LIVING ROOM CURTAINS & LOUNGE WINDOW DRAPES: TOP TIPS & IDEAS
Curtains play a major role in setting the tone of a room with their colours, patterns and rippled contours. So, for a living room that has to be both functional for the family and inviting for guests, the right choice of curtains can sometimes make all the difference. And custom drapery’s endless scope for personalisation offers the most promising deal when it comes to marrying function with aesthetics. At The White Window, you have this luxury at your fingertips, but before you start browsing our catalogue of custom drapery fabrics, we invite you to spend a few moments exploring our top ideas and tips for living room drapes and lounge curtains.
Define the Direction
Knowing the destination helps formulate the shortest route to it. So, start your window dressing project by defining the goal clearly. What are the functions you expect your living room or lounge curtains to perform?
Are you aiming to soften the sun's glare? Or, are you looking for privacy from a busy street? If your oversized windows face south or west, you might be looking for a strong shield against the hot noon sun. Or, on the contrary, if you have small windows facing east, you might want to maximise the soft morning light. Or, perhaps, none of these are your concerns. You want only an excuse to bring in some colour, texture and pattern. Or, you love the way the rippled contours of curtains can make your living room look softer and more homely.
Discern your goal first, and then start your journey!
Decide on the Opacity Level
Considering that living rooms and lounge spaces are typically non-private areas of the home, privacy is usually not the first criterion when considering the fabric composition for living room or lounge curtains. Light blocking may also not be the most prominent requirement of a living room as it is used for multiple activities like lounging, entertaining, study and work. Therefore, a set of light to medium-weight curtains painting the space with diffused light and offering daytime privacy turns out to be the best finishing touch for many a living room.
But in case, your living room opens to a busy street or has oversized windows that make the room toasty on a hot afternoon, consider relatively thicker drapes for better light control and privacy assurance. And leave them unlined for an airy look or line them for a more sumptuous appeal.
In summary, discern your priorities for the living room in terms of light-blocking, and accordingly pick a fabric of optimal opacity level.
Pick the Palette and Pattern with Foresight
Since curtains occupy large optical real estate, the colours and patterns that they bring to the living room are rightfully considered with much care. Curtains undoubtedly play a substantial role in relaying the palette of the room and when done right, can transform a plain window into an eye-catching focal point.
Soft neutrals and subtle patterns are often considered for a demure approach. And, for a more bold foray, saturated colours, graphic patterns and stark contrasts typically come into play. Whichever route you decide to take, remember that the palette and pattern must vouch for your overall decor style too.
Also, making your lounge curtains’ palette immune to evolving personal tastes is a wise move, especially if you like to stay up-to-the-minute with decor trends. In that case, instead of going with unconventional colours and patterns that can bracket you within a certain era or decor style, opt for neutral hues and versatile patterns that can adapt to all your living room revamps from time to time.
Choose Between Formal & Casual Approach
Hand in hand with other elements, the drapery fabric also sets the tone of the decor on the formal to casual spectrum. And since curtains command attention effortlessly, the choice of fabric must be made with careful consideration.
If your living room has a formal dressy appeal, heavily laden with details and plush materials, consider one of our opulent velvets - tactile to the touch and gently lustrous. Or, if you’d find the resplendence of silk more in line with your decor, choose from our vast catalogue of pure Shantung and Dupioni silk drapes or faux silks that offer the same looks on more economical terms.
If rather, your living room or lounge carries a very easygoing demeanour, and the goal is to attain an approachable, lived-in aesthetic, you might shy away from opulent lustrous fabrics and go instead for fabrics that carry a homely charm. Like, our linen curtains that allure with their lazy slubs or cottons that evoke the breeziness of bright summers.
Select the Most Befitting Heading Style
The design of the header, that is the top portion of the curtains that holds the rings/clips behind it, is another design decision of great value. The header impacts the visual appeal of the drapery and also dictates its style of functioning.
If you expect to operate your lounge curtains daily, choose a heading style that incorporates rings/clips like flat panel tops, pinch pleats and grommet tops - as these will glide easily on pole/track. However, if you want to leave your lounge curtains stationary, as is often the case of sheers, and want them to stay put on the pole rather than get pulled to the sides when it is breezy, consider styles like back tab tops and rod pockets.
Also, consider whether the heading style chosen syncs with your taste and the overall decor of the living room. Triple pinch pleats and goblet pleats - for example - perfectly complete an ultra-formal traditional living room. Whereas, a modern casual lounge puts across its easygoing charm with styles like flat panel tops or grommet tops that have less detailed headers.
At The White Window, we offer over a dozen heading styles that appeal to varied tastes and functional requirements. To make a well-informed decision, please visit our Curtain Headings Style Guide where you will find an elaborate explanation of each style and its compatibility with various settings and decor styles.
Decide the Coverage Levels
Curtains visually soften any space with their rippled silhouettes, providing a striking contrast to the hardiness of the walls and floors. Therefore, even if a living room doesn’t need curtains for their functional benefits, the space looks better dressed with the soft trails of drapery.
