Hurray, we are hanging curtains! For everyone who was undergoing repairs yesterday, this phrase sounds like a victorious fireworks. It means that the torment is over: dirt, construction, searching for toilets, installing furniture, dialogues with the foreman and arguments about the choice of paint. The renovation is over, it's time for decoration.
*This article is sponsored by Cozyland, an exclusive distributor of Premier Prints, Inc. (USA) in Russia since 2020.
6 reasons to start decorating your home with curtains:
- “bare windows” – ugly
- need to hide from an inquisitive neighbor
- curtains are very beautiful and stylish
- nice job – picking up “rags for windows”
- textiles on windows dramatically change the interior
- this is the easiest way to update your interior without resorting to renovations
Cozyland curtains in Oksana Panteleeva’s project 2020.
Today in a new article on the website “On the Wave of Decor”:
- what is a classic curtain and why is it needed?
- what types of curtains are there
- curtains that slide to the side - a classic of the genre in the center of the article
- formula for the perfect curtain
- what length to buy a cornice so as not to make a mistake
- how much fabric you need to buy - your personal formula for success
- fabric with a pattern - pitfalls when choosing and purchasing
- how to save money on curtains
- tulle, curtain and curtain - choose the one you need
Types of curtains
Curtains in a modern interior can be of a wide variety of styles. According to the opening method, they are divided into two types:
- curtains move to the sides (classic opening)
- rise up (all types of Roman, roller, Austrian blinds)
Today I, together with Emma and her assistant Mr. Roulette, will talk about curtains that slide apart and hang on classic wall curtain rods. Statistics from professional experience show that we love classic curtains more than all others.
Color selection rules
Let's talk about which curtains are best to purchase for your home interior. Professionals do not recommend choosing trellises that will contrast with the basic color scheme. When choosing curtains, it is advisable to limit yourself to the color palette that is presented on the walls and ceiling covering. As for tulle and curtains, you can choose them in different tones.
If, according to the design project developed for a given room, the main emphasis is supposed to be on the window opening, it should have an impressive size. For such a situation, in addition to bright curtains, it is advisable to make a few more similar color “spots” in the room to “dilute” the windows. For example, you can use a color that matches the tones of the curtains to sew pillows for a sofa or a bedspread for a bed.
Fabric with a pattern - pitfalls when choosing and purchasing.
The task becomes more complicated if you choose fabric with a pattern.
Each drawing has its own report. A report is a repetition of a pattern on fabric vertically and horizontally.
To make the curtains look seamless and beautiful, you need to combine the pattern. This procedure requires buying more fabric so that the master can make the joining perfectly. For fabrics with a pattern, on average 2 or 3 reports are added to the total consumption, and for some prints this can be a whole meter.
Advice: check with the seller for the drawing report. Come to the fabric salon with all the window measurements so that the master can make a professional calculation: how much fabric to buy.
Window textile options
Curtains are fabrics made from veil and lace. Their main functional purpose is to decorate window openings. Such textiles were created in Europe quite a long time ago, but even today they have not lost their relevance and demand.
To fix the curtain on the cornice, tapes, decorative loops, eyelets, and magnets are used. Among the recent fashion trends, thread curtains are of interest. Such curtains are made up of many threads of the same tone or several colors. When using several different colors, the lighter one should be placed in the back, darker shades should be placed in front. When tying threads into bundles, you can change their color combination. Curtains are classic curtains that can protect a room from sunlight.
Formula for calculating fabric without a pattern for curtains using Emma's window as an example:
At the end of our conversation about dream curtains, I want to express one thought.
You don’t have to hang curtains, you can replace them with wooden blinds, or with a roller blackout mounted on the window frame. You can completely abandon any method of closing yourself off from the light. But always remember about the climate in which you live, about banal coziness and comfort.
And remember that if you refused to decorate the windows with curtains, then their design should be made perfect during the renovation. No chips, uneven corners, sloppy joints of wallpaper and paint. Pay special attention to window sills and slopes. And then everything in your house will be 5 plus, not for the picture, but for your cool life.
I thank decorator Lira Shamsutdinova for her help in preparing the material and the interesting conversation about curtains.
Lira Shamsutdinova. Member of the International Union of Designers. She teaches a course in interior decoration at the Moscow School of Design.
Window decoration options
Windows of a classic rectangular shape can be emphasized with the help of a cornice strip fixed horizontally. A curtain with an original lambrequin is hung on the cornice; you can also match it with tulle. For a dark room, it is better to limit yourself to using light transparent tulle to regulate the flow of natural light into the room.
Depending on the design style chosen for interior renovation, you can use laconic window systems from ultraviolet radiation. Minimalism and hi-tech allow the use of blinds on window openings. An interesting solution would be to place curtains on curtain rods of different levels. For example, you can use not one, but three horizontal slats for curtains. Install two above the window block, and fix one part of it in the center, but slightly lower.
Advantages of buying tulle
What is tulle? This is a transparent canvas that can have a single color or one or another pattern. The advantage of tulle is the low price of this product, however, with due professionalism, using several varieties of tulle, you can create a truly original “curtain” for a window. Or you can combine tulle with thicker curtains or curtains.
