The purpose of window treatments is many and varied, and quite predictable.

They provide privacy, allow light in, but also shut it out, and allow for the flexibility of changing levels of brightness during the day. They can be used to accentuate an opening, hide a strange location or layout, elongate a room to make it appear wider, and even make windows look taller and wider too.

Given there are so many reasons to have window treatments, you may find that one solution might not cover them all. In which case, you might need to consider layering two.

When layering your window treatments, consider leaving either a 200-250mm niche inset in your ceilings to conceal your tracks and brackets. Or conceal the workings and headers of your curtains or rollers behind a neat and (ideally) coordinated material pelmet or valance.

Let’s start with a familiar approach, a roller blind and a light filtering blind.

A roller blind will give your windows a close-to-light tight covering and a simple, minimalist look.

You can add colour and texture or find an option that is a close match to your wall covering or colours to allow them to blend seamlessly with the rest of the elements in your room.

A sheer blind, such as Carpet Court’s Downton Light Filter range, does all these things, but with the ability to also let some light through, providing daylight but also privacy. Pared together, they make for a simple and minimalistic combination.

Block-out blinds and sheer curtains are much the same, however the benefit of a sheer curtain comes from the softness and elegance it creates in a room. Rooms look taller when a curtain runs from floor to ceiling, and you can cover a whole wall for a softening effect without shutting out any light.

Veri Shades® can create a layered effect by being able to control variation of light, as well as some privacy. You also get the benefits of a sheer curtain, but with the added ability to move through the panels should they cover a doorway. They’re a win-win!

If you want the best of both worlds, you can have a layer of block-out roman and a layer of semi-translucent or sheer roman blinds. The benefit of roman blinds is the classic panel look, which would sit right at home in a Hamptons, country, or contemporary classic style property.

A neat trick “borrowed” from renowned designer, Thomas Hamel, was his use of a roman blind above a low window, with the panels mounted 500-800mm above the top edge of the window to elongate it and give the illusion it was higher than it was. The result – a brilliant effect that remains to this day a major benefit of roman blinds.

The low profile of roman shades does make it appropriate to sit behind a sheer blind, with the roman acting as a block-out. You could of course use a roman as the sheer and the drapery as a block-out, but the effect might not be quite as elegant.

Much like Veri Shades®, plantation shutters provide a lot of flexibility and are a great all-round option. Although, be aware that if you do place sheer curtains in front of plantation shutters, you want to be able to fully move the sheers out of the way of the opening radius of the plantation shutters.

Last, but not least, a classic sheer and block-out curtain combination. This layering option can be done with either the sheer in front, for softness, or the block-out in front, for a solid statement with the elegance of a sheer acting somewhat like a petticoat behind.

Either option is effective and will provide the light and privacy options you need. Though, the more contemporary approach - at least for now - is to have the sheer in the front, and the block-out behind. This will allow the sheer to create that breezy and light appearance in your room.