Best dressed windows: Trends and tips

Certain of curtains

You can alter the feel of a room just by changing your window dressings, says Prima homes expert Suzanne Wilkinson. Click through our gallery to discover how...

Summer style: Leaf designs and flowers are everywhere this season and you can get lightweight curtains very cheaply. Pick out a colour or detail on the curtains and use it for accessories to bring the look together.

Castagna curtains, £30 per m, Harlequin

Ready to hang

At £8.99 for a pair of floor-length curtains, Ikea\'s Hedda Blad white and black curtain must be the bargain of the summer. Argos\' pair of Becket stripe curtains cost from £15.69 and feature an eyelet top.

Jorun Lov long curtains, £44, Ikea

Pole position

If you\'ve treated yourself to some new curtains, why not re-dress your window frame with a stylish new decorative curtain rod and finials. Choose from brushed satin, burnished brass or black. Also try tiebacks and holdbacks, which have become a feature in their own right. Both will look fabulous with this season\'s floral fabrics and wallpapers.

Cream distressed curtain poles, £70; pencil pleat curtains in Nadia Cranberry, £35 per m, all Laura Ashley

Beauty of blinds

Blinds are more versatile and offer better value than curtains, as you need less fabric. They\'re also a better choice in period homes because they don\'t hide the surrounding architraves. Roman blinds are particularly useful and give the decorative look of a curtain.

Pampas Tropical fabric Roman blind, from £97 (made to measure), Apollo Blinds

Pretty as a picture

Voiles add colour and texture to a room while softening the light coming into a room. Use as a feature over a small window with tie backs, where curtains would be too heavy. If you have white frames, white voile is best, but cream looks good with dark wood windows.

Light control

An alternative to voile panels is Swish Sheer Elegance, a ready-made sheer roller blind, which filters light through alternating opaque and transparent bands. Priced from £50, simply re-position the opaque bands for privacy at night. It can be trimmed to fit, saving on made-to-measure costs. Also check out Sunway\'s Multishade - a sliding fabric system, priced from £60 for a made-to-measure blind.

Money-saving shutters

Get the look of shutters at a fraction of the price with wooden Venetian blinds. On a bay window shutters would cost around £1700 with Hilary\'s Real Shutter option, whereas it would only be £450 for Venetians. B&Q has teamed up with The California Company to offer an online wooden shutters service at www.diy.com/shutters

Alaskan White shutters with tan tape, from £70, Hillarys

Blind advice

Don\'t cover windows above radiators with heavy curtains, as it stops heat from circulating. Opt for Roman blinds - they fit snugly into the window and look luxurious.

Where you use a windowsill, choose roller blinds.

For maximum light control go for Venetian blinds

If you have wide windows use two or three blinds. It\'s easier to control light this way as you can alter the height of each blind individually.

If you\'re overlooked try Eclectics\' 50:50 roller blind which has an opaque cotton bottom panel for privacy, and a translucent mesh top panel; available from John Lewis.

Sparkle Black Roman blind, from £64, Hillarys

Steamy windows

Aluwood Venetian blinds combine the practicality of aluminium blinds with the graining of wood. They\'re a perfect solution for kitchens and bathrooms. Alternatively, consider a moisture-resistant fabric such as Lunar roller blind from Novatec (from £62). It has a special anti-fungal coating, so it can be wiped clean.

Mahogany aluwood Venetian blinds, from £69, Hillarys