How to Plan Window Treatments for New Build Homes

Quick Answer: Think about everything you need from a window treatment – including kerb appeal, versatility and energy efficiency. Then, find a style of dressing that works throughout your new build home – complimenting your furniture and design ideas.

We regularly talk to customers thinking about how to plan window treatments for new build homes. Often, after all the effort that’s gone into buying a home – it’s a factor that’s overlooked until the very last minute.

Table of contents

How vital are window treatments for new build homes?
Privacy
Energy efficiency
Kerb appeal
Should window treatments be the same throughout the house?
Interior design
Creating a mood board
Exploring colour palettes
Sustainability
Functionality
Waterproof
Window covering options
How to dress a window without curtains?
Blinds
Curtains
Shutters
How to choose the right window treatments for your new home
Mounting options
Thinking about specially shaped windows
What is your home’s overall theme?
Neutral doesn’t have to mean beige!
Will your new home come with blinds on the windows?
How to plan for window treatments during new construction
When’s the right time to order?
How do you cover windows in a new house?
Making sure your window treatments are installed correctly
Can your window dressings provider offer temporary blinds?
A quick word about security
Planning window treatments for new build homes

This is understandable; things like sofas and beds are usually the most exciting additions to your new place. However, window coverings are an essential part of the puzzle – so you’ll need to think about them shortly after getting your keys.

We have a very strict ‘no hard sell’ promise here at Shuttercraft – so if shutters aren’t going to In this guide, we’ll take a detailed look at every step of the process, including:

The different window treatment options available
How to make sure you have all the info you need ahead of time
Planning a window dressing that works with your interior design plans
Choosing window treatments that add security and kerb appeal

When you’re finished reading, you’ll be able to put together a quick window-covering action plan – and you definitely won’t have to worry about sticking bedsheets over the windows for your first night!

How vital are window treatments for new build homes?

In Short: Window dressings in a new build have lots of jobs to do – including safeguarding privacy, improving energy efficiency, boosting kerb appeal, controlling the light – and sometimes even being waterproof. Naturally, they also need to match your changing design needs.

Suppose you’ve explored exciting and stylish new build room designs on Instagram or Pinterest. In that case, you’ll probably understand that there are some stunning window coverings (often referred to as ‘window treatments’) out there.

The trouble is, the pictures you’re looking at only tell a tiny bit of the story.

Those sheer curtains look fantastic in that penthouse suite that’s 12 floors above any surrounding buildings – but they’re not going to be a practical choice if the house opposite overlooks your new build bedroom. 10 points for aesthetics – 0 points for practicality.

Looks are an important factor – but you’ll also want to think about privacy, energy bills, kerb appeal, design longevity and a handful of functionality factors.

There’s more than just good looks to consider when dressing new build home windows. This is when you begin to understand what an essential part of a house the right windows coverings will be.

“Form follows function—that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.”
Architect and designer – Frank Lloyd Wright

Sound like a lot to take on board? Don’t panic – we’ll walk you through each so you can think about how important these factors are to you.

1. Privacy

Although it’s often overlooked in favour of style, privacy tends to be the number one function of all window treatments, whether you’re considering curtains, roller blinds, window shutters, or any other covering.

Perhaps the first question to ask is how important privacy will be for any particular room in your new build property.

For bedrooms and bathrooms, complete privacy is a no-brainer – but it might be less of a concern for windows that aren’t overlooked.

2. Energy efficiency

It’s unlikely that you need reminding about the increases in energy prices that started impacting homes and businesses toward the end of summer 2022.

While most people feel primarily helpless in the face of such energy bill hikes, there are meaningful things that individual homes can do to reduce their energy consumption.

The UK Centre for Sustainable Energy (CES) suggests that homes lose 10-20% of the heat through windows and external doors.

Not all window treatments make an impressive impact on this – but shutters can reduce that heat loss by 58%, or 68%, when part of a shutter/blinds combination.

Energy efficiency is likely to be an increasingly pressing issue for most people moving forward, so it’s helpful to think about whether the window treatments you choose for your new build house will help with growing monthly payments.

