Choosing Window Treatments

February 10, 2026

We offer a full lineup of custom window treatments to suit your needs and tastes.  If you are not sure of what type of window treatments to choose, we can help!  Here are some simple guidelines that may drive your choice:


Light requirements:  Do you have strong sunlight coming in through your living room window in the morning?  Or strong sun in a west facing window in the afternoon?  You may want to find something that filters the light but still allows you to get some light.  There are many window treatments that can filter sunlight in various degrees, such as roller shades that have fabric choices with different opacity levels – so you can filter just a bit of the light, most of the light, or something in between. 


Of course you have to consider how it will look in your room as well.  Roller shades have a more contemporary look, but can also fit into a more traditional setting by adding a top treatment  such as a cornice or valance that will soften the look.  It is popular to hang “Stationary Panels” – drapes or curtains that do not move, but are simply there to soften the look of the window and add a creative touch to the room that enhances your furnishings.    At Slipcover Plus Upholstery & Window Treatments we can coordinate the colors and fabrics in your room for a unique look that is in line with your taste and budget!


Another great choice for controlling strong light is honeycomb shades.  Honeycomb shades look at home in traditional, transitional and contemporary settings and have the added bonus of adding energy efficiency to your room.  If you get strong sunlight coming in through the bottom of your windows, honeycomb shades are available with a top down/bottom up feature that allows you to lower that shades from the top as well as raise them from the bottom.  This also works if you live on a street that gets a lot of traffic.  You can lower the top to let light in and the bottom portion can provide privacy.    Honeycombs also look great with stationary panels, and are available in many different opacities.


Another means of controlling light and/or privacy is with drapery or sheers.  Custom drapery is usually made to be 2.5X full, which means if you have a window that if you are covering an area 30” wide the drapery panel will be made to 75” wide so it will have a nice soft drape that looks full and lush.  Sheers, on the other hand, are usually made to 3 x full when ordering custom made. The 3x full sheers (90” covering a 30” space) will allow you to see silhouettes or partial shapes (depending on the sheerness of the fabric) but because of the folds it will still afford some privacy.  It is popular to add drapery in front of the sheers, either as stationary panels that just hang at each side, or full drapes that can add complete privacy as needed.  Stationary panels can be hung on decorative rods with finials at the end, or on inconspicuous rods that blend into the background.  Stationary panel drapes can also be hung on a rod that is hidden behind each panel and is not seen. 


The choice of fabrics is very important when choosing window treatments.  When you come to us for window treatments, we are knowledgeable on the different types of fabrics and know what would work well for you.  We are happy to help you make wise design choices based on how you live, what your decorating style is, and what your needs for light and privacy are.  We can not only find you the right window treatments and upholstery choices, but we can work within your budget and provide you with financing if desired. We have thousands of fabric choices – some of them at significantly lower prices because we are able to buy mill direct on many fabrics.


If you like a contemporary look, we have drapery styles that will complement your contemporary look.  Ripplefold is a style that has even curves of fabric that look like waves.  It hangs on a specific rod style that keeps the folds even and moves them effortlessly.  Ripplefold can be made out of a variety of drapery fabric types, and can be lined with either light filtering or blackout lining.


Another style that is popular in contemporary settings is a Top Pleat that is pinched at the very top for a very clean lined look.  This style pairs especially well with inside mounted roller shades or flat roman shades. 


We make custom roman shades that can be made flat, semi-flat (with horizontal seams so they fold neatly when pulled up), or hobbled.  We have hundreds of custom fabrics that work well with roman shades, and you can get them lined with light filtering or blackout lining.  Roman shades can be cordless (in most instances), or it can operate by a continuous cord or be motorized with a remote control.  We also have remote control/motorized options for drapery and roller shades.


One area that many people have difficulty with is choosing the right drapery rod.    Here are a few tips to keep in mind when choosing a rod:

Materials that are popular in drapery rods have different strengths and different appearances.  Steel, Brass or Iron rods will usually hold more weight than aluminum.  Some companies carry aluminum rods because they are economical, but they frequently don’t have the strength to hold up heavy drapery, particularly if it a lengthy span or has an adjustable width where 2 rods come together.  Some aluminum rods are very beautiful, but they must have enough support brackets to make sure they do no buckle under the weight of heavy drapes.  If you choose steel drapery rods, they are usually more expensive but they are available in a wide variety of different metal colors (for both pinch pleated and ripplefold drapes) and are usually sturdy enough to handle heavy drapes.  Iron drapery rods are also sturdy, but have more of a rustic look. They are sometimes less expensive than steel.



Finials – the end decoration on your drapery rods are something to consider as well.  Finials can be large or small, clean lined or ornate, or eliminated entirely with the use of end caps or French Returns.  French Returns will make each side of the drapery rod curve around and meet up with the wall so the drapes literally curve around back to the wall, getting rid of light gaps.  You can get French Return options on plain 1 to 2” rods or they are available with some round-faced traverse rods as well.  Traverse rods have carriers in the back that enable drapes to attach with the use of drapery pins.  Some traverse rods can be motorized, or you can opt for continuous cord operation or wand closure.  If you prefer the look of rings, you can get a round rod with rings and operate them with a wand that can be hidden behind the drapes (or be visible in the front). Wands can be made to match the color of the rod, or they can be clear plexiglass.


We also sell ceiling mounted rods that can come in white, bronze, stainless, or black finishes.  They have a slim profile and are less visible for a clean lined look. They are available as a regular traverse rod (for pinch pleated drapery) or as a Ripplefold rod.

 

We really go a long way toward giving your home a coordinated look that is beautiful, functional, and performs the way you want it to. We can coordinate window treatments with your newly upholstered furniture or slipcovers, and we can also refinish your wood furniture in tones that blend well with their surroundings.  Refinishing your wood furniture can give it a whole new look and cover any blemishes it may have. 


