Curtains play such a crucial role in a home; they are essential for privacy and for blocking out light, but they also give us an opportunity to express our style and add character and texture to the space. If you’re in the process of giving your windows a makeover or you’re redecorating your home, keep on reading for my tips on how to pick the perfect fabric, colour and length for your curtains.
1. Pick a fabric that fits your space
Choosing the right fabric for your curtains is the first step of the process. When choosing, consider the durability, the care, the function that you want it to play in the room, and how much temperature regulation your room needs. Yes, curtains can even regulate the room temperature! And natural textiles are better at regulating temperature than curtains made with synthetic fibres.
If you’re going for more of a sheer look, voile, rayon, chiffon, and also light types of silk can be the way to go. Both silk and voile are delicate, so they require dry cleaning, but opting for something like rayon is more affordable and also less of a hassle. On the other hand, if you want more practical curtains that also give you more privacy, consider options like linen, cotton (which we used almost everywhere in our house) or wool (what we went for in our living room).
You could even do…corduroy curtains to add some texture and warmth. In our bathroom, I went for a mustard yellow cord by Rose Uniacke - I absolutely adore how elegant they look when rolled up.
2. Think vertically to give the illusion of height
If you want your curtains to add the illusion of height to the room, hang them well above the window - ideally up to the cornicing or just below the ceiling - rather than placing the rod just above the window panes. This elevates the eye and makes the entire space feel taller and more open.
For a more dramatic look, pick a heavy fabric and make it puddle gracefully on the floor, allowing for about 5-7 cm of extra fabric. That’s what we’ve done in our bedroom, where we used Penny Morrison's Vine Flower. If you’re going for a more sleek, modern look, measure the curtains so they align almost exactly with the window height. And if the curtains don’t hang well, or if they’re not pooling as you’d like, then consider sewing curtain weights into the hem.
3 . Blinds, Cafe curtains, Pooled curtains, Roman shades or window sill curtains?
It can be hard to choose which type of curtains is right for your space, so here are my tips: I love roman shades, especially for smaller spaces, like bathrooms, as they have a very clean and streamlined look that helps make the space feel lighter and larger. I prefer curtains for cosier spaces, like bedrooms and living rooms.
Roman shades don’t have to blend into the background, so don’t be afraid to add some ruffles! You can make them the sunniest part of the room. In Honor’s bedroom, I chose the sweetest mustard gingham fabric by Molly Mahon’s called ‘Seed’ and I love it.
In my dressing room, I combined some beautiful baroque-inspired Roman shades with cafe curtains, and I love it. The lovely blue fabric is Amapola Jal print in China Blue by Aleta Fabrics, and the cute cafe curtain is a linen muslin, which hangs perfectly on my Hunter & Hyland antiqued brass pole.
Curtains (pooled or window sill curtains) require more wall space, and add a touch of drama that I love in cosy but spacious rooms like living rooms and bedrooms. In our bedroom, we wanted to keep a lot of the aspects of our old master bedroom, but the windows in the old house were shorter, so our seamstress cleverly elongated them so that they would fit the bigger windows - you can’t even see the seam.
4. Patterns? Yes, please!
When it comes to decorating, I’m a maximalist - I love mixing colours, patterns and textures, and the same applies to curtains, of course. I love making them integral to the decor and going bold - even in tiny rooms with very little natural light, like our downstairs loo. Because all of our guests would see it, I wanted it to stand out, and on the little window there, we went for statement ruffled blinds, made with the beautiful Sybil Colefax & John Fowler's Seaweed fabric in Beige, that paired perfectly with the wallpaper.
In our guest bedroom, the mood we were going for was different. We wanted the space to feel calming, relaxing and chic for our guests - like a boutique hotel. So we painted the room in a beautiful and soft shade of dusky pink. Going neutral with the curtains was going to make the room feel quite plain, so, instead, we went for a vibrant fabric with a large green pattern (Osmunda Frond Ivy on Stone by Soane) that immediately added character and interest to the room.
Should you always pick patterns over neutrals, then? My tip is to go for neutral curtain colours if you want the room to remain the focal point, not the window or the outside view. Also, if there is a lot of light streaming in, colourful curtains can fade, whereas with neutrals, you won’t have to worry about fading.
And that’s what we’ve done in our living room, which features a large floor-to-ceiling window. I chose a warm, textured neutral fabric that adds to the cosy vibe of the room without grabbing all the attention.
5. Layer! Layer! Layer!
Layering your curtains is not just important to help you control the amount of sunlight in your room. It is also important for helping you achieve the volume and final look that you desire for your room.
So get on with layering different colour curtains, different patterns, different sheer. Just make sure they are well balanced together and they drape elegantly.
