Curtain ideas for your home

Voile is a fine, translucent fabric. It lets in almost all the daylight and softens it, without blocking the view. During the day, people outside see little of the inside. At night, with the light on indoors, the opposite happens: voile lets people see in.

A fine linen plays the same role, with more texture and a more natural look. Both suit living rooms, dining rooms and any room where natural light comes first.

A heavier fabric, such as twill, velvet or a thick linen, cuts out light and view. It gives privacy by day and by night and makes the room feel warmer. When open, it gathers at the side of the window and frames it.

Colour matters. A light opaque curtain darkens the room but still lets a diffused light through the fabric. To truly darken it, you need a lining.

Blackout is a fabric, or a lining sewn behind another fabric, that blocks almost all light: up to 99% when properly installed. It is the choice for bedrooms, for shift workers and for living rooms where the television is watched during the day.

The light that remains comes in around the edges. That is why a blackout curtain should extend beyond the window on both sides and reach the floor. It comes in fabric and in PVC. Fabric has a more natural feel and drape.

A roller blind rolls onto a tube at the top of the window and comes down close to the glass. It takes up little space and works where a curtain does not sit well: over a worktop, behind a desk or at a small window. It can be manual or motorised. The 3 most common types differ in how much light they let through:

• Fabric: filters the light and gives privacy, with the look of a plain curtain.
• Solar screen: an open-weave screen that cuts glare and heat and keeps the view outside. The more open the weave, the more light and view; the tighter it is, the more it protects from the sun.
• Blackout: darkens the room, like a blackout curtain.

A solar screen behaves like voile: at night, with the light on indoors, you can see in.

The way the fabric is attached to the track or pole changes how the curtain falls.

• Eyelets: metal rings in the fabric, threaded onto the pole. They make wide, even folds. They only work with a pole.
• Wave: the fabric runs on a slim track and forms even waves from top to bottom. It has the same clean look as eyelets, without a pole, and can be fixed to the ceiling.
• Pleats: pleats sewn at the top, for a more classic look. They work on a pole or a track.

A single curtain rarely solves both day and night. The 3 most common combinations are:

• Voile and opaque curtain: the voile sits next to the glass, the opaque curtain in front. During the day, only the opaque one is drawn aside.
• Blind and curtain: the blind controls the light, the curtain dresses the window.
• Voile and blackout lining: for the bedroom, a voile for the day and a curtain with blackout lining for sleeping.

For 2 layers, use a double track or 2 parallel tracks. In the bedroom, the opaque layer is one of the essentials: see 10 essential items for your bedroom. For a living room that needs more light, see the tips for a brighter home.

A curtain on a ceiling track also separates areas without building work. This and other solutions are in 7 ways to divide a space without a wall.