I’ve never been a fan of curtains; I like the openness bare windows give a space and I always look for as much natural light as I can get to illuminate my home. Plus, my apartment has a number of vintage elements incorporated in its design so curtains really can’t fit in. However, my parents’ home is designed in a traditional manner, which means a lot of old furniture pieces, a lot of brown colour and an overall warm and cosy ambiance. You know, like the warm blanket you got when you were a baby and once you got wrapped in it you felt there was no better feeling in the world. That’s how every mum’s house feels like, especially if you’ve been living in a separate home for a while now.
Mum loves her curtains. When I suggest she gets rid of them so the space gets a dose of modernism, she starts looking at me with a questioning mode, like: “are you insane?” At first I thought I was right, but when she explained to me why she doesn’t want to get rid of them, I understood her point. You buy curtain types especially designed to deliver a certain room ambiance, which means once they’re placed in the room, you don’t just get rid of them and disturb the entire design scheme.
When you have one large window on the wall
In a situation like this, you buy curtain types in material and colour so they act as an emphasizer of the already established room focus – the windows. Additionally, if the walls are white along with a window frame, this simply asks for colourful curtains. Choose something bold, but not too different from the furniture. This would be the type of curtain you’d use to place on the sides of the window.
Colours!
Choosing colourful curtains is a very delicate matter – they should match the furniture, the walls and the overall ambiance. My three favourite options include the naval inspired texture in naval blue that can act as a perfect design compliment to blue walls and white coloured sofas. Also here is the darker variant where you’d use black or dark brown curtains in addition to the same colour of furniture with some details in a lighter nuance, and the ultimate spring/summer combo: coral curtains complementing wooden floors and sofas covered in fresh, pastel colours.
If I have to conclude on this matter, I’d say that painted walls look a lot better with curtains on the windows. They break the monotony and prevent the so called “hospital room” look which is a cold, simple ambiance without any touch of home warmth and cosiness. Now, I wouldn’t suggest you use curtains like the above mentioned on a brick wall or stone wall texture because that would simply be too much and make the room look crowded. Do your research first.