When creating a perfectly-styled home, a lot of home owners, and even home decorators, think of everything else such as wall color, furniture, accessories, upholstery, and more, but fail to put enough emphasis on curtains.
Yet curtains are quite important and can actually make or break the look of your home. Curtains are the most cost effective items in a room and by paying attention to them, you can end up with a fabulous looking room.
On the flip side, a wrong choice of curtains can make your room look dull and not well put together.
Below are a few tips that will help you when doing your curtain shopping:
Stick to the theme of the room when choosing curtains
If every room in your house has a specific theme, then you should choose curtains that go with each theme. Most home owners make the classic mistake of decorating every room with curtains that look the same.
While such a move will save costs, it will make your décor look monotonous. Not to mention, it will dull the real character and style of each room. Choose curtains based on theme and they will flow naturally with the style of the room.
Don’t be afraid to play with textures and patterns as long as you stick to the theme. For example, you can have neutral-colored curtains in a room with a neutral-color theme. All you need to do is vary patterns, shapes and texture.
Introduce color into your rooms
Your curtains don’t need to be the same color as your room. Especially if you have large windows, having curtains of the same color as the walls will create monotony.
Using a contrasting color for your curtains not only introduces an element of uniqueness and intrigue, but also turns your window area into a focal point. Eclectic and beach-style themes are especially good for experimenting with color contrast.
Choose curtains that give you a good view without compromising privacy
Besides just beauty, curtains have an even more important function of giving you privacy. But having privacy doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to compromise on the views in your surroundings.
Sheer curtains will allow light in, but they will not give you privacy. Curtains made of thick fabric and have a solid weave are good for privacy. Combine these two types of curtains and you can enjoy your views when you need to, and black out your windows when you want some privacy.
Curtains should keep a room fresh in hot weather and insulate in cold weather
The wrong choice of curtains can make your home uncomfortable as the seasons change. For added warmth in the winter, choose curtains that are made of thermal material. You can also go for curtains made out of thick material if your home is well lit and uncluttered.
In the summer, choose draperies that are made of light material as they will flow freely in the wind to let in the cold breeze from outside.
The right curtain choice for every season will also help to control your heating and air conditioning costs.
Introduce patterns and texture
If the décor in your room lacks interesting patterns and texture, curtains can be a great way to introduce these missing qualities. If your bedroom is too masculine for instance, silky curtains will bring in some femininity. As well, geometric patterns on a curtain can add some sort of order to a room that doesn’t have angular walls, while irregular patterns can soften the angles of a room.
How do you want your curtains to hang?
You display the beauty of your curtains and of your room based on how your curtains hang. Putting some thought into the right length, width and the accessories for holding back the curtains will determine the ambiance your hanging curtains will create.
Before making your choice, try out different materials to see how they flow and look when hanging, consider the accessories that you’d like to use with them with and assess the ambiance they create.
