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Tafadzwa Zimoyo Senior Home and Garden Writer
So the summer season is on, and so is the scorching heat.

Do you want to enjoy a cool atmosphere indoors or spend time outdoors in the sun?

If indoors is the choice, there are many things that you can do to stay as far away from the sun as possible.

The first item that you should target is the curtains, as this is one of the most effective décor elements that are capable of bringing a dramatic change in the ambience of a home.

Nisha Swami – home and decor writer and expert – said the colour tones for this season are warm, pastel and shade.

However, curtains are so much more than pieces of arbitrary material that keep the light out and give privacy at night.

Like all aspects of interior design, the curtains play their part in the overall aesthetics of a given room, and the underlying composition of your home in general.

Too often, a poor choice of curtain can make a huge difference to the ambiance and energy of your room.

Rather than safe players in the background, the right selection of curtains can enhance the décor of your bedroom, lounge or dining rooms, and fuse with other interior design elements to neatly complete the piece.

But wheredo you start?

Picking the right curtains can be an elusive, confusing task.

Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what will work with the rest of your interior elements. “Create a sheer romance in your home with curtains.

Often, curtains are underrepresented as they get a bad wrap, thought to be fairly one-dimensional, mechanical and necessary additions to a room,” said Rebecca Madi of Asbritle Curtain and Home decor.

Though Madi is based in United Kingdom, she says that she gets clients from all over the world. But there’s so much more to curtains than meets the eye.

Another curtain specialist Thomas Masiya of ‘Fluffy Headboards’ based in Harare, said that they don’t need to be heavy draped ‘light shielders’, or wielders of privacy alone.

“Of course, there’s nothing wrong with heavier drapes with interesting shapes, if a given room calls for it. Cushions speak to the lamp-shade and curtains, a sophisticated and intelligent design conversation between different, complementary interior elements.

“Remember you also need to have a traditional and tidy element in your home.

“Thus you should be more elegant as it refines your lounge-setting calls for its curtain work to follow suit,” he said.

The advantages of having good curtains at home are unlimited.

As mentioned before, you can still choose curtains that complement the interior design of your home as they could make your home seem like a much more beautiful place.

“Depending on the colour or type you choose, they can have an effect on your mood as well.

“For example, colourful curtains would make you feel more lively and happy where as dark coloured curtains could provide a more comfy ambience in your room.

“Not only can curtains add to the interiors, they can also provide you with security.

“If you have windows that allow outsiders to look in, you can install curtains as a method to gain more privacy.

“With the curtains down, any outsider would not be able to peep into your room,” highlighted C&C (Chandeliers and Curtain) company marketer Tatenda Shasha in Arundel.

Always remember when getting curtains, we should get those that would be of the right size to fit on the windows or we can get them custom made.

By getting custom made curtains, you also have more freedom of choosing the design, colour and size. Not to forget too that the curtains differ with environment.

You don’t need to have curtains from a hotel room being decorated in the dining and vice versa.

Make sure the curtains you put in your children’s bedroom also defines themselves and it is also good too sit down with them, talk it out and see the tone, attitude and character of your child.

Some of the famous curtain designs that are trending for children include cartoon characters and the trick is don’t match the wall.