Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
bonnieann925

Window coverings if not necessary

bonnieann925
9 years ago

Lately as I look at real estate listings in our town I notice the lack of window coverings. Of course, there is a certain amount of staging that goes into selling a house: cleaning it out, less furniture, stripping it of personal items. That is understandable, however, if you don't need window coverings for privacy are you willing to go "nude"?

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/how-to-ditch-the-drapes-and-let-your-windows-shine-stsetivw-vs~33212129_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u821&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery3

Comments (15)

  • finallyhome
    9 years ago

    I don't have anything in my kitchen. I live in a zero lot line home and on one side is my neighbor's garage and on the back is a 10 foot fence. Nude is perfectly fine.

    In the bedroom I have the same view of the fence, however I do have "temporary" covers on them. There is a limit.

  • voila
    9 years ago

    Fabric on windows add more than privacy. With high ceilings, fabric dampens noise within your home, along with area rugs. Of course they also add color or pattern. After having "nude windows", it was surprising to see the finishing touch that drapes added, even though they were never closed. They may also be useful to keep in heat or block cold air, or to block bright sunlight that is blinding.

  • marcolo
    9 years ago

    The reason why so you see so many pictures of bare windows is the same reason you see super skinny jeans on people who are twenty pounds overweight. Fads blind people. What works for one is for other people the picture they won't be able to get rid of on Facebook in ten years. But they don't think, because all the other fish are swimming this way.

  • Olychick
    9 years ago

    I haven't had window coverings in my last two homes - total of 40 years...(except the master bath in my current home) and I LOVE it. I lived on 5 acres previously, no need for privacy, and my current home is on 1/2 acre, but it's wooded at the end of a dead end street. The master bedrooms in both have been upstairs, no one can see in. I also have outdoor lights shining into the garden downstairs, which keeps the windows from looking so much like black holes, as I have a view out of them at night.

    I feel completely claustrophobic in rooms with the windows covered.

  • arcy_gw
    9 years ago

    As stated window coverings have more purpose than privacy. I love the color and acoustics they add to a room. I do not necessarily go along with the "Oh the window casings are so lovely" crowd. I prefer a balance between unobstructed views and color and texture fabric on windows adds to a room.

  • funkycamper
    9 years ago

    I think it depends on the house and the location.

    In our last home, we had window coverings on all windows. People driving or walking by could easily see in at night. I would have felt like I was living in a fish bowl without window coverings.

    Our current home is on a private lot, with a tremendous view down the hill of the town and the bay beyond. Unless someone is prowling in my yard, nobody can see into our house. When we moved in there were very expensive drapes that we absolutely never closed. After about a year, I took them down and....wow, just WOW! We had several feet of window on each side that had been covered up. The expanse of windows is breathtaking and needs no decoration to look good.

    Deep eaves prevent too much direct sun from getting into the house except for in deep winter when the sun is low in the sky. And since I live in an area with grey, cloudy skies all winter, direct sun is not the norm. The few times we get clear and sunny skies in the winter, I totally enjoy it coming into my house.

    I don't have much outdoor lighting on, unless we're actually outside entertaining, but the town lights below keep us from having a total black hole look.

    I'm not window covering-less due to a fad but because it is the right thing to do in this particular house. Love not having any. Sure makes me hope I never have to move.

    Oh, bathrooms are glass block windows. Window coverings on bedrooms but I don't always remember to close them.

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    9 years ago

    I much prefer to go sans WT. One, i have nice windows and views. Two, why spend the money, which ,,, in the old days of rods, sheers, panels and valances, gets into thousands per window quickly. Three, I always liked the feeling of openness when you emptied out a room to move in or out or paint it or what not. I admit I often liked my rooms best that way. I may have felt differently if I had not lived in old homes with nice moldings, high ceilings etc.
    Four, this sparseness is pArt of the same spare RH aesthetic that is still in style.

    In addition to providing warmth , softness, and some sound deadening, they also protect things from fading. I've several things that have been ruined as a result of my eschewing WT. I do attribute that to them being inferior to begin with, but..,

    We have WT for privacy in our guest rm and first fl master suite, and for glare in the office.

    Decor wise, it's another way to bring in pattern of course, but with height. And it allows for some sleight of hand to create the appearance of symmetry, height, or simply mask things.

  • sas95
    9 years ago

    Most of our rooms do not have window treatments. We have plenty of privacy, and a significant roof overhang around the house so that sun isn't an issue except in one room. And in that room I spent a fortune on Hunter Douglas Silhouettes, only to have the cats tear them up.

  • suzieque
    9 years ago

    Although I don't think that every window has to have a covering, I think that the rooms in the link look stark and hard. I am one who adds window treatments for looks, not for privacy. Can't say that I'm good at it, but I like what I consider to be warm rather than cold (as is my interpretation of the rooms in the link).

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    9 years ago

    Perhaps it's because to stage a house, it's a lot cheaper to remove dated WTs than replace them. And RE agents are always saying the lighter, brighter the house is, the better it shows. In some model homes, they even take doors off of rooms to make them seem lighter and brighter and less crowded.

    Below is a link to an old thread on yes/no to WTs.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Going commando

  • marcolo
    9 years ago

    Virtually any thread on WT here, or any collection of bare-windowed rooms on Houzz, leaves the impression that everybody lives in the country where privacy is no concern. In reality, most people live in relatively densely populated areas, almost by definition. Having no window treatments would be for all practical purposes illegal in any neighborhood I've lived in.

    Mntnrdredux raises a good point with respect to sun damage. People see their belongings as disposable today, so if something fades or comes apart, it gets tossed. The naked window trend is on a crash course with the quartz countertop trend, since the resin in those countertops is very susceptible to UV damage. Are homeowners ready to toss their countertops, too?

  • annkh_nd
    9 years ago

    I've never had anything on my kitchen window, which faces NE, overlooking our back yard (and the park behind it).

    I also don't have anything on the upstairs bathroom window, also looking over the back yard.

    I've been without anything on my living room window for years, but contrary to what we tell our kids, DH and I don't run around the house naked when the kids aren't home. Our house is a split entry, so folks on the street can't really see in. And half the year there is a big apple between the LR window and the street. Our friends next door can see in - but they already know how we live.

    This fall I got roman shades for the LR, and I love them. So does my son, who sleeps in the LR on occasion, and appreciates the darkness.

  • lemonlime
    9 years ago

    Where we don't have a need for privacy or light control, our windows are bare to nearly bare. My main objection, with the bare large windows and patio/french doors are the black holes created at night. We prefer our nighttime lighting in the LR be kept to a soft cozy glow (aka dim) and I'm not sure it's enough to balance the large expanses that read black. However, for staging, that wouldn't really be an issue.

  • violetwest
    9 years ago

    Even if I didn't need blinds or drapes for privacy and climate control . . . I would, because blank, dark windows at night scare me.

  • bossyvossy
    9 years ago

    Nice coverings are pricey and being that I get tired of decor very fast, I'd b spending my retirement in new coverings every year or less, not going to happen. I'm fine w/o coverings . Also less to clean and coverings are great dust collectors though not as bad as carpeting. If privacy not an issue, vote no coverings. When buying a house , a TOP consideration would be privacy so coverings automatically become a non -issue.