WINDOW IDEAS

Six clever and stylish ideas for making the most of your windows

Extend/enlarge with a painted border

Pick out a matching shade from a slatted blind or roller blind, and paint a thick border of colour around the window frame. This will make your window look larger and create a great design feature. Give it a twist Go for a border in a contrasting colour to accentuate your window style and treatment.

Build a window seat in a bay

Make the most of often wasted space in a bay with a built-to-fit seat. Add built-in drawers for practical storage of all kinds of paraphernalia, too. Give it a twist Paint the window frame and seat the same colour, tying it in with a colour in the upholstery fabric for a show-stopping look.

Apply patterned window film

Self-adhesive film is easy to use and adds interest to a room, it also gives control over how much sunlight you let in, without having to shut away the outside completely.

Give it a twist Be brave and go all out with a brightly coloured decorative glass effect, or try a fun slogan.

Paint the frame black

Make the view really pop by painting just the frame of the window jet black. The black frame draws your eye to the scene outside and adds a modern twist to a neutral room. Give it a twist Don’t stop at the inner frame, think about painting the architrave around the window too, for some serious drama.

Add open shelving

Frame your window with wall-towall open shelves, placing them from the edge of frame right up to the adjacent wall and even over the top of the window frame. Give it a twist Box out an area of shelving so that the window is recessed into the build to create a more modern look.

Hang rails for decorative storage

Make use of the space over your windows and attach rails to the wall on each side – perfect for hanging pretty plant pots to grow herbs in. Give it a twist We spray-painted the rails to match the wall colour, but you could try chrome or black rails for a more industrial look.

Hazy Day & Cloud wooden blind from £107.48 for 120x 120cm, Blinds2go Pick a colour from your bed linen to paint a band of colour two-thirds of the way up the wall

Use the angled end section as a built-in side table Window seat upholstered in Nina Marika Fern Leaf Green Velvet, £89m, Woodchip and Magnolia. Tokki coffee table, £595, Habitat. Isola armchair, £2,599, Heal’s. Ellie bamboo pendant, £110, Design Vintage. Adaliz rug, £475, Graham and Green. Cushion with tassels, £49.99; cushion cover (on armchair), £11.99, both Zara Home. Ruched cushion in Camel, £55, Rockett St George

Use the made-tomeasure service that many companies offer to achieve the perfect fit for your film Asanoha Japanese Patterned Window Film from £15.63, Purlfrost. Sofa, Sofa.com. Civic floor lamp, £46, Iconic. Fat Fat table, £420, B&B Italia

Battersea easy fit pendant shade, £100; Farrah woven chair, £270; Mayfield stool, £180, all Garden Trading Company. Linen sofa, from £3,150, Design Vintage Plastic frames can just as easily be painted as wooden ones, just choose the correct finish

All accessories from a range at Pale & Interesting Paint walls and shelves the same colour as the china for a calm feel

Walls painted in Plasterboard, £29.99 for 2.5ltr, Ideal Home Emotions of Colour collection, Albany. Acornfort 120cm rails, £20.99 each, Amazon, painted in Plasterboard. Market basket, £35, Labour & Wait. Faux garden shrub branch, £12, Oka. Halden two-door Ash sideboard, £240, Habitat. Bumble smoked oak stool, £360 for two, Loaf Use S hooks to display an array of hanging plants and storage baskets at different heights