Husband says no one has curtains these days

[PurpleOrchid42]

My husband talks scathingly about curtains, saying they are 'old fashioned' and 'you won't see them in any interior design magazine'. I think he's absolutely wrong, and likely people are even more likely to have curtains these days, with energy bills being so high. We have roller blinds throughout. It looks rubbish and our heating bills are high.

So who's right, in your opinion?

I am not particularly a curtains fan- some of our windows have shutters so we don’t use them there- but they can add to the overall ambience of a room and most definitely help keep your house warm in winter

You’re a lot more likely to find curtains in an interior decorating magazine than roller blinds.

Curtains are popular and you will see whole pages of design magazines dedicated to them. And roller blinds - really sorry for anyone who has them! - are a bit naff. We have a couple of blackout ones but have curtains too for warmth and to cover up the roller blind!

Is he thinking of net curtains maybe?

I think there was a brief trend of blinds over curtains a few years back but then it returned to the norm of both being equally installed. However, just looking around at the moment it seems having both has been on the increase. Which makes sense in a high energy price situation.

So he is wrong.

You may have cracked the case.

Holding him prisoner inside so he never sees all the curtains in the world does explain this impression.

Everyone I know has curtains! Including me!

I don't think curtains are old fashioned. As folks have probably said, you work with the home you have. We have a mix in our house. Downstairs living and dining room have venetian blinds because of the bay windows. Living room patio doors have vertical blinds. I actually wish I'd gone with curtains as its not warm next to them.
Kitchen I have curtains on the patio doors and a roman blind on the window. Nothing at all on the other window as no-one can see into it.
Upstairs I have a mixture of roman blinds, roller blinds and curtains. The main bedroom has both.

We have perfect for blinds downstairs and wooden Venetian blinds upstairs. No curtains however I am thinking of popping some curtains up over our patio doors just to make the lounge feel cosier.

Definitely curtains can look very stylish, classy and/or modern too. They need to be nice though! Why not grab a home interior magazine and show him? If you are in London John Lewis do a sale just after Christmas and their quality is really good.

I hate blinds in any room that isn't purely functional. So I have blinds in the office and the bathroom. Anywhere else they look cold and unwelcoming so I hvlave curtains.

I have no idea what's fashionable or in design magazines. I have what I like. Why is he bothered about what's trendy?

Well there might be no right or wrong if he said "I personally don't like curtains" or "some houses look better with blinds."

But saying "curtains are old fashioned", people no longer have them and "they aren't in any interior design magazines" (tbf he's showing himself up as old fashioned with that one, surely most new and cutting edge interior design is on Instagram rather than in print media?) is pretty definitively wrong.

Because anyone with eyes can see that the majority of people have curtains and they feature heavily in interior design magazines.

Everywhere echos like an empty house with just blinds

We have shutters and curtains, and long linen curtains next to the french doors. I hate homes without curtains, they look unfinished or like new builds

I have block shutter - they do keep the house warmer.

I would say curtains are way more fashionable than blinds are. Blinds should only be seen when they are drawn, curtains are visable all the time.

One reason I loved our current rental house was they had a brilliant mix of window dressings (it was a lovely family home) lovely thick tasteful double lined curtains (clearly not cheap) beautiful Roman blinds in kitchen and conservatory and a kind of pleated roll up on the front window that is electronically operated , same in bathroom -

You’re right. We put daylight rollers in our son’s (20) newly decorated room assuming they were cool (we’re not 😁). He asked would we mind if he added curtains.

Does he object to putting up the curtain rails or poles? Because that’s the only reason I can think of for making such a ridiculous statement.

We bought new curtains earlier this year, and there was a vast array of different curtains to choose from in the shops.
So clearly there’s a demand for curtains or the shops wouldn’t bother stocking as many different ones.

I don't know anyone who doesn't have curtains. In our old house we had roller blinds in the living room and I didn't like them as much. We do have blinds on a couple of high level side windows, but curtains on all the main ones.

@KnittedCardi I think your comment about long curtains & radiators was in response to me - my point is that long curtains are more contemporary, so to avoid "old fashioned". Yes, I understand that for practical reasons, you may want shorter / sill length curtains because of radiator positions but personally, I think they're really old fashioned - thats where the OP's husband may be coming from. I doubt - whether you're talking about interior design magazines or Insta - that anyone is recommending sill length curtains as a design trend. Practical / money saving, maybe. Design, no.

I have curtains and blinds but then my home isn't minimalist or modern.

That's true. But, I still don't really get the blinds/shutters (which go to the sill) are good, but curtains that do the same, are not! Hey ho.

Does he mean net curtains?

I have both blinds and thick interlined curtains for warmth and to prevent light intrusion. I've recently had new radiators fitted, which are taller than my old ones so I'll have my curtains altered properly so they don't cover the radiators. 🌹