How to Choose Curtains or Drapes for Your Living Room

To use curtains, or not? That will forever be the question? With the right fabric or texture, they have the power to completely transform a room's aesthetic. If you've been on the fence or wondering how to use this still undecided on the room accessory, have a look at these ideas and tricks that put fabric to good use. Revitalize your living room with these 7 tips on how to choose curtains for your living room.

TIP #1. Functionality of Curtains Comes First

Like most things in life - designing modern curtains is all about ideas and choices - and identifying what you want from your living room is the best place to start! Although custom drapes and curtains are usually perceived as an element of interior design, they bring a lot of practical benefits.

To be more precise, quality drapery panels can regulate the temperature in your room by keeping out the heat in warm seasons and preserving it in winter. They can make your sleep healthier by blacking out up to 99% of light and providing mild sound insulation. Apart from that, window drapery panels can be anpart essential part of home security, ensuring a high level of privacy whenever you need it.

That's why, if you want to know how to pick the perfect drapes, think about your practical needs. We've created a series of related questions that will help you understand what custom drapes ideas can match your living room best.

• Would you like your window curtains or drapery to make the living room more private?
• What is the size of your living room and how often do you use it?
• Do you have children or pets?
• Does the window face east or west, where you'll need to block sun from outside during certain hours of the day?
• Do you prefer minimalist window drapery panels or like romantic pleats?
• Do you hope that natural light would shine through your custom window treatments all day long?
• Do you like to change your living room decor in the early spring or mid-fall?
• Are you looking for better insulation in the winter?
• Do you like to achieve full darkening at night or prefer sheer window treatments that enter some sun?
• Are you just changing the drapes or fully renovating the living room?
• Do you have a limited budget or can afford something more customized?

As you can see, there are a few choices to consider, so we recommend starting with these simple answers. Once you realize your expectations and needs from the future drapery panels, it will be much easier to realize your ideas.

TIP #2.Get Acquainted With the Assortment of Curtains and Drapes

What comes after the functionality of window drapes and curtains? Pleats, grommets, drapery hardware, and more. In other words, design.

Before proceeding with colors and materials, you should learn more about the main types of window drapes and curtains. Alva's offers 5 of the most common styles of drapery panels that can complement any living room:

• Euro Pleat Drapes. These curtains are slightly pinched at the top with elegant stitching. They fold into nice even pleats that fall freely to the ground. It's one of the most common designs of curtains and drapes, which is often selected for classic interiors.
• Pinch Pleat Drapes. Such drapery panels look quite similar to euro pleat drapes, and, thus, they are often confused. They are tacked approximately 4' down from the header. Traditional, tailored and versatile, pinch pleated drapes fit well in any room.. Pinch pleated drapes are a good choice when you want light control, privacy and the ability to open and close with ease.
• Grommet Drapes. Combine linen fabrics with curtain rails into a seamless whole. The drapery panels have sewn in round grommets that support the curtains and add a special touch to their look. This option is usually preferred by designers who want to accentuate window drapery in a room.
• Ripple Fold Drapes. Custom Ripple Fold drapes are designed and constructed with nearly two times the fabric and therefore have a fuller look. There is no need to add additional width to create fullness.These drapes come with a custom track, that can be mounted to the ceiling or wall..
• Inverted Pleat Drapes. If you like everything unique and unusual, these window drapes may attract your interest. The folds of inverted pleats are hidden, which creates a flat surface at the top of the draperies. Consider this option if you like pleats but want something less traditional that euro and pinch pleat curtains.

Photos from Amber Interiors and Kate Marker Interiors

Custom drapes are an opportunity to highlight a room's architecture and to frame a view- and, if you're even slightly curious at designing your own - we suggest you try out Alva's Customizer which will walk you through the process.Available for each type of drapes and curtains, it allows you to visualize the subtleties of any style. Moreover, you can experiment with colors, fabrics, ideas and estimate an approximate price of window drapes and curtains. It's also a very effective way to calculate your budget and compare prices.

Made up your mind about the style? It's high time to because we are moving to window drapery colors.

TIP #3.Choose the Right Color of Living Room Window Drapes

So, you've got a grip on what you need from your curtains! Now we'll consider how to choose colors for your curtains or custom drapes. When selecting a curtain color, think about whether you want your window curtains to blend in with the decor or be a focal point for the living room. If you elect to have them play a more muted role, select curtains that are similar to the wall color or trim color of the space. In contrast, if you want your custom drapes to make a statement, then selecting a bold color will be your go-to. Just a word of caution, lighter color drapes will illuminate more with natural light and feel breezy. By comparison, darker tones will appear heavy, grounded, and can dominate the space. In summary, pick a color that you love, reflects the character of the space as your custom curtains will play a key role in the overall aesthetic of your living room.

More Tips on the Color of Living Room Window Treatments

• If you are stuck trying to choose drapes for your family room, you can never go wrong with a neutral shade in a classic, functional style like euro pleat drapes or ripple fold. Optic White, Oyster, Grays, and natural shades work fabulous with different furniture colors, and are easy to apply to other styles are your taste matures.
• If you completely renovate a living room, you can plan the color of every detail, including drapes or curtains, beforehand. Many designers use a 60-30-10-10 rule, in which 60% is the main color, 30% - secondary color, and 10% - supplementary. In case you don't know how to pick window drapery panels for your living room, learn from the wisdom of professionals. For example, 60% will be taken by walls, large accents (e.g., rug), and sofa. 30% of your living room color palette are curtains or drapes, chairs, bed linens. And the remaining 10 and 10% are left for bright accents. Pick a color palette to your liking and distribute the colors and tones among all elements in your living room.

TIP #4. Layering is Always an Option

While layering isn't mandatory, doing so can give your space multiple dimensions and put your personal ideas front and center. The best part about it though is that it can be done in stages to help you stay within your current decorating budget. A few layer options that don't go out of style are:

• Linen Sheer Curtains. We love Belgian Sheer Linen as a way to add a small amount of privacy while providing a variation of dimension and depth to your living room. You'll also be able to really soften up, and filter direct afternoon sun if your window is facing west.

• Linen Roman Shades. Using roman shades as a base layer will add offer more privacy and light control, than linen sheer curtains, and serve as a better option for keeping out the cold. If this is in line with your aesthetic and priorities, check into having an interlining. Add both a privacy and blackout liner for blocking sun, sound, and providing energy insulation.

Note that layering and deep blackout may not be suitable for small and crowded living rooms. Such drapery panels require a lot of space.

TIP #5. Add Privacy With the Right Lining

In the living room or any other space where neighbors may have a view, adding privacy may be on your mind and is an essential task for curtains and drapery. When it comes to lining, Alva, has three types: unlined, privacy lining, and blackout. Unlined shades will only show the face fabric. Privacy lining will have enhanced light filtering and improved privacy. Lastly, Our blackout lining will completely black out 99% of light for complete privacy. It's worth noting, the blackout lining will add more weight to your drapery.

The best part about our blackout shades, however, is that you can achieve blackout functionality without requiring dark shades. Pick any color you want and adjust the amount of light with custom lining.

Keep Going! Design Custom Curtains for Your Living Room Online.

So, you've got the fundamentals down. Unsure about which size of curtains you should purchase? Follow our simple measurement tool, which will easily walk you through selecting the perfect size curtain panel.

Want to know more about curtains and drapes for your living room? Check out these 5 legit reasons you need custom drapery.

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