If you have many projects you’d like to get done for your home or office but you don’t want to be without your furniture for a long time, we can do it one stage at a time.  We are here to accomplish the look you want with the functionality you are looking for.  We have you covered!

Custom Drapery vs. Ready-Made

January 27, 2026
When you choose custom drapery through Slipcover Plus Upholstery and Window Treatments, you can be sure to have options and considerations that would never be available with ready-made drapery. Having a professional that is highly experienced measure and install your draperies will make a big difference in the way they look. Our professional installer will “dress” and steam your draperies to make sure they look just right, and they will take accurate measurements that will ensure they start where you want them to start and end where you want them to end. They can also address “returns”. Returns are the part of the drapery at either end that returns back to the wall so if you are looking from a side view you do not see the backside of the drapery. It gives it a finished look, and returns are not available in ready-made drapery. The returns we provide are custom sized to be the exact right distance from the front of the drape to the wall behind it. Custom drapery is also available with an overlap in the middle (in draperies that are a “split draw” which means 2 panels that come together to meet in the middle). Instead of having the 2 drapery sides just butt into each other, we can provide an overlap so one side slightly overlaps the other to get rid of light holes between the 2 drapery sides when they are pulled closed. Having a professional provide your draperies also means that if you want tie backs, you can get them in the right position and placement so they do not look haphazard or sloppy. With custom draperies, you can also get a layered look, with draperies in the front with a split draw and sheers or shades in the back for when you want more light coming in. You can achieve a custom look that suits the way you want to live in that room. You can get lined draperies with returns in the front, with sheers in the back that let more light in. This way you can open the drapes and have the sheers behind them which can offer a bit of privacy while screening the harsh sun. Ready-made drapery is convenient, but it limits the options you can have in terms of style, fabric and fullness. Ready-made drapery is usually made less “full” than custom, and it is easy to see that when you look at them hanging on a window compared to the same style in a custom-made variety. The ready-made will look thinner and inconsistent. One of the things that makes custom drapery stand out is consistent and even draping. Draping that looks even across the window has a more soothing look that naturally looks good when you glance at it. Ready-made drapes often look fuller in some places than they are in others. You also don’t see them very often in styles that are popular, you see then in styles that are easy to hang on a regular curtain rod such as grommet panels and back tab drapery – both of which have a tendency to be more full in the middle and more sparse on the ends. Another factor to consider is that sometimes when a house “settles” the floors are uneven in spots. Ready made drapes are consistently the same length, and if your floor isn’t evenly flat it may look as though the drapery is too short in spots. When you have uneven floors, a professional installer can measure in a way that will account for uneven floors. Hanging ready-made drapes on uneven floors will look like the drapery is uneven. With Custom Drapery through Slipcover Plus Upholstery & Window Treatments, you will have an endless choice of fabrics. You can choose the color, style, texture and print of the fabric, and get a fabric that cleans up the way you would want it to. You can choose fabrics with different thicknesses and durability, and decide on the type of lining that works best for you. Light filtering lining will provide screening of strong light, while allowing some light to get through so the room is not dark. You can also get room darkening lining that will basically not let any light through. Room darkening lining is good for bedrooms if people prefer to sleep without the light coming in to wake them up. Custom drapes can be made with an array of linings, usually in a white or off white, that performs well, keeps the fabric from fading, and helps to create a smooth texture that drapes well. Most ready-made draperies have a very limited selection of lining, and if you want a blackout lining it is common for it to be a very dark color that feels rubbery and doesn’t look good from the street when you are looking at the window from outside. It always looks better to have a consistent look from the outside – preferably in a light color. One of the joys of custom drapery is the huge plethora of styles – ranging from very contemporary (such as ripplefold – which has evenly spaced curves across the front and hangs on a rod designed to keep the spacing even) or French Pleats (which have a two finger pleat with a very simple and tidy look – and goes great with both contemporary and traditional styles). There are styles for every type of décor – and it is difficult to buy those off the rack. One of the most important things to do if you want your drapery to look good and function well is to get the right type of rod. Drapery rods and curtain rods are not all the same. The rods you get at the department store usually do not have the weight capacity to hold heavier drapes, and if you get an adjustable rod it sometimes bends in the area where the two sides come together if you are close to the end of the size limit. There is also commonly a difference in the circumference of the rod from one side to the other in adjustable rods. Custom drapery rods are available in a wide array of finishes with many choices of operation. You can get wand closure, continuous cord closure, or motorization with a remote control. Motorized drapery can be battery operated with a remote control or hardwired. It is also possible to control them with your mobile phone. One of the nicest choices when you get custom drapery rods through Slipcover Plus Upholstery & Window Treatments is the huge selection of finials that go at the end of your drapery rod. If you want a dramatic look, we have plenty of options that stand out and look strikingly good! You can also opt for something cleaner lined and contemporary, letting the drapes be the star of the show! French return rods are very popular. It gives a clean lined look where the rod curves back toward the wall at each end – without any finials. We can offer you a French Return Rod with rings and wand closure or we can make them as traverse rods with either a split draw (opening in the middle) or a one way draw. We also have ceiling mounted rods that blend in and offer a long line for your draperies that makes the ceiling look taller. Looking for a top treatment for your draperies? We have that covered as well! We offer a huge choice of custom cornices and valances from very contemporary to very traditional and everything in-between! When we come to your home for a consultation, we can help you layer your window treatments in ways that make sense and look great without being overdone. We can help you integrate window treatment styles and fabrics with the existing décor in your room in a way that feels pleasing to your heart and your eyes!