Are Your Curtains Too Heavy Or Too Light? Here's How To Tell

Anyone who has ever picked out curtains will tell you there are so many choices. Finding the right window treatment means deciding on length, width, and hardware. Don't even get us started on all the fabric choices you need to make. It's understandable that so many homeowners simply find curtains in a fabric they like the look of and call it a day. The problem with this approach is that you often end up with curtains that are too heavy or too light for your needs. How do you tell if your curtains are the right weight — that is, too heavy or too light? Think about the purpose of the curtains and the aesthetic of the room in which you're dressing the windows.

Choosing the perfect curtains for your space involves more than simply picking a pattern or color that matches existing accents. Curtains can make or break a room design with one major factor: fabric weight. Yes, color and pattern matter, but finding the right weight — how thick or thin the fabric is — for the space is vital. Why? The weight of the material dictates how much light the curtains let into the room. Curtains typically fall into three weight categories: light, medium, and heavy. Lightweight curtains are airy and let in a lot of sunshine or outdoor night lighting. They're also less private. Heavyweight curtains lean more formal and block light to varying degrees. They darken a room, sometimes so much that the space can feel foreboding. Midweight curtains, perhaps unsurprisingly, fall somewhere in the middle.

If you're looking to create a light-filled atmosphere in a room, choose lightweight curtains. Made from lace, sheer cotton, or other translucent fabrics, these types of drapes bring a subtle, free-flowing feeling to a space. The see-through fabrics are usually unsuitable for private spaces like bedrooms, but work wonderfully in living rooms, kitchens, or sunrooms. You can successfully layer your curtains with heavier drapes for daytime light and nighttime privacy.

Medium weight curtains are generally made with polyester, silk, linen, or cotton — with cotton curtains being the most popular drapes in contemporary interior design. Medium weight drapes provide some privacy but aren't as thick as heavyweight drapes. Medium weight curtains block less light than heavyweight curtains, but they're easier to hang and still heavy enough to drape prettily. They're arguably the best type of curtains for living rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms.

Heavy curtains are made of thicker, stiffer fabrics than their lighter counterparts — think velvet, heavy linen, and brocade. Blackout curtains and insulating curtains — to limit sound or protect a room against extreme temperatures — also fall into this category. Because the fabric is thick, these curtains don't usually look good in casual spaces or areas that need lots of natural light, such as living rooms or kitchens. Instead, hang these curtains in areas where you need quiet, privacy, and shade, like in bedrooms or walk-in closets. They also elevate formal spaces, like stately dining rooms or secondary sitting rooms.