How to Select Curtains for Your Home

Curtains add beauty to homes. It is one of the must-haves for any home. It helps to get a perfect lighting for the interiors. Not only that, it helps to cover the windows in a beautiful way. It is one of the important elements of home decor. Choosing curtains may be a daunting task, given the variety and specifications. I am going share the basics of selecting curtains for your home.

How to Select Curtains for Your Home

Measurement

For Curtains

The measurement is imperative before buying the curtain. Here are few points to remember before buying ready made curtains or curtain cloth.

1. The width of the curtain should be 5-10 inches more than the width of the window.

2. The height of the curtains should be 7-8 inches more than that of the window. But, in many cases, this would look awful. So in order to avoid it, it is better to have a curtain that is just above 2 inches above the floor. This would cover the window well and also the windows do not look awkward.

For the Rod

A metal rod with strong metal brackets is the best. Especially, if you are using heavy curtains, then, the rods must be strong enough to hold them. The length of the rod must be at least 5 inches more than that of the window on either side. The rods must also be 6 inches above the window. It should not be too high to touch the ceiling!

Colour

The color plays a crucial role. If on daytime your rooms look too bright, then choose curtains with a lining. You could even use dark shaded curtains. On the other hand, if your rooms look too dark even at daytime, then it is best to have light shaded curtains.

In many cases, having two sets of curtains be very helpful. In the sense, have a set of dark shaded ones and a set of light shaded ones. You could use the dark shaded ones during summer and the lighter ones in winter.

Also, it is a great idea to use double rods. With this, you could use a thin as well as thick curtains. We can create beautiful lighting with the natural light at daytime.

Fabric

The fabric that we use for curtains gives the elite look it deserves. The material ranges from cotton, linen, velvet, silk, and polyester.

Cotton and linen curtains are best suitable for living and dining room. Cotton curtains absorb the sunlight and keep the room temperature under control. Cotton curtains are machine washable. It is suitable for bedrooms. Linen curtains do not absorb the sunlight but provide natural lighting to the rooms. It is best suitable for living room and dining room or a French window.

Velvet and silk curtains are heavy and are for sheer decorative values. It may not be suitable for harsh Indian summer. But helps to block sunlight as well as the wind almost completely.

Polyester curtains are widely available, easy to use and machine washable. They are light and do not hold in place when it is very windy. So it has to be used with lining cloth if the rooms are airy.

There are many types of fabric, but, here are the 5 most important types of fabric that you should take a note of.

Blinds Vs Curtains

Blinds or Venetian blades may look stunning. It suits well for a corporate ambiance. Curtains are the best for homes. They are easy to maintain as compared to blinds. They can be customized and could be changed frequently to suit our taste. Blinds accumulate dust which requires constant cleaning.

Buying Readymade Vs. Custom Made

It is a tiring task to get curtains custom made. It is basic co-ordination work that puts off many of us to choose readymade curtains. Handlooms are the best place to buy readymade cotton curtains. There are many online stores that offer a wide range of polyester curtains. They offer great deals. We can also use customize curtain tools to select the right color combination.

Custom made curtains give rich look. Since you do not have to compromise on anything in this, it would obviously suit the room well. If you have the time and the resource, I would strongly recommend going for a custom made curtains. The main disadvantage of having custom made curtains is the maintenance. Especially if you have large windows and doors. The custom curtains turn out to be very bulky as it is stitched with lining material. They also occupy a lot of space in your wardrobe, if not used.