3. Kerb appeal

It’s very easy to forget those window treatments will be seen from outside your house and in. Unless you throw a lot of dinner parties, most people are going only to see the outside.

This is why it’s essential to consider what will suit your new build windows perfectly, both outside and in.

Should window treatments be the same throughout the house?

Since they look virtually identical front and rear, shutters almost certainly win the kerb appeal contest – but it’s also worth considering symmetry.

It’s also worth thinking about colour and kerb appeal too. Do your window treatments match your new build home’s window frame colours? Again, not essential for everyone – but these seemingly small details can make your house stand out on the street.

4. Interior design

Now we’ve covered some of the essential practical factors. It’s time to let creativity run. Now we’ve covered some essential practical factors. It’s time to let creativity run free!

What do you see when you close your eyes and daydream about your ideal new build home?
How does the natural light fall over your carefully selected furniture?
What colour scheme did you have in mind?
How will the use of the room impact your design choices?

Perhaps obviously, these aren’t questions we can answer! However, our design team tackle these questions every day – so we’ve got some creativity-inspiring ideas that will hopefully help!

Creating a mood board

A mood board is a visual representation of your ideas. It might look like a collage, scribbles of text, or even some samples of objects and materials – that’s really up to you.

The idea with a mood board is to get all those new build design ideas out of your head and get a feel for how they work together.

If you’ve ever put curtain poles and curtains up only to find out they don’t work with your room, you’ll understand how important this is!

Remember, window treatments are an essential functional element of your room – so let both form and function guide your thinking.

You can use great apps and tools to create mood boards – including Pinterest, Canva, and GoMoodboard. Many people like to use a physical noticeboard – so do what feels right.

Exploring colour palettes

Colours are complex to get right – and finding the perfect tones in off-the-shelf window treatments can be very tricky.

This is why it’s good to think about a colour palette for your new build property before you do too much shopping.

Some of us can envisage colours and sense which tones work well with others. For others, this is harder to imagine – but there are plenty of tools that can help!

Websites and apps like colourmind.io and coolors.co let you start with a colour, an image, or even an on-screen look that you like. Then they suggest complementing or contrasting palettes.

Of course, you can also pick up paint tester pots for just a few pounds – ideal for adding to your mood board and palettes.

If you can’t find the exact window treatment colour you’re looking for, talk to shutter, blinds and curtains providers to see if they offer a custom colour service.

5. Sustainability

Window treatments vary in price hugely. You can pick up a pair of curtains and still have change from £20 – but it’s worth asking yourself if A; they’re the quality you want and B; if you’re likely to be replacing them again in the not-too-distant future.

Sustainability in interior design is coming into focus more and more – and, just like fast fashion, fast interiors come at a cost.

Some of that cost is environmental – but it also impacts your pocket.

Made-to-measure plantation or café style shutters are likely to last well over ten years when cared for correctly – whereas cheaper ‘throw away’ fast interiors options can start to look dated in less than 12 months.

Do what’s right for you and your new build – but spend some time thinking about where to splurge and where to save.

6. Functionality

An important question to ask yourself about new build window treatments is,
“What do I want these to do?”

There are plenty of questions to ponder that are unique to your home and lifestyle – and it’s essential to ensure you answer them all.

How much privacy do you want or need?
What impact do you want to have on the natural light?
Will this be a dual-use space?
Do you want to be able to easily open and close your windows?
Will children or pets come into contact with your window treatments?
Will these dull the light levels enough for sleep or a movie night?

Don’t forget to factor in ease of use, cleaning, and how the light will change throughout the year.

Your answers will steer you towards window dressings that will be a valuable addition to your home, life, and routines.

7. Waterproof

For a long time, window treatments just weren’t waterproof – but today, there is a selection of plantation shutters, Venetian blinds, and roller blinds that are either splash-proof or completely waterproof.

This opens up possibilities in new build kitchens, bathrooms, and other rooms that experience high humidity.

