Do I need to buy draperies?

[Dakota731]

We just had new real hardwood floors installed and my friend was telling me that I need blinds or drapes to protect my floor from the sun. We live in a private area, so I have no window coverings at all and I love the natural light. I hate to spend the money if I don't have to since I have a lot of windows, but I don't want to ruin the floors either. Someone else told me that the sun won't damage the floors, but just add character so now I don't know what to believe - help!

 

[Soulsearching]

We just had new real hardwood floors installed and my friend was telling me that I need blinds or drapes to protect my floor from the sun. We live in a private area, so I have no window coverings at all and I love the natural light. I hate to spend the money if I don't have to since I have a lot of windows, but I don't want to ruin the floors either. Someone else told me that the sun won't damage the floors, but just add character so now I don't know what to believe - help!

You may want to post your question on Houzz.com. There are contractors and designers who post on that site that may be able to help you with your question.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

We just had new real hardwood floors installed and my friend was telling me that I need blinds or drapes to protect my floor from the sun. We live in a private area, so I have no window coverings at all and I love the natural light. I hate to spend the money if I don't have to since I have a lot of windows, but I don't want to ruin the floors either. Someone else told me that the sun won't damage the floors, but just add character so now I don't know what to believe - help!

It depends on your definition of "damage". The sun will fade the stain on your floors where it hits. It won't happen right away, but it will cause those areas to fade. If it were me, I'd get either drapes or blinds, whichever you prefer, and keep them closed when there is direct light on the floor, otherwise, enjoy the natural light!

 

[bdcp]

The sun will fade them. Some of my floors have faded around area rugs and some haven't. The one room that gets the most sun and has the floor faded around the rug is my sun room and we have plantation shutters on the windows (except for the top section of fixed windows) but I don't close them as I like the light. We've been here 10 years and figure we'll have to have the floors either refinished or replaced in order to sell in about 8 years. I don't like heavy drapes so we'll just live with it. And we will have to refinish or replace to sell because our house is a large higher end home and buyers will expect it. So, it really depends on what you like and your future plans. But, it won't damage the floors.

 

[CarouselOfProgress4]

We just had hardwood floors laid last October. I asked the contractor the same question pertaining to sun damage. He said that potentially over several years there will be damage but by that time there will likely be other damage like scratches that need attention.

My opinion: You only live once and its just a floor. Yes you may have spent $xxxxx on your floor but just enjoy the space in which you live!

 

[Anastasia]

The sun will fade your hardwood floors in the places where it hits. If you don't want window treatments, I would recommend looking into window tinting.

 

[Dakota731]

We had our windows replaced a year ago and my neighbor said newer windows usually have UV protection from sun damage so I'm going to check that out.

 

[alymae1010]

We did window tinting, which is supposed to help with the fading issue.

 

[HM]

You could get some sheers instead of drapes. They let in light but protect more than a bare window. Just use them when the light is hitting at those windows and open them when it's at another angle to the house.

 

[msmama]

Like someone else said, I've lived in my house with hardwood floors for 6 years and there is so much other damage that I wouldn't even notice fading.

The floors are something I know I'd have to refinish in order to sell the house (nicks and scrapes from everyday life) so I wouldn't bother with curtains if you don't want them.

Also, I've never noticed a difference in the areas where sun hits (the front of the house gets full morning sun, the back gets full afternoon).

 

[kermit116]

The sun will fade the floors, as others have said, but it's really only an issue in my mind if you have lots of rugs on your hardwood floors. For example, a friend sold her house recently, and when she went to move out, the wood floor was darker underneath all of the places where she had area rugs, so there were basically large darker rectangles on the floors in each room that had large windows. I just bought a place with wood floors (which need refinishing anyway). It's obvious the previous owners had a small area rug in the sitting area right in front of the picture window, because there is a noticeable difference in color between most of the flooring and the square where the rug was located. It's not a huge issue, and refinishing the floors again should fix it, so if I was in your position I wouldn't worry about it unless you are planning to sell your house soon.