If your living room or lounge does not need window treatments for their functional roles, consider installing narrow stationary panels framing the windows. Their colours and patterns can bring a shot of vibrance while taking away nothing of the abundant light and air that the window provides. But, for curtains that have to also fulfil the functions of light control and privacy, to whatever degree, order for full-coverage lounge curtains.
Be Wise with the Length
Curtains are typically stitched to drop to the sill or the floor. Since short curtains look too casual for a formal living room, we advise floor-length curtains that don’t only look formal and dressier but also accentuate the height of the room. Further, floor-length drapes can have varied drop points, each offering a unique combination of visual appeal and functionality.
When choosing the length of your living room curtains, consider what is the aesthetic you are aiming for and how you anticipate using the curtains. If you like a modern sleek appeal, you may like your lounge curtains stopping an inch off the floor, known as the ‘float’ position. At this drop point, the curtains evade floor dust and operate smoothly. If you prefer a seamless coverage, consider the ‘graze’ drop point in which you let the curtains lightly touch the ground. Both these drop points are ideal for high-traffic zones and frequent operation.
If you like your living room to have an opulent flair with sumptuous curtains pooled on the floor, consider puddling them. This drop point prioritizes aesthetics over operational ease, making it a great choice for decorative stationary curtains in ultra-formal living rooms. And, the ‘break-puddle’ is an intermediary choice that has a modicum extension of merely one inch after touching the floor for a touch of opulence not short of functional ease.
In summary, floating, grazing and break-puddled curtains offer operational efficiency whereas puddled curtains make a style statement. So, depending on the look you are going for in your living room and the level of operation you anticipate, decide on the curtain’s length.
Splurge on Fullness
Curtains look soft and sumptuous because of their beautiful pleats. And when the pleats look robust and dense, the curtains are at their best, making your living room feel grander and more well-designed.
To achieve this ‘fuller’ look, be sufficiently generous with the width. In drapery terminology, we refer to it as ‘fullness’, quite literally to be understood as more panel width translating to ‘fuller’ pleats. So, it’s simple - if you splurge on the width, you get lounge curtains with lush pleats.
For the pinch pleat curtains, the fullness is pre-sewn, so you only have to specify the desired, finished panel width. For other heading styles, where the fullness level can be customised, we recommend anywhere between 1.5x to 3x fullness. So, the curtain width should be 1.5 to 3 times the length of the drapery pole (or window). Our Drapery Measurement Guide explains this in detail with examples, so please do check it out when placing the order.
Consider Multi-Layering
Window dressings for a dressy living room or lounge do not need to stop at curtains alone! You can layer them with valances, roman shades or roller blinds, providing you with an aesthetic opportunity to mix colours and patterns. You can also combine window treatments of various levels of opacity to have a versatile arrangement for light control.
Plain sheer curtains framed by a pair of damask drapes - for instance - is a fine way of dressing up a traditional living room to provide daytime privacy while offering a moment of extravaganza. Another favoured combination in traditional maximalist living rooms is that of voluminous puddled drapes and scalloped valances. A modern minimalist living room or lounge, on the other hand, that avoids superfluous elements can have sheer curtains framed by fully functional non-sheer curtains. For a modern organic twist, woven wooden blinds can be combined with plain linen curtains for a winsome blend of organic textures. So on and so forth goes the list of multi-layered window treatments that can make any living room and lounge look more chic and wholesome.
Personalise with Curtain Trims
A show-worthy attire comes full circle with complementing accessories, and it is not very different with drapery. So, it will be a sad mistake to miss the opportunity that comes with made-to-measure curtains to offer something more, something unique, something bespoke. And that’s exactly where our curtain trims and borders come in!
Trimmings bring on the oomph factor with their dazzling tassels, playful colours and handmade charm. A sumptuous curtain with befitting trims can zhuzh up your living room with a true made-to-measure hallmark that echoes your personality and taste.
Depending on your decor style and personal taste, choose from our exquisite collection of over 200 types of passementerie provided at The White Window. From opulent silken tassel trims and vintage fringe and braid trims to playful pompom trims and sophisticated ribbon trims, the options are abundant and you can be sure of finding the one that expresses your unique style.
Shop Living Room Drapes & Lounge Curtains at The White Window
The primary purpose of decorating your home is to make it an extension of your personality by incorporating elements that bring you joy and exhibit your taste. The living room especially must give your guests a slow revelation of who you are and what your journey of life has been like. So, your design decisions must be aimed towards expressing your style and voicing your aesthetic vision.
Fabric composition, palette, pattern, heading style and accessories on your living room curtains are all mouthpieces of your overall decor style, so be very intentional with your choices. A Scandinavian home may manifest its minimalism and ‘hygge’ with white linen flat panel curtains’ rich slubbed texture, snowy palette and clean-lined silhouettes. Likewise, a living room that welcomes guests with country-style flair may offer a floral fest and happy hues on its rod-pocket curtains. A bohemian home’s sparkling energy will be seen in its lounge curtains’ fabric loop headers, bold colours and exotic patterns.
Whatever your aesthetic leanings, and whatever your functional goals, we hope that the tips laid down in this blog will help you curate the perfect set of living room curtains and lounge drapes for your home. So, it is time now to put your knowledge and imagination together and dress up your living room windows and lounge with the choicest curtains from The White Window. Shop away!