The right treatment can make a WORLD of difference to any room, structure, or installation! Transforming your space can be as easy as selecting the right treatment.  Today, with so many styles of blinds and shades to choose from, finding the right one for your needs isn’t always a quick open-and-shut deal. Here, we’ve gathered our best advice tips to help you see your way through the process. Here at Santa Barbara Design Center, we do indoor and outdoor treatments that can be used to divide, enhance, privatize or decorate any structure, room, window or doorway.  Now you can dress up a room in hundreds of ways without making a major investment. Window treatments are the FINALE in any home decor. They are like the icing on the cake!

Oh, they’re back.  But in an even better way!

           If you’re looking for tremendous versatility and style, shades are the answer.  They provide more ways to create different looks and moods using texture, pattern, and fabric weight. Gone are the days of loud, hinge styled shades that get tangled left, center, back, front and sideways. Today you have oodles upon oodles to choose from. From honeycombs with top down bottom up features that allow you to view your exteriors, to exterior shades, and remote controlled roman shades, blinds and shutters, the list simply goes on and on. The shades you choose today reflect the mood and lighting for a room. If you have a living room with a solid wall of windows looking out onto a lush garden. You may want to go light and airy with a hidden white black out for those days where you need a bit privacy. A nice combination could be to mix a nice CONRAD SHADE with a classic window treatment. Notice the earthiness of the rug married into the window design, giving it a sleek, clean pulled together look.

For a more open, simple look for summer, just go with a CONRAD shade.

        Fun or formal, curtains and drapes are often the fabricate unsung heroes of interior design. Not only do they filter out harsh light and set the tone of the room but they shadow the watchful gaze of your neighbor. Here in Santa Barbara, where the scenery and weather is breathtaking all year round. Most people have one foot on the patio and the other inside their home.  Santa Barbarians tend to use fabric modestly to invite the outdoors in. Whether you seek a gauzy, romantic look that lets in the breeze from your deck. Even something that insures some serious light-blocking ability for a good night’s rest. You will be able to find a solution that suits your needs. Before you make a selection, you’ll want to make sure you have carefully considered all of the following. For instance color, fabric, type of hardware needed to mount the curtains, and the shape and size of your windows. All of these different options will play into the selection that you make. A few considerations to mull over when selecting the color or pattern of your drapery would be:

— If you have a solid rug with solid color furnishings you can go bold with the colors and patterns. Layering soft linen tones on a multi rod system is a beautiful way to bring light into the room.

— Silk Organza and Shimmer Metallic with unlined sheer panels look beautiful as a second layer or on their own in a room that does not require much privacy or light filtering.

— For a more luxurious look,  puddle your fabric on the floor by adding 10 inches to the height measurement. This works especially well with Dupioni Silk and Cotton Velvet. Puddling is not recommended for drapery that will be opened and closed often, or in rooms with a lot of traffic, as the drapery can get dirty.

        If you would like a simple, streamlined, simple tailored look, measure for your desired fullness and use the exact window width for a tailored look, using just enough panels to cover your window with fewer folds. For a FULLER look: use wide panels and or many additional panels to create more folds. A good idea would be to multiply by two, for a slightly full window, or by three for a dramatic full look. Once you determine the above measurement, add another two to eight inches to allow the end panels to extend a little bit beyond the window. This will ensure there are no gaps at the sides.

      Outdoor drapery is now being used in a big way. Here is Santa Barbara, residents pay as much attention to their outdoor spaces, as the do to their indoor spaces. Some even go as far as including their DOG BEDS in the design!

Indoors and outdoors drapery are often used to divide a space without a renovation.  At Santa Barbara Design Center we design treatments, pillows, shades, shutters and blinds to compliment any installation – yes – even doggie beds! Notice how this below treatment gives enough protection to bring indoor furnishings and furniture outdoors. The contrasting, soft, checkered, shag rug brings the entire area together. We have an array of Indoor/Outdoor area rug options to help make this and many other looks happen.

Have you run out of space for entertaining? It may be right in your back yard! A nice way to create a new space using an old structure with new curtains and no renovation can be something like this.

      Of all window treatments, shutters are the most low maintenance. If you want longevity, privacy and a classic style, then go with Wood Shutters. Wood Shutters are will last a lifetime and they marry well with ALL decors, regardless of how often you change you change it.  Shutters offer more then any other treatment. They’re amazing for home energy, increase the value of your home and incredible furnishing protectors. At Santa Barbara Design Center, we choose Norman. Why? Because they’ve been around the longest, are the safest, most esthetically pleasing and offer the longest warranty.

        When purchasing blinds, you want to find not only an esthetically pleasing option, but one that provides both fabricate privacy and protection from light.  Many of our clients use blinds in situations where furniture protection is imperative.  We recommend Norman Blinds because of their Smart Privacy feature. They’ve perfected slat alignment and invisible rote holes that help to alleviate light leakage.  Norman Blinds are also popular for home offices where you need to cut out computer glare.  Norman’s exclusive system glides seamlessly with no tugging required, plus slats  won’t fall out, ensuring years of trouble-free use.

Norman’s Wood blinds come in light and dark hues and polished or painted finishes — their GH line ranges from white Country Cottage to rich Peruvian Walnut — and they’re perfect for offices and dens. Norman Blinds are the safest on the market – an important feature to consider is Norman attention to child safety. Every year, many injuries occur because children and pets get tangled up in the cords of blinds. Norman’s  patented device is a foolproof solution to provide a safe environment for your family.  Whichever installation treatment you choose, have fun, make and don’t be afraid to make creative choices!