Curtains and Blinds 101: Which fabric for which room?

When it comes to your living room and bedroom, you have a myriad of exciting options at your disposal. Luckily, both curtains and blinds can work a treat in any room, usually it’s down to personal preference. Your bedroom is the most intimate of spaces and the perfect place to use your favourite texture and get creative. This is the place to really do you. Opt for curtains to add coziness or choose blinds for smaller, more streamlined spaces. Any fabric works in these rooms so it’s down to your interior style, which colours you prefer and which fabric texture takes your fancy. All of our fabrics are available in blackout if more privacy or blocking of light is needed! If you need a hand choosing between our 300+ fabrics, we’ve highlighted the benefits of some of our favourites below…

Cotton is an all-round favourite as it drapes very gracefully and has good longevity. Add lining for increased strength and an even better weight for draping. Check out our Cotton Twill and Cotton Weave range for a sensational mix of shades and styles. Cotton is a classic fabric that is super-soft to the touch, so would work well in bedrooms where a relaxed feel is required.

Super chic and timeless, use linen or light flowing sheers in your living room for a natural, beachy or bohemian effect. Our Relaxed Linen range is the ultimate fabric for creating a luxe, relaxed feel in bedrooms and our linen Sheers are perfect in South facing rooms where the fabric can filter the summer sun. While you may want sheers to let some light in, our other linen fabrics may let some unwanted light through due to the fibre composition, but this can be changed by simply adding a lining to the fabric.

If you’re after something rustic but a little different, our Flax fabric is a strong weave with a lived-in appearance - - - perfect for creating durable curtains with an earthy style. This fabric would be perfect for interiors with a more country feel, or hung over doors to help with blocking drafts and cold air in winter months.

If you lean towards sophisticated glamour, Silk has a natural lustre and softness which is perfect for both modern and more traditional interiors. Silk is susceptible to sun damage, so avoid windows hit by direct sunlight and counter this by lining your curtains and blinds with a cotton blackout lining. Or you could even go for a mixed composition like our Upcycled Silk range for greater strength against the sun and a more rustic, textured curtain. Our Velvet fabrics are absolute showstoppers and work with many different styles of spaces. Available in a range of jewel-tones, this is another fabric that can add a touch of glamour to a space.

The humidity of the average bathroom means that a fabric needs to be robust. Our Revive range, made entirely of recycled plastic bottles, is good for both your bathroom and the environment and comes in 13 unique yet sophisticated shades. Roller blinds are also a popular choice in bathrooms as they are neat, work well with synthetic fabrics and fit well in smaller spaces. We love to use roller blinds as statement pieces in their own right by choosing a bold colour to lift and modernise your bathroom. Check out our roller blind fabrics.

Consider where your windows are located. If your windows are located near any food preparation spaces or anywhere that might become splattered, then plain roller shades are the best options, being easy to wipe clean and resilient against damage. If your windows are positioned away from potential danger, then the world is your oyster. We love the look of roman blinds in a kitchen - - - especially in our Tuscan Gingham fabric. Or, create them out of a beautiful cotton or linen for gorgeous, timeless elegance. Use Hemp for more rustic, cottage style kitchens or a striped fabric for a more modern space.