The main advantages of tulle are the lightness and airiness that they bring to the interior, so such products are ideal for small spaces, bringing “new breath” into them. Also, the advantages of tulle are aesthetics, the ability to create various design compositions (as mentioned above) and the ability to harmoniously combine such products in the interior of any style.
About curtains: features and advantages
In the design of textiles for decorating modern windows, it is extremely difficult to find specific features of a particular product. In particular, curtains are a collective image of window curtains made from materials of different colors and textures.
In turn, a curtain (see) is something between a thick curtain and light tulle. It consists of a single piece of fabric that beautifully drapes the window opening. Unlike curtains, which are sewn using dense materials, curtains are made from lightweight fabrics such as organza, tulle, veil, and mesh.
Very often, curtains are complemented by curtains - decorative products made of denser fabric, which are used when necessary to protect the room from sunlight or prying eyes, since the light fabric of curtains does not cope with this task very well.
The main advantage of using curtains in the interior is the ability to create competent designs and fill the room with comfort and coziness. All this is possible thanks to the variety of colors and textures of fabrics for sewing curtains.
One of the main advantages of such products is their practicality and durability. Therefore, it is important to choose models made of such material that would last a long time and would not deteriorate under the influence of ultraviolet rays.
Note that modern models of curtains can be equipped with an adjustment mechanism, making them easier to use and providing even greater comfort when adjusting the required light flux during the day.
Selection of cornices for curtains and curtains
Not every curtain rod is ideal for hanging the selected curtain model. There are many types of curtain rods on the market today and almost as many ways to hang curtains and drapes from them. Before choosing a specific type, you should pay attention to this, since otherwise, after a short period of time, the purchase may become completely unusable.
You also need to understand that some models of curtain rods have length restrictions. If you want curtains and curtains to run from wall to wall, you should pay attention to the location of the mounting brackets.
The completion of the cornice is also important. Decorative tips can usually be replaced with others. In this regard, it is worth looking through manufacturers’ catalogs, because fashion changes very often, and what was a trend last year can now be perceived by experts as a symbol of kitsch.
Embroidered, heavy and ornate curtains should be paired with a simple, minimalist curtain rod. This rule also applies vice versa. For a rich and very decorative cornice, it is recommended to use less decorative curtains.
Curtains and curtains - fashionable patterns and colors
Although not every type of curtains and curtains is suitable for your home, it is always worth keeping an eye on current trends and fashion trends. Traditional floor-length white curtains are a thing of the past. They have been replaced by airy, light-transmitting materials that are rarely long.
Fashionable curtains reach the level of the window sill or the height of ¾ of the window. In this case, the surface of the window sills is used as a place to create decorations from living plants or other decorative elements. Patterned materials are still in fashion. Moreover, plant motifs and geometric patterns, for example, squares, circles, stripes, also continue to be considered relevant.
The same rule about the length of curtains. Must be as long as the floor. Short curtains, for example reaching the window sill, can only be used if the wall under and next to the window is occupied by furniture.
The length of curtains should always correspond to the height at which they should hang. The permissible gap between the bottom of the curtain and the floor is 1-2 cm. In spacious rooms decorated in a classic style, curtains with the bottom edges on the floor also look great. Then their length should be approximately 20 cm greater than the height at which the cornice is installed.
You can learn more about choosing curtains from the video for this article.
How to choose curtains and drapes?
Often, when choosing among beautiful photos on the Internet or in a catalog of a curtain salon, a person who is little familiar with the art of window decoration gets confused about the basic concepts and cannot say with certainty what he needs - curtains, drapes? Or just curtains? For a professional, such confusion, of course, cannot exist. To make the process of selecting curtains simpler and more effective, we will explain how the concepts differ from each other.
Fabric and role of curtains
Before you start choosing fabric for curtains, you should first answer yourself the question: what role will they play? In the case when curtains need to isolate the house from the prying eyes of neighbors or excessive sunlight, light and transparent materials are not suitable; thick and dense fabrics must be used.
Another important point is the ability to open and close windows. This seems to be an obvious function, but some ready-made window decorations that delight with their appearance in the store lack it. And if curtains and curtains perform only decorative functions, then the choice will be almost unlimited. Why almost? Because there will still be a criterion for choosing the decor of curtains to match the interior style.
Window decorations and room volume
In general, the accepted principle and has been in force for many years is that heavy curtains should not be used in small spaces. If the room is small, then thick draperies or richly decorated curtains made of velvet, velor, etc. are not suitable for it.
As a rule, curtains in light colors are less overwhelming. Thus, if the room is not voluminous, and the use of rich thick curtains is mandatory, then care should be taken that the fabric has a bright, pastel shade. The room will also seem visually larger if curtains with an identical pattern to the wallpaper on the walls are used. But still, in small bedrooms or children's rooms it is better to use light and airy fabrics with a not too intense pattern. In this case, additionally installed roller blinds or blinds are used to cover the windows.
In spacious living rooms decorated in a classic or country style, window decorations of a heavier and more edgy nature look beautiful. It is in such interiors that intensive structures and materials are used.
