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You might think it is a little extravagant to change your window treatments in the summer, but if your living room or bedroom has very heavy drapes then it will spoil the whole feeling of the room when the weather gets warmer. If you are able to use a few items to switch the mood of your room, why not do so? And it can be as easy as rolling up a fluffy rug, swapping a mohair throw for a cotton one and changing velvet valances and curtains for light cotton.

As for summer window treatments, the best valance styles are simple scarf valances, which use a long length of very thin or sheer fabric looped over a drapery rod. This is as light as you can go with valances.

Much depends on the hardware that you already have at your windows, however, as it is not a quick change if you need to add new curtain and drapery rods with the change of the seasons. A light scarf type valance only works if you have a rod, rail or pole for your valance which is attractive enough to be on display. If you have a white plastic or metal rail or drapery rod, then you need another plan.

An alternative is to make or purchase light summer curtains and matching valances. As summer curtains don’t need lining you can get reasonable quality cotton curtains fairly cheaply. Choose a light color to reflect the season and if they are patterned a small flower sprig or pattern of green leaves on a white, cream or pale yellow background would work well depending on the color scheme in your room.

If budget is an issue, cheap plain cream curtains and valances made from calico will still be better than heavy velvet drapes in the summer. If even they are too much plain cream roller blinds with a decorative valance covering the existing rail will work well too.

Read more of Window Valances 101: Summer Valance Styles…

The fashion and interior design magazines will always tell you the latest colors for this and that. Brown is the new black. Ivory is the new white. Purple is the latest shade for walls. But when it comes to kitchen curtains you don’t have to listen to any of it. You don’t have to care what the best dressed kitchens are wearing. All that matters is what will go with your kitchen.

In fact, if you like, you can forget about theory altogether and just take yourself to the curtain department of a large store, the kind with rows and rows of curtain fabrics ready to be made up to your specifications. Just browse through the racks of fabrics and you will quickly see that there are some curtain fabrics which are plainly unsuitable for kitchen curtains (because they are too precious, too fancy, too formal or just plain not washable) as well as some where the colors will clash horribly with your kitchen.

Hopefully you will also find some curtains for your kitchen that you like and which you know will suit your room. These curtains will be in the right color spectrum (either warm or cool tones) to match your kitchen in general and they will have colors which tie in with your walls, units and/or accessories to give a coherent look to your decoration. For example, if your units are painted duck egg blue then look for a pattern which contains duck egg blue within it. If you have a beautiful mosaic wall tile in fall shades then look for those colors in your curtains.

If you are not sure what to choose ask for samples of a few fabrics that you think may be suitable and take them home so that you can consider them right in your kitchen. After a few days one is sure to strike you as the best option or pop into another store and browse a new set of fabrics!

Read more of The Latest Colors For Kitchen Curtains…