Kitchen Curtains

When should you use kitchen curtains to “finish off” your kitchen windows and when should you use blinds? It is very much a personal choice but here are some factors which might sway your decision one way or the other.

Curtains are easy to purchase ready made in various sizes which will easily fit most kitchen windows and can be easily hung from a simple curtain rod fixed above your windows. If you have windows which are not a standard size and shape you can easily find curtain fabric suitable for kitchens and most stores selling curtain fabric offer a making up service. (You may find special deals too where they will make the curtains for free when you purchase the fabric).

Kitchen curtains or blinds for this kitchen?

There seems to be no end of fabric designs available and if you don’t like traditional kitchen fabrics there’s no need to restrict yourself to them as there are a wide range of other designs which would look great in your kitchen – including plain, stripe, plaid, paisley and gingham fabrics.

If you choose washable kitchen curtains or fabrics (and you should) you will be able to launder your curtains frequently to get them looking like new again. The air in a kitchen is full of steam and grease and everything there needs frequent cleaning as I’m sure you are aware.

If you choose blinds instead of kitchen window curtains you will also have lots of choice although not quite so much if you are looking for ready made shades. However you can get in touch with a specialist blind company if you would like more choice or if your windows are a non standard size and order from them. Fitting of blinds is reasonably straight forward. You usually just have to fix brackets to hold the blind at the top of the window recess and you are done, maybe after trimming your blind slightly to fit the gap if required. If you order from a blind company they will usually fit the blinds for you.

Where blinds are less useful is in how easy they are to clean. You will be able to wipe clean hard blinds such as metallic Venetian or wooden blinds but fabric blinds can be very difficult to clean (if you can clean them at all). You may be able to have the blind specialist cleaned at a dry cleaners but washing some blinds yourself will usually take the stiffness out of the fabric.

In the end however the choice between curtains and blinds often comes down to the one thing we haven’t mentioned – the style of your kitchen. Blinds are most suited to high tech and minimalist kitchens whereas curtains look just right in a more traditional or country kitchen where blinds would look a bit stark.