Moreover, colours and designs can often match other features in these rooms – from cupboard doors and room dividers to woodwork and fixture colours.

Window covering options

In Short: Curtains work well in traditional homes – whereas blinds and shutters tend to work better in slightly more modern, contemporary properties.

Look for an option that matches your practical requirements and can adapt to various room styles and window shapes throughout your new build home.

At this stage, you’ve hopefully got a good idea of the factors to consider when looking at window treatments for a new build home – but what about your actual options?

Here, we’ll take a more detailed look at blinds, curtains, and shutters – exploring the benefits each can bring to your space.

How to dress a window without curtains?

Although we’ll touch on curtains here, it’s worth understanding that they’re no longer an essential interior design item for a home.

For a long time, curtains were the accepted way to dress a window.

However, as more and more people have discovered the functionality and practicality of blinds and shutters, it’s become common to find UK homes with no curtains.

Shutters and blinds are the apparent curtain alternatives – but they’re not the only ones.

For instance, net panels (sometimes referred to as ‘voile’) offer a light, fresh and airy look for windows that aren’t overlooked. Some people even opt for a frosting treatment on specific windows, so no additional dressing is needed.

Now let’s take a look at the most popular window treatments!

Blinds

The term ‘blinds’ covers a vast range of products, including:

Roman blinds (also referred to as ‘pleated blinds’)
Venetian blinds
Roller blinds
Skylight blinds

One of the most significant benefits of new blinds is quite how many styles, materials, and design options are available.

They also tend to be reasonably easy to fit – although if you’re doing it yourself, ensure you’re extremely accurate with your measurements.

Most off-the-shelf blinds are designed to be cut to fit different window sizes too. You can choose between fitting the blind inside or outside the window recess.

Again, you should be very careful if you’re cutting blinds to fit – as even a few millimetres too much can leave you with obvious gaps at the sides.

Curtains

Curtains are the most traditional window treatment on this list.

You’ll often be able to find off-the-shelf options that will match your home’s style – but many people have custom curtains made to match perfectly.

As you can imagine, custom curtains are significantly more costly than curtains of standard materials and sizes.

Like blinds, curtains require hardware (either curtain poles or tracks) to be fitted, which means drilling into your new home’s walls.

However, this gives plenty of flexibility when it comes to fitting – allowing you to hang your curtains at your chosen height and width to match the decor in your space.

Curtains work well in homes with more traditional interior design styles – where shutters or blinds are often better suited to a more modern style.

curtains most traditional window treatment

Shutters

Shutters are generally considered the most versatile and practical type of window treatment.

A big part of that versatility comes from their timeless design.

The same style of shutters is likely to look just as at home in an 18th Century cottage as it would in a brand-new home on a new build development.

There are also numerous shutter styles to choose from, including:

Full-height shutters:
Large individual panels that cover the full height of a window section.
Tier-on-tier shutters:
Similar to full-height shutters but made up of independently-opening upper and lower sections.
Café style shutters:
Shutters that only cover the lower section of a window.
Solid shutters:
Shutters with no louvres that completely cover the window.
Bi-fold shutters:
Shutters that fold back to the sides of windows or doors with a ‘concertina effect’ of bi-fold doors.
Bypass shutters:
Shutters mounted on front and rear tracks, which overlap each other.

There’s also adaptability on the side of shutters. Where curtains or blinds might look awkward or impractical on specific windows and doors, shutters can almost always be created to work perfectly.

This makes them an excellent choice for French doors, bay windows, especially large windows, skylights, and special-shaped windows.

The best shutter companies will also offer an end-to-end service – from the measuring and design process to the fitting and aftersales support.

This generally makes shutters a slightly more costly option – but shutters tend to be considered an investment rather than a cost that can’t be recouped.

How to choose the right window treatments for your new home

So, which option will transform that new build into a beautiful home?

Our design team have created window coverings for thousands of new build properties – and these are the rules they suggest following:

Blinds work best when:

You have smaller windows.
You don’t want to eat into floor space.
You want an ultra-modern style.
You’re working with a tight budget.

