to think there is nothing wrong with net curtains?

[Pipbin]

I'm watching 'Selling Houses' and people looked and one house and said 'oh no, net curtains. Look the whole street has nets'.
Now I know that there are some nets that are a bit old fashioned but are they such a sin?

I bet they will come back in fashion.
Then the office look will be 'naff' and the net curtains will be...'vintage look'.

I used to walk past a house on my way to work that had a lovely solution. They had a pole going across the middle of the window with loads of bead necklaces hanging from it.
Its not there now though, plantation shutters instead: www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.891161,0.898998,3a,75y,101.04h,78.35t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sYVXy_oV_3oJwTuvvOnBWmg!2e0

Can't stand vertical or horizontal blinds, sticky or spray on panels, nets (or voiles, thanks to this thread I know the difference).

When I lived in the city, plantation shutters were ubiquitous. They're the 'new' popular equivalent to Venetian blinds from the 1970s. I think they look at odds with the style of some properties.

Each to their own though!

I don't hate 'nets'. I have 'voile' from IKEA so that must be ok. Some patterns I find old-fashioned but nets themselves are just a functional solution to lack of privacy. Easier to fit than blinds and easier to clean. Blinds also attract dirt but are a pain in the arse to clean properly so I find the cleaning reason odd.

However,

We installed blinds, and then cut out the top foot or so of slats so that you can close the blinds and the bottom 2/3 of the window is covered for privacy but the top 1/3 still lets in the light!

This is interesting as I have, essentially, got cafe curtains in one room as I want to be able to sit and see the greenery and sky but not the flats and traffic, and preserve privacy. I did consider getting a blind that is fixed on the window ledge and goes up instead of down but, seeing the dirt that settles on the windowsill that would settle on the mechanism instead put me off. I might consider this.

I do like shutters but they would not suit.

I think nets are very 1970's. They went straight in the bin when we moved into our house.
People seem very worried about people looking in,we have a fir hedge down one side of the drive which stops some neighbours opposite looking in but I couldn't give a toss if people are nosy. Obviously I shut the curtains if stripping off or whatever.
We have slatted blinds in the rooms at the front,and they're to block out the sun for watching tv/sleeping.

I don't mind other people having them, but I had a small Victorian terrace house and it was too dark as it was, I hate the way they cut out the light.

If I didn't have nets then all and sundry can see into my huge kitchen window! Especially the house opposite who like to stare
Don't care how naff they look as they serve a purpose and there was this thing called a washing machine invented which, low and behold, washes things and that's what I use to wash my nets once a month

Sqoosh - voile is actually the name of the material, which is different to net. And Linoleum is very different to vinyl flooring - it is made from all natural materials.

I have voile curtains, plain with a horizontal line near the bottom. We live on a v busy road and I don't want people to able to see in while I'm on the soap in my PJs eating breakfast! Blinds collect too much dust and are a pain to clean, whilst curtains can be washed regularly and they come out lovely and white. I did recently suggest those stick on frosted panels, but DP doesn't like them and they would stop our cats being able to watch the world go by from the windows.

I've just come back from my morning jog round the estate. It's not a naice estate but it is a nice estate. It's about a 50/50 split between nets and no nets. Some nets were all patterned and scalloped at the bottom, which I agree is a bit naff.
What I did notice though is that I couldn't see into the house of anyone without nets.

I use cotton lace. It is beautiful. Laura Ashley-ish

I have it in our living room and bedroom.

In our daughter's room I have put 1930's style lace (cotton also)

Used delicately it really softens and 'warms' up a room.

I am also strangely attracted to nylon tulip lace also

Oh YANBU. It couldn't be easier to take them down if you hate them.

Right here's my front room bay window.

Do people think bottom half plantation blinds would suit it?

Would they stop me opening my windows? Windows currently open either side but its the large bottom portion which opens and opens inwards. Not that we hardly ever open them as the roads a bit too noisy.

Also would you have the blinds half height, eg50% or would you put them up to the horizontal bar?

My problem is that I dislike nearly all the options - standard Metropolitan Police advice is not to have bare windows, but I don't like scalloped nylon lace, plantation shutters, slatted blinds, vertical blinds (look like a dentist's waiting room) or stick-on frosting. That leaves voile or antique-looking lace.

I like what you having on there viva

I wouldn't bother... :)

I think it might be a bit much in that size window.

lush as I was saying, I have cotton lace -with a very soft pattern.

Look on ebay...there is a really lovely seller on there.

put 'cotton lace' as your search and see what comes up :)

Yes, I was sticking up for your cotton lace, Feminine. It's far superior to nylon net. In fact, I have a lovely piece here which one day I will get around to hanging in dd's room.

if you couldnt see in the houses with no nets op it could be becasue they didnt have any lights on.

you can get nice coloured vertical blinds. look less like a surgery

I don't like most options either, though I like the very old-fashioned Victorian lace nets in a Victorian house, which we have - but we also have the original shutters so nothing would work. But it doesn't matter because we have a front garden with some biggish shrubs which give us some privacy.

I would never ever ever buy a house with no front garden, for this very reason. And nets do block out light, the different at Dsis's when they pull the nets over is pretty noticeable.

this thread has made me want net curtains!!

I'm undecided now what to do. Keep the voiles or get plantation blinds.

Similar to ours, Pipbin. The 300x100 fits our wide, shallow living room window and the 300x114 fits our bedroom (very utilitarian 1940s house). We just have them on spring mounted poles, so they're easy to take down for cleaning. They get washed about once a year and the tops vacuumed, as necessary, when I vacuum the tops of the curtains.

pah
link
www.johnlewis.com/venice-slot-headed-voile-panel/p116223?colour=White

I'm overlooked at the back - not on the street, by other houses.
Split Victorian house front door, up outside steps, as they come out the door they look right into DDs bedroom. Took nets down and just close curtains when DDs are getting dressed etc...
Downstairs had same problem - had vertical blinds. Got rid of them in kitchen (grease magnets) and on the window on that side in living room (almost patio door size, small DCs and dangers of cords etc). Neighbours sitting on their patio can see in the living room! (Have left vertical blinds on other window as people coming up the steps to front door can see straight in without them - but they can be angled almost open and block view from door).
I used to hate it but now I know them etc, I'm not overly worried...
Our windows are double glazed but when it needs replacing I was thinking about getting one way glass - like mirror glass just in those windows
(you can also get stuff you can obscure - something inside the glass - but I think that blocks both ways)
I also looked at getting mirror glass film...
Just not sure if it would look odd from outside - and if dark with lights on you can still see in.

Word of warning - those cheap bamboo blinds you can't see out but are completely see through with lights on.
(Found this out when I lived in a street of terraces - we were 3 storey across road 2 -in my room, top storey, hot night, windows open, heard heavy breathing outside - looked out thinking someone was in trouble - realised it actually sounded like shagging -surely no-one was shagging in the street - usually someone around, no dark corners - then realised it was coming from the house across, a few doors down - they had their blinds closed but I could see straight in (and they weren't doing missionary, under the covers with the lights off )- never picked up the courage to overcome the embarrassment of knocking on the door to warn them - but felt guilty...if I could see in so could about 6 other houses...never did hear them again or see anything - but didn't look either - but maybe someone was - yuk!)

I seem to spend most of my time moving into new houses taking those cheap bamboo blinds to the skip.

I might actually give my bedroom voiles a wash today, inspired by this thread.