The One Window Treatment That Makes Any Room Look Tacky

Dressing your windows is not just about functionality. While you may have blackout curtains for a better night's sleep or linen curtains to create visual separation between your living room and the outside world, your window treatments are also a design detail that shouldn't be overlooked. The drapery you choose can impact the visual height of your walls, the color palette of your design, or the light that is filtered throughout the space. When executed poorly, your window treatments can make your room feel dark, bland, or straight up tacky. While most curtains can look stunning in a variety of spaces, this once-popular window treatment could be dating your home: high sheen options.

Draperies with a high sheen, like satin or silk, provided a sense of opulence and luxury in the past. While these window treatments were popular in the 1920s, they appear tacky and outdated in many homes today. Sure, a vintage enthusiast might be able to pull them off, but many of us struggle to incorporate high-gloss curtains into a casual design. From challenges with wrinkles and creases, static-cling dust build-up, color fading, overly-bright light bouncing, and upkeep requirements, satin and silk curtains may not be the most ideal for the average homeowner. So, to avoid the mistakes everyone makes when buying curtains, we recommend following some of these window treatment tips.

Choosing the perfect curtains for your space is all about striking the right balance between functionality and aesthetics. You want your window treatments to allow in ample light without creating a glaring effect, which is one of the concerns regarding high-sheen draperies. However, for darker rooms where bouncing light is a challenge, a shinier curtain material can help reflect limited light and create a more airy, spacious feel. When styling, high-gloss curtains could be suitable for dining rooms or bedrooms, which are low-traffic spaces that sometimes do well with a fancier, luxe design setup. However, living rooms and kitchens are less ideal for these window treatments, where more relaxed fabrics like linen or cotton are preferred. If you have an overall more casual or modern design scheme, curtains with a sheen will make any room look tacky.

For many families, having a curtain that is machine-washable or easy to spot clean is also ideal. The trouble with silk or satin is that these fabrics are prone to water staining and might need professional care or delicate washing. Another consideration is how these fabrics fall and drape. In some designs, the additional folds could feel excessive or heavy. However, in vintage-style settings, high-sheen curtains could offer the right romantic touch with a stunning pooling effect on the floor. Ultimately, high-sheen curtains look tacky in modern spaces, but they can work in more vintage-looking homes.