Curtains or Blinds? What Works Best in Each Room

Like paint, curtains and blinds can make for a leading change in a room with benefits that can be easily overlooked in the renovating stages. When your home is craving a refresh, the obvious themes explored are a fresh coat of paint or a revamp of the floors – but curtains and blinds are important for any makeover adding not only significant value to your home, but also atmosphere, softness, depth a punch of colour and even modifying the temperature of the room and energy efficiency of the home.

Aside from personal taste, it can be hard to determine if curtains, blinds or both are the way to go, and what has the scope to really boost the individual areas of your home. We take a step into each room to give you an idea on what works and what doesn’t.

Lounge and Living Area

Curtains have always tended to be the more relaxed and “homey” option, making a space very decorative with a vast range of options to reflect any style and preference. With the increasing flexibility of blinds however, they are now both considered fantastic choices that are versatile with look, function, and control over light, privacy and energy saving properties.

For those that prefer a wider range of styles and fabrics to choose from – curtains are great choice for lounge and living areas matching any décor and can be dressed up with padded pelmets or headings.

Blinds have a much more stylish, classic look to them – Roman Blinds in particular look chic in a living room. For open plan lounge and living areas, wider blinds work wonders. If convenience is your priority, motorised blinds provide the benefit of adjusting the amount of light and privacy from the comfort of your seat.

Kitchen

Choosing a window dressing that not only looks great, but stands up the arduous demands of the kitchen is essential. Blinds are a better option for this space as they are easier to clean if they get splashed from cooking, can be pulled out of harms way and are easy to use. Venetian blinds are the most popular for the kitchen with their versatility and maintenance free options. Timber Venetian Blinds add natural warmth to your home and Aluminium Venetian Blinds with their streamline appearance have the ability to match almost any existing décor.

Although blinds are definitely the preferred choice for kitchen areas, contemporary space can also look fantastic with a sheer curtain to soften the connection between outside and in.

Bedrooms

Curtains are best suited for lounge and bedrooms but nowadays, the use of blinds is becoming just as popular.
For bedrooms that are smaller, you can add depth and height by mounting timber or Roman Blinds a few inches below the ceiling to “cheat” a window up. This creates the effect that the ceiling is taller, the room feels brighter and windows look huge so when in doubt, go wide and high. This is also a perfect option for living areas and lounge rooms that also need the illusion that the space is actually bigger than what it is.

For shift workers, nurseries, or people that prefer the flexibility of a dark room and enjoy their sleep-ins, blackout curtains or blockout roller blinds are a brilliant idea. Consider curtains in the kid’s bedrooms – they can make fantastic hiding spots for toddlers during hide and seek!

Bathroom

Like the kitchen, curtains are very rarely used in this space but for those that want the best of both worlds without the expense of paying for both curtains and blinds, roman blinds make for a great alternative. Look wise, they give you the luxurious drapes renowned to curtains, combined with the mechanisms of blinds. For a space where the fabric of curtains doesn’t work but you want its style, roman blinds give no limitations with their finishes available in both classic timber planks and a selection of fabrics.

When deciding what works best for your room, look, privacy, size, energy efficiency and illumination should all be considered to assist you to make the best decision for each space.