Window Coverings for Humid Areas
If you're currently building a new house or renovating an old one, deciding on window coverings is one of the important things to consider. As the award-winning interior designer, LeeAnne Baker once said, “Window coverings aren't the icing on the cake: They are one of the ingredients that go in the cake.”
When choosing window coverings for your home, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to pick one type of window covering and place it on every window of the house. Every room has its own personality and unique needs, so you need to choose the right window coverings for each room.
When it comes to choosing window coverings for humid areas like bathrooms, kitchens and laundry rooms, the right window coverings should combine just the right amount of style, privacy, light control, moisture resistance, durability and maintenance.
What is the best window covering for the kitchen?
Window coverings come in different styles, so choosing the style of your window covering is the first thing to do. Here are the five best types of window treatments for the kitchen:
Window curtains
These are among the most common window coverings for rooms in the house. They often come in pairs and normally hang from curtain rods. They are available in a variety of materials, patterns, colors, styles and thicknesses.
Window blinds
Unlike fabric curtains, window blinds are made from hard materials like vinyl, PVC, aluminum or wood. The hard slats or louvers are attached to a headrail at the top and have a lifting mechanism. When buying blinds, you can choose between horizontal blinds and vertical blinds, depending on the size of your kitchen windows.
Window shades
Like blinds, window shades feature a lifting mechanism and are attached to a headrail at the top. Unlike blinds, they don't feature any slats or louvers. Instead, they are made from a light-filtering or room darkening material. They are available in different types, including honeycomb cellular shades, solar shades, roller shades, Roman shades and more. Window shades tend to be a great choice for the kitchen because they are easy to clean and maintain and can be raised out of the way.
Composite shutters
Shutters are a type of window treatment consisting of louvers mounted in a solid frame. The louvers are manipulated by a tilt rod concealed at the rear or in the middle of the shutter. Composite window shutters are a great choice for wet areas because they are easy to maintain and offer near-absolute control over air flow and privacy.
What window coverings are best for bathrooms?
While windows enable us to enjoy the views and natural light, they can also enable passersby and neighbors to catch a glimpse inside our homes. For the bathrooms, you need more privacy from window treatments than you need for your kitchen.
The five types of window coverings mentioned above offer different levels of privacy. When drawn, curtains, blinds, shutters, window film and privacy shades for windows can prevent people from looking through your bathroom window, giving you total privacy as you go about your business in the bathroom. These qualities make them some of the best bathroom window coverings you can buy.
How do you cover a window that is in a shower?
If you have a waterproof window in the shower, it's natural to want to cover it up to maximize privacy. Thankfully, there are various options that can allow you to cover up the window that's in your shower while still allowing light through. They include:
Window film
Available in different designs, patterns and opacity levels, window films are a great option that makes it impossible for anyone on the outside to have a clear view of what's inside. When applied correctly, window film is waterproof. Not only does it block light during the day, but it also blocks about 95 percent of the light during the night to give you a high level of privacy.
These bathroom window treatments not only offer privacy, but they also make it possible for a small amount of natural light to pass through when tilted down. Since the bathroom is a moisture-dense area, it's advisable to avoid wood shutters and go for vinyl or composite shutters instead.
Are vinyl blinds waterproof?
Aside from shutters, blinds are another ideal option for your bathroom and shower windows. Like shutters, blinds are available in different materials, including vinyl, PVC based faux wood, wood and metal. The reason why vinyl or faux wood blinds are an excellent option for wet areas is because they are waterproof.
Unlike wood blinds, vinyl blinds are moisture-resistant window coverings. As such, vinyl blinds are not susceptible to rotting, which is a problem that's common with window blinds made from wood in wet areas. Furthermore, vinyl is not susceptible to rusting, which is a common problem with blinds made from metal.
Get the ideal window coverings under one roof
Are you looking for high quality custom window coverings at the most competitive prices? Budget Blinds has you covered. We have a wide variety of window coverings for nearly any room you can think of. From the most ideal window treatments for humid areas to the most versatile window treatments, we have them all.
Contact us for a free consultation with our design experts.
