jewelbox of flower petal colors. If you're following the Colors of the Year, you may have also noticed an adoration of ocean blues, and you can match those blues with slightly darker or lighter blinds for beautiful effect. Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Materials Natural materials and textures were popular in 2023, and 2024 takes this trend even further. Blinds made out of recycled materials are now on the rise alongside the growing popularity of blinds made from super-sustainable plants like bamboo, hemp, jute, and grass cloth. These offer natural colors, dynamic textures, and the delight of eco-friendly design. Gauzy Sheer Elegance Sheer curtains and semi-sheer blinds are also in fashion; a classic style that has been floating near the top of popularity for literal centuries. Sheer curtains and blinds maintain privacy while allowing sunlight into the room in a gently diffused glow. They also layer excellently with more robust window treatments. Creative Window Treatment Layering Speaking of layering, we are seeing an enthusiastic embrace of creatively layered styles. Wooden shutters, gauzy curtains, and black-out blinds are among the most popular layers, but decorators are getting creative with how they choose to to layer their window treatments, using both multiple fabrics and structures at the same time. Find the Blinds that Best Suit Your Needs How can you choose fantastic and on-trend blinds that perfectly suit your design needs? Fortunately, the diversity of this year's trends leave room for almost any personal sense of style and the individual needs of each room's windows. Start with the size of your windows and your room's existing color palette. Decide if you want to match, accent, or contrast the colors of the room. Then choose the opacity, privacy, and level of motorized control you desire. This should guide you toward a specific selection that will work well for your room. From there, it's a matter of specific features and your personal sense of style. Reach Out for Expert and On-Trend Advice If you are getting ready to decorate a room and want the perfect window treatments for 2024, we are only a phonecall or a visit away. Give us a call for expert advice in the right blinds or shades for each window in your home. Our on-trend window treatment experts will be glad to help tailor your window treatment design to your personal tastes, the latest trends, and the style of each of your rooms.
Is your AC bill keeping you down this summer? Is your home too hot? Window treatments can help cool your home, but you need to choose the right ones and use them correctly. Not all window coverings are made equal. Here are some of the best options to help keep your home comfortable and reduce costs this summer: Cellular or honeycomb shades. These are specifically designed to provide a high level of insulation that keeps the heat out of your home. They also don't block the view when completely drawn. As a bonus, you can get them in a wide variety of colors and patterns to match your home and in both top-down and bottom-up configurations. Drapery. Old-fashioned curtains can be surprisingly effective. Choose a medium color and have us add a white plastic backing to reflect heat out of your home. You can also use drapes to block some of the heat without excluding much light, allowing you to enjoy natural light flowing through your drapes. Fabric Roman shades. These are a distinctive option that really dresses up a room, and if you choose the kind with several layers they will definitely help keep the heat out. We have light filtering and blackout options and everything in between. Why Should You Use These Types of Shades or Blinds? The two reasons are to save money and help protect the environment. Good shades keep your home cooler and this means your air conditioning systems don't have to work as hard and use as much energy. In the northern hemisphere, it's most important to have heat-reducing treatments on your southern windows and you can allow more light in through windows that face north. Both cellular and Roman shades can also be motorized and even put on timers to close the shades when you are not there and then let light in when you return. The small amount of energy used by motorized shades is much less than that lost through naked windows. All of these shades can also add to the aesthetics of your room. Cellular shades are great to add a pop of color or a subtle pattern. Both drapery and Roman shades give a soft feel to your windows that then spreads to the rest of your room. What is the Best Choice? The best choice of the three depends on your personal aesthetics. Our designers can help you make the right choice. If you want motorized shades, cellular shades are the lightest and thus use the least energy, and can roll all the way up and down, leaving your windows completely unrestricted. Roman shades are more visible, but can be used to add fabric and color to a room. Many people still love the look of traditional window drapes. Note that you can also combine shades and drapes for the effect you want, both in terms of reducing heat loss and in terms of aesthetics. How Much Can I Actually Save? The amount you save depends on the kind of window covering you use and how much thermal gain your house typically experiences. The larger your windows, in general, the larger the benefit, especially south-facing windows. For example, medium-colored draperies with a white plastic backing can reduce heat gain by as much as 33% for that window. Most window treatments, though, reduce overall heat gain by about 10%. This can significantly reduce your bills, by $100 to $200 a month during the summer. Using the right window treatment can make your home more comfortable in the summer and save money while preserving the environment. For advise on which window treatments to choose for your home and to see our selection of blinds and shades, contact Just Blinds today.