Warm and Cozy Window Coverings for Winter

Today’s post is sponsored by IKEA. Thank you for supporting the occasional sponsored post that helps support this site and all of the gingham-ness you see here.

Keeping our home warm and cozy in the winter and cool in the summer – especially the living room where we spend lots of time – can be tricky with a 100-plus-year-old home. The windows let in cold air in the winter but replacing them is simply too great an expense. Plus, the windows look good on our old house. We wanted our home to be warm and cozy this winter and covering the windows was the sustainable solution.

We used window coverings and roller shades together as our one-two punch to keep the cold out. This summer, we’ll use these to keep the sun and heat out.

• Insulation :: Using both window coverings and shades together this winter has been like putting a big sweater on the windows. It provided insulation for the living room with lots of style. We’ve been able to keep the room warm and cozy with the heat staying inside our home rather than escaping out through the inefficient windows.
• Price point :: The price of the roller shades is very reasonable. While custom roller shades will set you back, these TUPPLAR shades have the look of custom but not the custom price point. They’re a good value for stock shades and you can easily customize them to fit your window size. The INGERT curtains we chose are made of a natural fabric – 80% cotton and 20% flax. These have the look of linen and the fabric is sustainably grown. The curtains can also be used on their own, without drawing the roller shades. We can have privacy without blocking out all the light.
• Energy saving :: Were you wondering how we could still see to read with all that room darkening and blocking out of light? Lamps – we chose RANARP – equipped with LED lights to the rescue! IKEA has made the commitment to only sell LED light bulbs and several of their lights have adjustable features. What I really like is that even though these light bulbs last for years, when they do reach the end of their lives, they can be returned and recycled at IKEA. Located near the customer service counter is a recycling station where you can drop off batteries and LED light bulbs. You know how I feel about stores taking responsibility for the products and packaging they sell. Supporting companies and organizations who make this a priority is important.

The products

• Roller shades :: The TUPPLAR shades are definitely room darkening and keep out every bit of light. (It’s too bad I didn’t have these when I had napping children!) They pull up and down easily and can be mounted in several ways, depending on your windows.
• Window coverings :: While these INGERT curtains come two panels to a package they also include an added bonus: tie backs. No need to add more hardware since the tie backs do the job. The curtains can be hemmed easily, too. I like the dramatic effect of the longer curtain but that works best in catalogs and showrooms. In our living room, those longer curtains were acting as dust-bunny collectors so they got a quick hem! If you don’t sew, there is iron on tape that can be used with an iron to make a no-sew hem.

Installation tips…

• The roller shades are best cut with a fabric rotary cutter. If you have one, use it! Placing the shade on the grid for cutting made quick work of cutting the entire shade. Also, because I used the grid, there was no need to mark the shade before cutting. If you don’t have one, ask friends and family who quilts. Quilters always have a rotary cutter and mat.
• If you have a power hack saw, use that for cutting the metal base of the shade. We do not have one but this would have made quicker work of shortening the metal tube. Be sure and wrap a protective piece of fabric or towel when cutting the tube so that you don’t accidentally cut the shade. While this didn’t happen to us, we came awfully close.
• Cover up previous holes with the window covering hardware. Our last curtain hardware left several holes that neither my husband or I wanted to patch, sand, and paint. After realizing the hardware comes with a cover, we installed and popped the cover on. Job done and no grumbling!

Keeping our home warm and cozy in the winter and cool in the summer without using additional resources is something we strive for. Using window coverings and roller shades together really provides a one-two punch for our older home. Achieving this goal with minimal cost and having it look good makes everyone very happy.

How do you keep your windows insulated? Blinds, curtains or shades?

Thank you to IKEA for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that help support Go Gingham.