Consider how rooms relate when selecting window treatments

If less is more where window treatments are concerned in your home, your time has come. And if you have basic sewing skills -- or even none at all -- then this is your era, too.

Designer trends are paring down and lightening up, and that's good for many who would like to create simple, softly constructed treatments. Opulent treatments with swags, jabots and elegant tassels are giving way to simple Roman shades, scarves, vintage table linens and easy sheers in many homes.

Before you start, consider your needs for privacy and sun control. If your bedroom is on the front of a house that faces a busy street, your privacy needs are greater than for a breakfast room facing an enclosed garden on the north side.

Determine also how your rooms relate to each other in your home. For example, you might consider similar treatments in adjoining rooms with similar furniture styles and colors. Or you might choose to use the same fabric in adjoining rooms, but in different fabrications, such as Roman shades and simple drapery panels.

Simple sheers add style

Check your window styles, too. Many times the window shape itself should be highlighted, and the window treatment should be secondary. A round-top window, for example, might be a focal point of a home. For a bit of privacy, a simple sheer curtain on the lower half of the window works well and doesn't detract from the window's style.

Vintage linens -- table squares, dishcloths, dresser scarves -- often work wonders on windows. Create a rod pocket and hang the piece with a simple tension rod. There's no sewing and no tools involved.

For more formal settings, simple tiebacks can let in sun during the day and, with panels closed, provide privacy at night. For other situations, sheer panels allow light during the day, and standard blinds underneath guarantee privacy.

Versatile Roman shades work in most places. They offer a simple, fresh solution for letting the sun shine in. But when down, particularly if made of weighty lined fabric, they offer privacy, insulation and noise control. Plus, they work well in most rooms.

As a safety alert, particularly in nurseries or children's rooms, check that all cords and strings are out of a child's reach. Wrap cords around wall-mounted cleats, and pull the bed away from the window. Cut cord loops, and cover cut ends with end caps available at fabric stores.

Some treatments aren't for privacy, light control or insulation. They're just for a finishing touch. In a room with French doors that already have shutters or blinds on them, for example, poufed fabric panels make a color statement and nothing more. Simply pull panels through scarf rings mounted above the frame of the door. Crumpled tissue paper gives the desired fullness to the pouf.