Curtains needn’t just be for windows – in fact I’ve come across plenty of interesting and unusual ways to use them over the years. So, for part two of my curtain guide, I thought I’d round up some of the most beautiful and the most useful. And if you’re looking for handy tips on how to choose and hang curtains in your home, take a look at part one from last week…
To hide open storage
Curtains are an excellent way to hide hanging rails, open wardrobes, shelves and the like. You could choose something that matches the walls or make a statement with an accent colour. And if the storage in question sits near a window, you could even extend the same curtain across both, using a curved track to get round any corners. It adds an air of hotel-like sophistication, as well as creating a soft, cocooning feel that’s particularly suited to bedrooms.
Images via Avenue Design Studio and Alvhem
As a room divider
Curtains make versatile and cost-effective dividers for open-plan spaces, allowing you to close off and reveal different areas as needed. It’s something I saw used to stunning effect in Fredericia’s Copenhagen showroom (pictured below), but it would work just as well in smaller residential spaces – perhaps to screen off dining and sitting areas from kitchens, create a cosy snug, or even hide children’s play spaces when you have guests over to visit. You could opt for a semi-sheer fabric that gives a bit of separation without blocking light, or go for heavier curtains that act more like moveable walls.
Images by Abi Dare
To create a sleeping nook
Curtains also work brilliantly if you need to create privacy around a sleeping area – ideal in studio apartments where the living room doubles as a bedroom, or if you have a guest bed in a multi-purpose space. Black-out curtains and those with sound-dampening properties can prove particularly useful, especially if some people will need to use the room in question while others are snoozing.
Images via Alvhem
To hide workspaces
If you don’t have room for an office or study but still need a dedicated place to work, a curtained-off desk could be a simple solution. It means you can easily shut it away it at the end of the day and create some separation between work and home life – particularly important if it sits in a living room or bedroom, where relaxation is key. After all, no-one wants to be distracted by piles of paperwork or unfinished to-do lists when they’re trying to unwind or drift off to sleep! In one of the examples below the desk is positioned in the window, meaning the curtain fulfils two functions in one; in the other, it sits in a nook that can be screened off or opened up as needed.
Images via Mar Plus Ask and Praktik Metropole
As a headboard or backdrop
A curtain hung against the wall behind a bed can act as a striking focal point, either with or without an additional headboard (if you go without, just be careful you don’t pull it down if you lean against it). It’s a trick that also works well behind sofas and dining tables, or in any other area where you want to create an elegant and intimate feel.
Images via New Works and istockphoto
To cover entire walls
Or you could go one step further and cover an entire wall with drapes. It’s often done in commercial spaces and event halls, but it can also work on a smaller scale in homes. It’s a great way to add softness and warmth to rooms that feel cold or uninviting, or to hide ugly paint or brickwork. I love the idea of using it to create contrast, too – perhaps tactile fabric hung alongside concrete or rough stone. And if you use sheer voile curtains, you can run them along the length of a wall that includes windows.
Images via Studio Oink and Norm Architects
To create privacy with internal glazing
Glass walls, internal windows and glazed doors are a wonderful way to let natural light flow from one space to another, and they’re often used to brighten areas that have no external light source of their own (for example window-less ensuite bathrooms). They don’t allow much privacy, however, so an easy answer is to add curtains that can be pulled across when needed.
Images via Design & Wonen and Fantastic Frank
How about you? Have you used curtains in any unusual ways around your home?
Photography as credited above; top image via Alvhem
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