Curtains are effective when:

You are dealing with large, flat windows.
You have large rooms with floor space to spare.
Your home has exceptionally tall windows.
You’re aiming for a traditional style.

Shutters are the best option when:

You have bay windows or more oversized flat windows.
You want the most control over light levels.
You have an interior design that includes a bold pattern or intense colours.
You may plan to change furniture styles in the future.
You want a window treatment style that works in many different rooms.
You may want to match the style to cupboard doors and room dividers.

Naturally, these are just ‘rules of thumb’ and might not match your tastes exactly – but they’re worth considering, especially those around window size, floor space, and design adaptability in the longer term.

Mounting options

It might sound like a boring part of the process, but it’s worth carefully thinking about how your window coverings will be mounted.

Often, this is something people decide based on the actual window aperture and frame.

Deep apertures that create an excellent size windowsill add to the room – so using an inside mount for shutters or blinds maintains this feature.

This doesn’t apply to curtains – which are permanently mounted outside the frame.

That said, mounting inside the frame will sometimes limit access to opening windows. Shutters will be mounted to open fully, avoiding this problem – but blinds can sometimes take up more space and create something of an obstacle.

You may also want to consider the kind of window frames inside your new build.

Some homes have basic plastic frames that don’t add much to the room – but if you’ve got something that’s a little more aesthetically pleasing, an inside mount will preserve this feature.

Thinking about specially shaped windows

To create interesting stand-out features in new builds, many developers add unconventional window shapes to their designs.

These could be as simple as round bathroom portals – but sometimes extend to more grand features.

Some examples include gable-end style windows that look out the gardens, triangular windows over patio doors, or ornate doorways that may include transom windows or windows on either side of an entranceway.

These are very tricky windows to get right with blinds and curtains.

In some instances, only shutters can operate adequately without obscuring the feature or committing to having it covered at all times.

Shutters mitigate these problems by fixing directly to the window’s frame and having all their moving parts contained in their frame.

As such, fully functioning louvres are no problem – even in a round or triangular window.

What is your home’s overall theme?

Although sometimes secondary to the decisions you’ll make about crucial pieces of furniture, choices about window coverings can make or break the look you’re aiming for throughout your home.

This is why it’s helpful to always work with your home’s overall theme in mind.

That theme could be a colour, feeling, picture, or even a home you’ve seen in a box set or film.

Before you place an order, ask yourself –
“Does this window dressing complement or contribute to the overall look?”

Unless the answer is a solid yes, keep looking. The option you’re looking at right now can always go on your mood board while you explore others.

Neutral doesn’t have to mean beige!

Some interior design ideas get watered-down the more and more they’re repeated.

Speak to someone about what they think ‘neutral’ means, and you’ll get many answers that involve the words ‘cream’, ‘beige’, or ‘light grey’.

You only have to glance at a big interior retailer’s website to understand that these window dressing colours sell well.

Don’t panic; if the idea of beige curtains throughout your living room, dining room, and bedrooms doesn’t work for you, there’s another approach.

Rather than thinking ‘neutral’, try to think ‘monochrome’.

Pick a colour from a piece of furniture, a picture, or even the woodwork in the room, and then consider what it would look like as a dressing for a window.

We offer a custom colour option alongside a range of over 50 paint and grain finishes on our shutters – and when people take advantage of this range, the results are nothing short of stunning.

Of course, this approach is perfectly possible with curtains and blinds, too – shutters offer a more integrated look that blends into the room even more effectively.

Will your new home come with blinds on the windows?

In Short: Buying a new build home involves a few unique practical considerations. It’s essential to think about security as soon as you move in.

What’s more, considering when you’ll have access to your home will help you plan to measure, order and fit your new window treatments.

After exploring many practical and design factors, you’ll hopefully have some questions to help you choose window treatments.

We can now focus a little more on what’s needed to get those window dressings into your new home!

How to plan for window treatments during new construction

One of the great things about buying a new build property is the communication you’ll be able to have with the developer.

Do you have access?

