The craft of makeovers is a beneficial result of numerous tasks; for some, it serves their livelihood, while for others, it is a creative topic to read. Likewise, I sail both of these boats, and amid the journey of daily exploration, I latched my hidden designer (whom I adore, by the way) to a humble makeover of my office cum living room. I mean, I don’t think you should blame me for this! Don’t we all want our home to shine with perfection? So what if I cut off a designer’s expenses, put together my knowledge, and worked on my definition of space? The one thing you may ask is about managing time while following a hectic schedule. And, of course, I am here to make you understand everything from scratch. But, first, do you agree that living rooms are quintessential yet complex parts of our homes, which follows a statement that we can’t neglect? If you do, what if I share one quick fix to make it look perfect?
You guessed it right, I am about to pitch the living room curtains. The one quick fix no one shared, and believe me, I am not picking something out of thin air. Just remove all the curtains in your living room, and see it naked. How does it look, Ugly? I realized it while my curtains were in the wash. And when they were out, I knew that the makeover is incomplete without the right curtains on. It wasn’t easy at first, but to lessen your burden and save you time from reading hundreds of guides, I pledge to make it simple through this one article. The grip on to it harder, and you will have the easiest method for how to choose curtains for your living room. See the magic of fixing the most neglected element of your living room and getting the look you always wanted.
7-Steps On How To Choose Curtains For Living Room.
1. Find The Purpose Before Shopping.
Whether you are a professional interior designer, a DIY decorator like me, or a homemaker, the foremost advice I can give you is to take your time and grab the nearest chair, fit your bump in there and make a list of answering these questions. Do you need to keep your furniture the same or change its fabrics? How much time can you dedicate to the makeover, and are you doing it on your own? What do you want to achieve in the room -space, coziness, minimalism, illumination with natural light, or darker surroundings?
By the way, this isn’t enough; you need to keep more things in your mind. Whether you want to keep your existing furniture, change the fabrics, or even sell it on eBay, the priority is fitting your design. Determination is the first thing before planning. So relax and make a complete list.
2. Plump For a Suitable Color Palette.
Colour is the most crucial thing, to begin with, and as always, you can progress through making your own color combinations perfect with time. In the meantime, if you are a beginner who knows little about color mingling, here are a few things I can suggest. Go for warmer and muted tones. In today’s world, where interior designers can’t resist taking the minimalist or Scandinavian design, you can learn from them. What I did with my color palette for the living room is- grey or white for the walls, a rough light brown or elementary white shade for furniture, rustic brown for mats, and muted pink for your drapes. I tried a casual minimalist look; Simplykalaa curated an actionable guide on it that you may love to take a reference from.
Now, if you are starting from scratch, you can always choose neutral colors for the basics and then add brighter tones through upholsteries, rugs, and curtains with a slight difference. For deciding color choices, the easiest thing I do every time is taking a color board and take actual samples of the wall color, floor color, mats, and even upholsteries. Play with them and see what your eyes see perfectly. The deadly combination you make through exploration is the best version for your area.
Also, one crucial aspect that is worth remembering is the lighting condition. If there are fewer lights, use lighter shades of colors, and either way, use darker shades.
In between deciding what is best, do not forget about the budget. Choose affordable white color for your walls, better linen for your upholsteries on a budget, and bring out your creativity for minimal decorations and use good curtains. Everything can be compromised but do not go with the existing wall colors and old curtains. They are the worst things you give to yourself.
You might understand the color scheme completely to move in other steps.
3. Curtains Design And Fabric Play an Elementary Role.
Before you move on to find the design and fabric of curtains, first know about your window. There are commonly these types of windows- Basic, Recessed, Cottage-Style, Dormer, Georgian, Georgian arched, Bay windows, half-glazed Georgian style, sliding patio doors, or French Windows. You must know the type before we start to dress it.
Listen, before you go on choosing expensive fabrics, let me warn you here. Don’t make this mistake, as adding on and choosing among the best will automatically increase your costs.
Now the next step is knowing Windows according to its utility. If you have fewer natural lights, avoid darker shades and designs with swabs or tails, as they will make your room darker. If you have a heater or window a.c., let them do their work fitly by using shorter curtains. For colossal ceilings and windows, always go for simple and neutral shades and put some laces and ribbons on the hem.
Similarly, For the lower ones, you can use striped fabric to cover the whole wall from the curtain as they would help you create an illusion that you have a bigger space. These are just a few go-to cheat tricks that you can use.
4. Select The Textile By Understanding The Basics.
When you choose fabric for your living room curtains, it is crucial to know their importance separately. Sometimes you go for an expensive one, but it fails to give you the ambiance. When you go for ridiculously cheap ones, you compromise with the quality. Hence it is better if you know the fabric characteristics and then buy according to your choice.
If you adore wool mixes, woven styles, or wools, remember that they bring a healthy atmosphere to castles and barn houses. However, excess direct sunlight will degrade the fabric quality, so do not use them in sunny spots.
It is always best to choose lined fabrics with pin tucks, saddle stitching, and horizontal pleats for linens and natural weaves. There is no way to resist a dreamy look when you try this.
If you love gold in inexpensive terms, use cotton, but what I believe is that they are preferable and better for bathrooms or kitchens.
Velvets and silks hang gracefully when made into drapes and give a luxurious look to your living room. You must know that when you are going for silks, leave some cloth to hang on the floor, giving you the Cinderella’s dress look, taking away all your flaws from your room.
Finally, we have the sheers and translucent fabric, which is very popular. Use wonderful embroidered voile with Italian stringing to get a furnished master look.
Now that you know the fabric, you can go to the shop and buy one for yourself. At last, one more quick tip here is that when you use shiny materials, they will reflect the light and make your space enormous, whereas, with matte ones, your room will appear shorter.
5. Measurements Complete The Rest Part.
The measurements are crucial to the whole article since one bad inch can lead to heaps of trouble and fabric waste. Always use a metal or retractable tape for the quantification. To measure precisely, you should have the pole and type of drapery in position, so that you can measure even the drop length of the drapery.
There is a general rule: tracks or poles should be installed about 8 inches from the architrave, but this depends greatly on the relationship between the window and the ceiling.
Let us move on to the drapery style now that you are aware of the measurements.
6. Select The Drapery Style Of Your Living Room Curtains.
There is nothing much to read about the drapery style, as mere pictures can tell you the entire story. There is no twist and turns here unlike in choosing fabric and measurements. What so ever you like, go for it.
7. The Final Finishing Touches.
It is the final touch to your chosen curtains with a preferable drapery style. A little twist is that with these finishing touches, your curtains will look a little more special.
Firstly, you can use braids or ribbons. They are the most undemanding trim with a stunning and result-oriented look. Braids come in all designs, so you can find anything that complements the look of your curtains. One quick tip is that you can choose among the Russian trims as they hold better shapes.
Secondly, there is an option for ropes and tassels. They bring an extra design feature to your curtains and make up the colorways to order.
Further, there are beaded trims or crystals suspended in ribbon trims for your curtains, giving a better shiny appearance to your windows. Finally, you have tie-backs, which are lengths of fabrics that tie drapes back to the walls and away from windows when they are not in use.
Conclusion
Now that I have given you a brief account of how to choose curtains for the living room, you have to lift yourself from the chair, get to the planning part and follow the steps to get a fantabulous look at your living room with curtains. Shoot me your more ideas in the comments below, and let me know what you created with a guide.
