Blinds, Shutters & Curtains for Living Rooms

What usually matters in a living room

A living room is used at every time of day, so the window covering has more jobs to do than in most rooms. Before looking at fabrics, it helps to decide which of these matter most for your windows:

• Daytime privacy – especially in front rooms close to the pavement.
• Glare on screens – low sun across a television or laptop is a common complaint.
• Evening atmosphere – how the window looks when lamps are on and it is dark outside.
• The shape of the window – bays, sash windows and wide doors each limit what fits well.
• How it looks from outside – many people want the front of the house to look tidy and consistent.

Often a good fit

• Roman blinds – soft folds and a decorative fabric suit a room you relax in; lined or blackout-lined versions add body.
• Wooden blinds – tilting slats let you angle views away from the street while keeping daylight, and suit both period and modern rooms.
• Day & Night blinds – alternating sheer and solid bands give adjustable privacy with a clean, contemporary look.
• Full height or tier-on-tier shutters – precise light and privacy control that becomes part of the room’s architecture; tier-on-tier lets you open the top and bottom separately.
• Café-style shutters – cover the lower half only, so eye-level privacy with the upper glass left clear.
• Curtains – on their own or as a second layer, they soften the room and add warmth in the evening.

Depends on the room

• Vertical blinds work well on wide glazing and patio doors, but may feel more practical than decorative in a formal living room.
• Blackout blinds are usually unnecessary unless the room doubles as a media or cinema room, or someone sleeps in it.
• Roller blinds are simple and neat, but on their own give an all-or-nothing choice between privacy and daylight; they often work best paired with curtains.

Usually compare another solution

• Where the room faces a busy pavement and you want daylight all day, a plain fabric blind that must be fully lowered for privacy tends to be frustrating. Slatted blinds, shutters or a sheer layer usually solve the problem better.
• Heavy, full-width curtains across a window used as the main route to the garden can get in the way; a door-mounted or shorter treatment is often more practical.

Bays, sash windows and wide glazing

Many living rooms have a bay window, and bays change the options. Separate blinds for each facet, shutters made to follow the angles, or a curved curtain track can all work. The bay window blinds and bay window shutters pages explain the trade-offs in more detail. Sash windows often look best with recess-fitted blinds or shutters that respect the glazing bars.

Layered schemes

Living rooms are one of the best places for layering, because one layer handles everyday light and privacy and the other adds softness and a finished look:

• Shutters with dress curtains either side.
• A Roman blind with curtains that frame the window.
• A sheer voile with lined curtains for privacy by day and cosiness at night.
• A neat roller blind behind curtains, where the budget or window depth suits it.

Our guide to layered window treatments covers how to plan the brackets and projection so the layers do not clash.

Seeing it in the room

Colour, pattern and the way a fabric filters light look different in your own room from how they look on a screen. A free home survey lets you compare samples at the window, and we measure and check fixings before anything is ordered.