Low-Maintenance Window Treatment

Woodsy Decor

• Forge a window treatment from natural components that bring a piece of the great outdoors inside. Hang a single birch tree branch over your window or use several branches, cutting them the same width as the top of your window. Tie the branches together with twine or grapevine. The branches can serve as a window treatment on their own, or you can drape several yards of burlap over them so it hangs to the floor on both sides of your window. The mix of textiles adds warmth to any room.

Plastic Foam Treatment

• Purchase a rectangular piece of plastic foam to create an attractive window topper. Cut the plastic foam the same width as your window and 15 to 18 inches high. Cover the plastic foam in a variety of materials, which can change with the seasons. Use festive wrapping paper during the winter holidays or chevron-pattern fabric for the ultimate chic appeal year-round. Achieve a similar look with a piece of plywood to showcase your photos. Display them using decoupage techniques optimal for protecting your pictures in an easy-to-maintain display that requires only occasional dusting.

Heavy Metal

• Collect soda top tabs for a project that shows off your edgier side. Link the tabs by tying them together with clear fishing line, knotted around the opening in each tab and threaded through each consecutive tab. Use enough to cover the entire width or length of your window. Hang them close together to block light, or allow gaps between them if strictly decorative. Spray paint the soda tabs before hanging them to add a colorful focal point to your room.

English Garden

• Give your room a touch of romance with a window treatment reminiscent of an English garden. Porch lattice gains new life as a window topper, or you may opt to use a larger portion of lattice that covers your entire window casing, which filters light into your room in small diamond patterns. While most lattice is sold in natural wood colors or in white, consider painting it to match the decor in your room. Adorn it with silk flowers. String a strand of white lights through the openings of the lattice, adding a soft romantic glow in the evenings.

Fashionable Plates

• Alternate antique plates with newer ones over and around your window for an eye-popping look that works especially well in dining rooms. This conversation piece is achieved by hanging the plates on the wall with inexpensive plate hangers. Layer the look using two-inch-thick lumber scraps, no more than three inches wide, screwed into the wall above and below the first layer of plates. Hang your plate hangers on nails driven into the blocks to complete your whimsical window treatment.