Blinds or Curtains: Which to Choose?
If you’re trying to work out how to decorate your living or dining room, you might have asked yourself the following question: blinds or curtains? Unfortunately, this question has no easy answer. So today, we’ll give you some advice to make this choice a bit easier.
Neither of these options is a magical solution that will instantly make your rooms look perfect. Each has its pros and cons, and each will suit the room, decoration and even the size of the window.
If you don’t know whether to choose blinds or curtains, the first thing you need to consider is the type of window you have. Windows play a crucial role in our homes: they bring light, let us see outside and are an essential part of the decoration in general.
Deciding how best to cover our windows, therefore, especially in the living room, is a fairly difficult task. So, blinds or curtains? To decide, you’ll need to consider the following things:
The size of the windows – blinds or curtains?
If you have a large window, like a French window, you might want to go for curtains, as large blinds can be difficult to use. Of course, you could always install more than one set of blinds, but that might not look as good aesthetically.
The height of the ceiling
Your decision will vary depending on whether you have a conventional ceiling height (of around 6.5ft) or high ceilings, like those you find in old houses (or even in some modern ones). If your ceiling is low or average height, blinds are a great idea. Otherwise, choose curtains, as blinds can often look too “heavy”.
How does the window open?
When you ask yourself, “which will look better, blinds or curtains?”, you’ll also need to think about another important question: how does the window open? If it opens outwards, or it’s a sliding window, you can use either option.
If your window opens inwards, curtains are definitely best. However, if you prefer blinds, then you’ll have to leave sufficient space between the upper frame and the ceiling so that the blind can be pulled up out of the way and you can still open the windows. However, this does mean you’ll need to choose folding blinds. The problem is that you’ll only be able to open the window if the blind is completely open.
The size of the room
If your goal is to create an intimate and welcoming living room, you’ll want to put up curtains. You can close them completely when it’s really sunny and bright, something which you can’t do with blinds.
However, if your living room is on the small side, more light can help make it seem bigger. You can achieve this with a nice set of light-weight blinds. In this case, you should choose blinds made from almost transparent fabrics and light colors.
The decoration
Of course, to decide between blinds or curtains, you’ll also need to think about the decorative style of the rest of the room. If your living room is modern or minimalist, we recommend that you choose blinds, as they won’t clutter the room. In the case of a more classic, vintage or rustic living room, it’s best to go for curtains.
Of course, we are talking in general terms. Today, you can find more classical style blinds, and curtains which are perfect for minimally furnished rooms. The important thing is to try to maintain the same style throughout your room, so as to achieve a more harmonious look.
Another way to decide whether to choose blinds or curtains is to think about your surroundings. If you have lots of neighbors nearby, curtains will stop them being able to see inside your house. If your window looks out onto your garden or the surrounding countryside, you might want to choose blinds, so that you don’t lose out on the view. They are ideal if your house is in the mountains, the countryside, or in woodland.
You should also consider the furniture around the window. Furniture, like sofas, or even beds can get in the way if you have curtains… so go for a nice blind. That way, there won’t be any problems when it comes to opening, closing or accessing the window.