Perhaps obviously, the best way to envisage what your window dressings will look like is to stand in the room.

This is a more effective way than relying on still photos – although a walk-through video is a close second-best.

Of course, access doesn’t just mean being able to think about how your designs will translate into real life – it also means you can potentially let fitting teams in to get your window dressings up before your move-in date.

This will require a thumbs-up from the developer – but as long as the purchase is well underway, they’ll usually be happy to oblige.

When’s the right time to order?

If you’re trying to work out when to place an order, you should start by talking to the supplier (or suppliers) who are providing your window dressings.

By getting a ‘lead time’ (the time between ordering and delivery) directly from them, you’ll be able to work backwards and plan an order date.

Chances are, you’re not going to want to be moving boxes and beds into the house while shutters are being fitted in each room – so it’s a good idea to buy yourself a week or so between the fitting date and the moving-in date.

It’s always a good idea to ask your supplier to give you a realistic delivery time, too – not a best-case scenario.

At Shuttercraft, we always aim to give realistic timescales – this is infinitely better than letting customers down and leaving them with bare windows in a new home.

How do you cover windows in a new house?

While most shutter, blind, or curtain providers make sure your dressings are up in time, moving into a new build sometimes means that this isn’t possible.

So, what do you do if you’re faced with empty windows when you get your keys?

Some retailers offer temporary paper blinds that can be stuck to your window frame as a short-term measure.

They might not offer the level of light control, privacy, or style you want longer-term, but they’re a great option if you need some privacy for a few nights.

Making sure your window treatments are installed correctly

We’ve touched on this already – but it bears repeating. Your windows are a focal point in your home – so you should do everything you can to ensure your window dressing is fitted correctly.

The most beautiful Venetian blind, pair of curtains, or DIY shutters can make a room look tired and unloved if they’re not fit exactly as they should be.

Many window dressings don’t give you a second chance to get things right.

You almost certainly don’t want to be drilling into your walls – and one incorrect measurement will either mean wonky fittings or a hole to fill and paint.

This is why we include fitting with all the shutters we provide.

Not only do we guarantee that our expert fitting teams will get it right the first time, but we can also offer a comprehensive 10-year warranty on all of our products.

Can your window dressings provider offer temporary blinds?

At Shuttercraft, we’re keen to provide an outstanding service – even before your shutters arrive. As such, we can offer temporary blinds if your shutters aren’t ready and installed in time for your first night at your new house.

Some other blinds and shutter retailers offer a similar service – so if you’ve left it a little too close for comfort, it’s worth checking to see if they can help.

A quick word about security

Moving into a new house is an exciting time. While we don’t want to detract from this excitement – it’s essential that you think about security as a priority.

Between April 2021 and March 2022, there were 266,283 burglary offences recorded in England and Wales.

According to the Met Police, the people responsible for these crimes are often “opportunistic thieves”- taking advantage of unsecured doors, and windows spurred on by valuables they can see from outside the house.

Unfortunately, a new development represents a potentially easy target for thieves.

At first, just a few of the homes will be occupied – and it’s not uncommon for fences to be awaiting construction or hedges and trees to be too small to provide any privacy.

Even if thieves aren’t planning on breaking into occupied homes, they may explore construction sites for tools and building materials.

Anything of value that they might spot through a window will only spur them on. But it really doesn’t take much to deter these thieves – just smart thinking.
www.met.police.uk

It’s a good idea to start your smart thinking with access points – windows and doors. Locking these access points is essential, but since you may be coming and going frequently, it is also important to consider making sure nothing can be viewed through windows if you’re out of the house.

This should be priority number one in your new home. Especially if you’re going out to work soon after moving in.

Planning window treatments for new build homes

Hopefully, you now have a plan coming together. There are a lot of practical factors to think about – but try not to let this detract from the excitement of moving into a place!

This guide to window treatments for new build homes will give you plenty to think about – but when the practical aspects are covered, you’re free to start exploring Pinterest, putting that mood board together, and thinking about the perfect window dressing style for your fresh new home!