Design & build: Curtains, blinds or a bit of both?

We chose to go with a double view set up for our roller blinds. An ivory coloured black-out blind like this will sit in front of a grey, sun screen blind at the rear. Photo / Ben Crawford

The Block NZ 2012 winner Ben Crawford and his fiancé Kylie are building their dream home. Share their proud moments and pitfalls here every week.

We have some seriously big windows in our house. Virtually all are floor-to-ceiling height, maximising our bush and stream views and inviting as much natural light into the rooms as possible.

But all that glass also creates a very transparent home. We're lucky our section is exceptionally private, but we still want to have the ability to cover our windows when we feel like it and pull the curtains on a wintry day or roll down the blinds at night.

I only started to think about our window coverings recently, whereas they have been high on Kylie's agenda for ages.

One reason is she's paranoid someone could be lurking in the bush, ready to pounce when she least expects it.

I don't share her concerns but I completely understand where Kylie is coming from, especially if she is at home alone at night.

Last weekend we were on Tawa Drive in Albany buying bathroom fittings and noticed a large Kresta store across the parking lot.

We popped in to check out its range and were blown away with the variety of options hanging from the showroom walls.

There were blinds, wooden shutters and curtains in every style and colour you could think of.

Maybe I should have listened to Kylie sooner. I quickly realised this was going to be a far more complex decision than I thought.

It wasn't long before the Kresta team came over to help us out and guide us through the myriad options.

Kathryn Sullivan introduced herself as the showroom manager, and then asked questions to get an understanding of our home.

We told her we'd been thinking of using curtains in our bedrooms and roller blinds in our living area. After looking at photos of the house, our flooring and paint colours, Kathryn took us around the showroom to show us her recommendations. First up, curtains.

We had come in hoping to find a linen-like fabric and, lo and behold, the first samples she showed us were exactly what we were looking for. A beautiful set of neutral fabrics with a subtly textured finish.

It was as if she had read our minds.

But there were still so many colours to choose from and details to decide on.

Kylie with some of Kresta's vast collection of curtain fabrics. We chose the linen-like Pegasus Cavalier fabric by James Dunlop (left). Photos / Ben Crawford

We faced a similar conundrum when we looked at the huge array of roller blinds.

Even after narrowing down colours and materials, we were still a tad overwhelmed and confused. Fortunately, Kathryn brought us back on track, helping us to refine our ideas down to a handful of preferred options.

The great thing about Kresta is all their products are custom-made to perfectly fit your home.

This gave us the opportunity to review our short-list of fabrics in the house a few days later when Kathryn came around to measure up our windows.

It was amazing how some of our in-store favourites looked completely different once in the house, making our decisions much easier.

For our curtains, we went with the linen-like fabric by James Dunlop called Pegasus Cavalier, in a light grey called cloud, with a separate sewn-in ivory black-out lining.

The Kresta showroom on Tawa Drive in Albany. Photo / Ben Crawford

Meanwhile, in our living pod we opted for motorised, double-view roller blinds. On the rear roll we chose a grey, semi-transparent sun screen and the front roll is an ivory black-out fabric.

The two independent layers give us more flexibility, providing filtered shade during the day and complete privacy at night.

With these big decisions made, it was on to the details, such as deciding on the
pleat headings for the curtains, how much pooling we wanted on the floor and how far from the windows we wanted them to hang when open.

Our house threw up plenty of curve balls along the way, with the floor-to-ceiling glass and deeply recessed windows.

However these challenges were easily accepted and solved by Kathryn and the Kresta team, which ultimately made for an enjoyable process.

Now, we're super excited about seeing our curtains and blinds in the house, which should be ready for Kresta's installation team to fit just before we move in - perfect timing to thwart the plans of any would-be lurkers out there.

• Find out more about Ben and Kylie's dream home at ourdreamhome.co.nz

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For more information on the Kiwibank First Home Buyer's Guide visit: kiwibank.co.nz and search for "first home".