Where to start...

I got off the phone with a client about 2 hours ago and feel motivated to give the most needed of advice.  How do I start?!  Too many options can be just as bad as too few, so step one is to start by making things into a manageable size.

Let's talk about window treatments this time.

Step 1.  Are you looking for functional or decorative treatments?  What's the difference?  Functional treatments move, decorative ones do not.  This is not to say that a function treatment cannot be made pretty, no.  but if you are going to close your treatments, even just once time ever, they are going to have to be functional.

Step 2.  Are you looking for something Traditional or Contemporary?  Now a lot of people will say something in the middle.  For our purposes there is nothing in the middle.  Has the treatment or style you want been popular in the past?  If so it is traditional, if not it is contemporary.

Step 3.  Do you want something Formal or Informal?  Same issue?  There is no middle.  Things can be a little formal or slightly informal, but ultimately it needs to be one of the two. How about this...Would you prefer elegant or inviting?  Classy or comfortable?

Step 4.  Here is the biggie...What color(s) do you want?  Too much?  How about what colors don't you want?  Sometimes eliminating bad choices is just as helpful.

Step 5.  What kind of patterns do you like?  Just as above you can always choose which to eliminate.  Here's a list of the major categories:  Solid, Texture, Woven, Print.  Breaking them down a bit farther I would add: Stripe, Floral, Paisley, Geometric,  and Plaid.

Step 6.  Budget.  There are hundreds of thousands of options out there.  Even narrowing it down to only one selection from each of the above questions a good decorator should be able to show you a few dozen options.  That being said there are fabrics that cost $20/yd and there are fabrics that cost $2,000/yd (or meter).  Treatment styles can also range wildly in price.  Do yourself and your decorator a favor (especially if you are your decorator) set a budget.  It doesn't have to be a hard number, but looking at the best option in the range you want to be in is much better than falling in love with something unreasonable or always thinking..."Since price is no object, what else am I not seeing?"

Step 7.  Get some help.  Whether you are doing the work yourself or have a professional decorator/designer if you can tell someone you are looking for a "Functional Formal/Traditional Red and Gold Striped treatment in the ~$300/window range" you should be well on your way to a completed project within a short period of time.

If you have to rely on "I'll know it when I see it." I hope you aren't paying by the hour.