The kitchen is the most used area in the house, whether its family, friends, holidays or just entertaining in the kitchen has an instrumental part in creating a warm and comfortable environment in the house . Windows in the kitchen are always a pleasant feature as they allow a lot of sunlight to enter the space where so much activity will take place. Window treatments are the cheapest and easiest way to add colour, style and character to your kitchen.
Curtains for the kitchen come in a number of different colors, styles and themes.
Color is probably the easiest to choose as we usually have a color theme in our home/kitchen to build on. Some may want lots of colors and others may want to stay neutral using either white or ivory, either way is a personal preference.
But when choosing the color for your kitchen curtains you shouldn’t be afraid to experiment with a bold color or a floral window topper that has a lot of fullness and texture. These types of valances (layered, scalloped & shaped) make a statement and should complement your kitchen and “WOW” your friends and family.
The styles of the curtains in the kitchen are country, contemporary and casual and like the color we generally have a theme in our house and most of us keep that theme.
For many country style kitchen is popular as it incorporates earth tones that make the kitchen a warm and comfortable place to spend time in. There are literally 1000’s of country style curtains to choose from. Toile, Battenburg and lace curtains are just a few.
For most urban dwellers living in cities contemporary curtains/valances are the perfect choice. These types of curtains generally have straight lines without much texture and are solid in color some have vertical or horizontal lines on them.
Traditional curtains are made of types of jacquard or tapestry fabric and can be solid, layered with flowers or woven. Traditional curtains tend to work well in all types of home styles, country, contemporary, etc…
Grommet curtains for the kitchen have become very popular these days as they hang effortlessly and allow the user to pull the curtains so easily. Most of the grommet curtains available have insulating properties that prevent drafts and darken the room, giving you more privacy.
Many homeowners hang valances or swags as an upper treatment in the kitchen that allows more light to enter towards the bottom of the window, which is sometimes necessary since the kitchen is a work station. On the other hand, Café curtains are layered curtains that are hung at the bottom of the window that give the user privacy in the evening when the lights are on in the house but also allow a lot of light to enter towards the top of the window during the day.
One thing to remember when installing curtains in the kitchen is safety. Never install hanging curtains, drapes or valances near the stove or oven as this could cause a fire. Some kitchen curtains are flame resistant which may be an option. You may also want to consider whether the curtains/valances you are installing are machine washable as you may have to wash them from time to time. I recommend that you wash your kitchen curtains either on a gentle cycle or by hand and hang dry as these types of curtains are generally delicate and can be damaged in the washing machine and dryer.
Some may want to change the theme in their kitchen during the holidays which is easy and quick to do. These days with affordable pre-packaged curtains the only thing you need is your imagination, so I encourage you to have fun with windows in the kitchen, remember that the kitchen is the soul of your home.
By Eugene West, www.swagsgalore.comAmerica’s Online Curtain Superstore!
