Living Room Curtain Ideas & Tips: From Modern to Traditional

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Decorating a living room is both exciting and nerve-racking because it has to be sophisticated enough to host guests on weekends and comfortable enough to chill out at the end of a weekday. 

As a vignette that previews the aesthetic of your home, the living room must have a bit of je ne sais quoi, and window treatments are an important part of that process. So, if you’re looking for the best curtains for your living room, we assure you that at Spiffy Spools, you may consider the job done. 

Design Tips for Curtains for Living Room

Whether you’re decorating a formal living room that hosts the family’s annual Christmas party or a casual lounge where you watch your favorite movies with your friends, curtains have a big role to play in airing the mood since they occupy substantial optical real estate. Coming ahead in this blog are handy tips to dress up your living room windows with drapes like a premium interior designer.

Pick the Palette

Image by Claude Cartier Décoration

When squaring down on the palette for your curtains, know that drapery has the power to impress the mind deeply because of the large optical space it occupies. 

Dress the curtains in the same color as the walls if you want them to disappear into the architecture, or make them contrast the walls to produce visual interest.

You can use your curtains to relay the palette of the entire room or have them as neutral backgrounds to let the other elements stand out. For example, if you want a statement sofa or an accent wall with custom neon signs or a bold wallpaper to be the focal point, plain neutral curtains might be a wise choice. But if you want the windows to be the focal point, curtains in an accent color and/or pattern can be paired with neutral-colored furniture in the front.

Neutral or non-neutral, light-colored curtains help to highlight dark-toned elements while dark curtains beautifully accentuate lighter palettes and lustrous metallic tones. 

So, if you have other elements like furniture and lighting already in place, choose your curtains’ palette so it works in sync with your room’s overall palette and other elements in the room. 

Have Fun with Patterns

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The interior decor of any room is incomplete without patterns because patterns take away the blandness that is sometimes characteristic of a space dominated by solid-colored surfaces. Used in the right doses, patterns and prints help to make the space feel less austere and more comfortable. So neither let the power of patterns nor their timelessness be lost on you. 

Though do make sure that you’re balancing the patterns and plains in your living room so they work in tandem, complementing each other. 

If your living room features a good amount of patterns already, plain curtains might be a good shout. But if you’ve decided on patterned drapery, ensure that it plays nice with the patterns that are already present in the living room. For example, plaid curtains like Gardenia give off the country vibe and can perfectly pair with florals and herringbone.

Also, make them work in tandem with your overall decor style. While traditional maximalists can find their taste in floral curtains or paisley and damask curtains, modernists may revel in stripes, minimalist abstracts and geometric patterned curtains. Similarly, ethnic prints – as seen in Jaguar Totemic – may complement the eclectic statement pieces that testify to Boho leanings. 

Consider Sheer Curtains for Living Room 

Image by Emily Bartlett Photography

Unlike other rooms of the home, most living rooms look for visual chic and elegance from curtains, more than privacy and light control. Sheer curtains help to embrace natural light with all its beauty and put on a whimsical touch to the panoramic views that the windows frame.

They accord privacy during the day, making it easier to manage neighbors who have more curiosity than you can handle. They also filter in fresh air making kitchen smells and pet odors less bothersome. The way they soften the harsh glare of the sunlight makes the space seem more cheerful and positive. 

From white slubby linen curtains like Leh Almost White to embroidered floral cotton blends like Shiny Penny, self-patterned sheer drapes like Whipped Snow, and gold-veined abstract sheer curtains like Puro, you have an abundance to choose from.

Layer your Window Dressings

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Although sheer curtains do a splendid job of providing privacy and surreal charm, they may get better with layering on some occasions; if your telly unit sits right opposite the window for example. For a better media experience, layering sheers with blackout or dimout curtains that bar light effectively is recommended. But that doesn’t mean you have to settle for gloomy drab curtains; take a look at ‘Rhythm’ and ‘Birchgrove Hall’ to know how charming blackouts can be.

Sheer living room roman shades with curtains on the front provide more leverage over the light control aspect. One operates horizontally, the other vertically; one lets in air and light, and the other closes it off considerably – the versatility that living room window treatments may need sometimes.

Besides this purely functional motive, you can also dress them up doubly to make a style statement. It opens up the possibility of mixing colors, textures and patterns – exactly what you’re looking for to bring the room alive. 

Alternatively, you can frame sheer curtains with stationary decorative panels or valances. If you want to introduce a bold color to the room and accord less optical space to keep it from overpowering, this narrow static curtain or valances that cover only one forth of the windows can provide the chance. Besides, you can get your coveted silks and velvets on a budget since they employ lesser yardage.

Make Your Living Room Curtains Look Lavish

Image by Rachel Kate Design

Bespoke decor accessories and furnishings make the living room feel ‘expensive’. So, if you go for custom curtains that fail to feature a custom look, it’s a lost opportunity. Besides providing curtains and drapes as per specified measurements, Spiffy Spools gives clients the option to garnish them with trims, or color block them with another fabric, to create a look that’s truly bespoke and full of character.

Drapery trimmings play a huge role despite their insignificant proportions. They soften the edges and provide an excellent opportunity to bring pattern, color, and an element of tactility to the drapery. That little detail can make a world of difference, especially to plain curtains that don’t feature any other element for visual interest. Pompom and fringe trim voice out the casual nature of the living room while tassels and ribbons serve a formal touch.

Color blocking is another technique that lets you incorporate two drapery fabrics in a curtain panel in four prescribed positions. It is an opportunity to blend different materials, colors, and textures – a beneficial aid when you fail to find a drapery fabric that features all the desired colors. Or, if you’ve fallen for two beautiful fabrics that complement each other very well, you can spare yourself the tension of having to give up one at the cost of the other. 

Give the Heading Style a Thought

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An important decision to be taken regarding drapery is its heading style which consists of pleating at the top of the panel. 

Choose the pleating style according to the mood of the room. Classically styled, formal living rooms should ideally go for styles like French pleats, goblet pleats and box pleats, which are formal in their visual appeal because of their architectural construct. Whereas rod pockets, tab tops, tie tops, and pencil pleats with their frilly or looped headers and simple silhouettes look perfect in casual living rooms. Grommet tops, back tab tops, and euro pleats draperies are intermediary types that look perfect in semi-formal and casual spaces.

Also, consider how often you might need to open and shut your living room curtains because the functional aspect must not be overlooked. Styles that employ rings/pins enable easy gliding on the drapery rod, even for ceiling-to-floor drapes. Whereas if you want to keep them stationary more often than not, as is often the case with sheer drapes, styles like back tabs and rod pockets are great to keep them intact in their position even as they billow with the winds.