Blinds or curtains? How to choose for every room

In the blinds vs curtains decision, blinds win on small windows, wet areas and tight spaces, while curtains win on wide windows, sliding doors and rooms that need softness. Most homes use both, room by room, and some windows do best with the two layered together. The window's size, the room's job and the wall and floor space around it decide the answer.

Blinds vs curtains at a glance

This table compares what each does best, using the products you can order.

When blinds are the better choice

Blinds earn their place wherever the window is small, busy or wet.

• Kitchens. PVC plantation shutters, fauxwood venetians and aluminium venetians all suit a kitchen because they are waterproof. Roller blinds are fine as long as they do not get drenched. Skip curtains in a kitchen.
• Bathrooms and laundries. Light Filter or Blockout rollers and PVC shutters are the usual choices. Roller fabric is not waterproof, so keep it out of direct spray.
• Windows with something in front. A sink, bench, desk, bed head or bookcase leaves no room for a curtain to hang and move. A blind in the recess stays clear.
• Windows you adjust often. A roller lowers to any height and holds it, which suits a home office where the sun moves across the desk.
• A neat, tailored look. A recess-fitted blind reads as part of the window rather than something added to it.

When curtains are the better choice

Curtains suit any window where softness, width or height matters more than a tailored line.

• Wide windows and doors. A curtain is made to the width of its track, so it copes with big openings. A single roller blind has a maximum width of 3000 mm, and wider windows need linked blinds.
• Living and dining rooms. Fabric adds texture and warmth that a hard-edged blind cannot. Our sheers, Cassis, Cassis Volume and Bali, are the more popular choice, and they come in warm neutrals, whites and greys.
• Sliding and French doors. A curtain that stacks back clear of the door lets you walk through freely. Plan the stack-back space first.
• Adding height. A track fitted higher than the frame, running wider than the glass, with curtains falling to just off the floor, makes a window look taller and wider than it is.
• Awkward shapes. Bay and corner windows can take curved and box and bay tracks, which a single blind cannot match.

Our curtains come in five headings. S Fold is the most popular, with regular waves and a deep heading profile. Pencil pleat, double pinch pleat, triple pinch pleat and inverted pleat suit more traditional rooms.

Choosing room by room

This is where most people should start. Match the room's job to the product.

For a deeper look at your own room, see our room-by-room ideas.

Roller blinds vs curtains

Here are the real differences.

Light. A blockout roller stops light passing through the cloth, but a recess-fitted blind leaves small light gaps at each side. Fitting it on the face of the frame covers more and cuts those gaps. Curtains hung wider than the glass and finishing near the floor cover the edges better, but light can still show over the top and where two panels meet.

View and glare. A SunScreen roller cuts glare and keeps the view, so it suits a living room with a garden outlook. Sheer curtains soften the light and blur the view without blocking it.

Space. A roller needs recess depth: 70 mm for an over-roll or 45 mm for an under-roll. Curtains need clear wall space beside the window. For wall-to-wall windows a one-way curtain stack-back takes about 30 per cent of the track width, and a centre-opening pair about 15 per cent on either side.

Cleaning. Roller fabric is dusted or wiped with a damp sponge and dried. Curtains are heavier to clean: sheers are hand washed, and coated blockout curtains are professionally wet cleaned or hand washed at 40C at most.

Safety. Chains and cords need care around children. Our roller blinds come with a chain safety device, and cordless (ZeroGravity) and motorised controls remove the chain entirely. Keep chains out of reach whatever you choose.

Using both: four ways to layer

Many windows work best with two layers, one for daylight and one for night.

1. Roller blind behind sheer curtains. The roller does the light control and the sheers finish the look. A standard (under) roll sits closer to the glass, leaving more space in front for the curtain.
2. Double roller blind. Two independently operated fabrics on one set of brackets: a daylight layer (SunScreen or Light Filter) plus a blockout layer. Read more in our double roller blinds range.
3. Double curtains. A sheer on the front track and a blockout on the rear track, drawn separately. Allow for the projection of both tracks.
4. Lined curtains. A blockout lining sewn behind a sheer, so both move together on one track.

For a step-by-step on the curtain options, see how to layer sheer and blockout curtains. For choosing colours across the two layers, read how to match curtain colours with your blinds.

A quick way to decide

Work through these in order and stop when one answer is clear.

1. Is it a kitchen, bathroom or laundry window? Choose a blind or shutter.
2. Is there furniture, a sink or a bench right in front of it? Choose a blind.
3. Is it wider than about 3 metres, or a sliding or French door? Choose curtains, vertical blinds, panel glide or linked rollers.
4. Do you want softness and texture in a living space? Choose curtains, ideally with sheers.
5. Do you need night privacy or a darker room? Choose blockout: a blockout roller, blockout curtains, lined curtains or a double system.
6. Can you not decide? Layer them, or order samples of each and compare them in your own light.

Once you know the type, order free samples and hold them against your walls, floors and window frames in morning and evening light. Colour and texture look different at 7am and at 7pm.

Questions

Are blinds or curtains better for privacy?

Both can give good privacy at night if you choose the right fabric. Blockout blinds, blockout curtains, lined curtains and double curtains do; sheers alone do not when the lights are on.

Are blinds or curtains better for a living room?

Curtains suit most living rooms because they add softness and handle wide windows well. Light filter or SunScreen roller blinds are a good choice for a smaller window or a glare problem.

Can you have blinds and curtains on the same window?

Yes. A roller blind in or on the window with curtains on a track outside is a common pairing, and a double roller blind or double curtains give you two layers in one system.

Are curtains cheaper than blinds?

It depends on the size, fabric and options you choose. Each configurator shows the price before you order, so you can compare like for like.

Do blinds or curtains block more light?

Neither gives complete darkness. Blockout fabric stops light passing through the cloth, and how much leaks in depends on the gaps at the edges, top and bottom.