5 Window Treatment Ideas To Improve Your Home
By Sarah Peters, Fri Dec 9th

Coming up with interesting window treatment ideas that bring outthe best in your windows as they bring in the sunshine, is achallenge to anyone with a yen to decorate. There are tons ofnon-traditional options and tips to make the most of what youhave, and give your windows that million dollar look on a mostlydiscount budget.

How about recycling old items? If you inherited lace tableclothsthat are no longer fresh and white, you can still get a lot ofmileage and an interesting antique window treatment, by using asewing machine to turn the tablecloths into window curtainpanels. You might even have some old lace curtains on hand, thatneed to be brightened, but the bleaches have failed you.

Accept their "age" and build on it, by staining them with teafor a totally antique look. Simply take a bucket and use halfhot water and half boiling water, to "steep" 30 black tea bags.When the water is dark, add your curtains and stir the mixture.Then let them sit for 30 hours, with the occasional stir to keepthe color evenly distributed. Remove the curtains, squeeze outthe liquid, and hang them to dry.

Window treatment ideas aren't always about curtains. The oncepopular wooden window blinds are making a comeback with peoplewho prefer the warm, natural tones of wood to go with a widevariety of décors. Antique folding window covers can be had fora song at garage and auction sales, then refinished, and if youare artistic at all, decorated with tole paintings.

Little touches can add a lot to plain curtains. If you have aset of long, lined and would like to liven them up, placesmall hooks or other mountings above where the rod is held, andtop your curtains with silk flower garlands, or just silkgreenery. There's no more fuss to cleaning these, than there isto washing a swag or valance. Just put a little soft dish soapin a tub of water, swish the silk

By: Andrew Wolf
How do you turn it off when you don't want light????

garland around, rinse and hangto dry.

Your window treatment ideas are limited only by yourimagination, and the time you have to spend decorating. Some ofthe most interesting and attractive looks are born from usingleftovers, cast-offs and your own ingenuity.

About the author:Sarah Peters works at home, and spends most of her free time onvarious home improvement tasks. Over a few years, she had allher house windows replaced. In this series of articles, sheshares her experience and advice.