All I want is a little clarity. I am the type of person who is annoyed by imprecise language, especially when it comes to my own industry. You see, it’s my job to write about shutters and shutters and the terms, window treatments and coverings are the butt of jokes all the time without regard to their real meaning.
I decided to do some research and come up with a definitive answer, which I would share with the public. I’m not hoping to create some kind of revolution, I just want to shed some light on a couple of rather nebulous words.
First, I went to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary and found nothing, no definition for any of the words. How is it possible? These are fairly common terms. This confuses me. I use an online tool at work that tells me how many times a day keywords are used by the Internet search audience. The word window treatments is used around 2,600 per day and the word window coverings is used around 625 per day. And yet these words are not clearly defined. I feel like a conspiracy, just kidding.
My next resource was Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia with descriptions and explanations written by everyday people. I found the following entries:
A window covering is a material used to cover a window to reduce sunlight, to provide additional waterproofing, or to ensure privacy. Window coverings are usually on the inside of the windows, but can be on the outside in some situations. Types of coverings include: curtains, curtains, blinds, including: venetian blinds, mini-blinds, window shutters, various types of boards, nailed or screwed to the window frame, which can be used as temporary window coverings.
In interior decoration, a window treatment can refer to any of the following items placed on or around a window: curtains or draperies, including sheers, blinds, including Venetian blinds, a valance, tiebacks used to hold drapes. It can also include treatments applied directly to the glass, including: frosted glass (via acid, etching, sandblasting, or plastic films or panels), distorted optics, such as rippled glass, stained glass panels, or ornaments.
It seems to me, based on these two entries, that there is little difference between their meanings. Both include blinds, shades, curtains, and Venetian blinds (an old term for what are now commonly known as mini blinds). Where they seem to diverge, at least according to these descriptions, is that window coverings include blinds (in this case, plantation shutters) and window treatments can include treatments for the glass itself.
They both have the basic meaning of something to decorate or cover a window for privacy and light control (room darkening) and to accent the decor of a room. So essentially what we have here is two poorly defined words that have virtually the same meaning. Therefore, I would like to make a personal decision on this subject and say that window treatments should be any treatment: curtains, shades, and blinds on the inside (inside) of a window, while window coverings should be any treatment: blinds, shutters, blinds and awnings to the outside of a window. That seems clearer to me. It doesn’t mean that everyone will suddenly jump on the bandwagon of my definition, but I’m hopeful.