curtainless: is there a virtue to being

[ElliesMomma]

we do have shades/mini blinds. and 30+ windows. almost all of them are without any curtains/window treatments. i am considering adding some, on a case by case basis. mostly for looks. we have all new, energy efficient windows. and we LOVE the sunlight. i personally open all of the shades every morning (and shut them all every night). 

my question is whether you see a virtue to going curtainless. for example, you don't have to dust/wash curtains when you don't have any. on the other hand, though, are we missing something crucial to having a well appointed home, being curtainless.

what do you think?

[kobeat]

All of our windows are new and high effeciency.  We have 2' wood blinds on all our upstairs windows for privacy, no curtains.  Downstairs we have decorative curtains and sheers on the front windows, living and dining rooms.  We do have a curtain on our family room window but only because the sun shines in that window in the afternoon and throws a glare on the TV.  The kids close it to watch movies.  We also have a sunroom with 9 huge windows and no curtains.  I love the sunlight and being able to look out at the backyard unencombered by curtains.

[4evermom]

We've been replacing our old ugly vinyl roller shades with cellular shades.  We have not been putting curtains back.  I like the cleaner look.  The cell shades we chose let light in (wonderful in winter so we can cut drafts and still have light) so one might want curtains for light blocking purposes, say in the bedrooms.  Our house is so dark, the more light the better, imo.  But I can see using curtains for aesthetic reasons.  There are some pretty ones that tempt me and they can help a home look homey, especially if there isn't much other decoration.  They can be an easy way to add color or change a seasonal look.

[crunchy_mommy]

We have curtains only in the bedrooms and bathroom. I love not having curtains in the main living areas (no blinds, either, except one window that's large & close to the road, need the privacy there) -- it just looks so much neater & cleaner and brighter. But I do like curtains in the bedroom because it just feels more cozy to me, just looks to stark without them, plus the walls in there are white so the room just feels empty otherwise. Our other rooms (living room, kitchen, etc.) have color on the walls and rich wood tones, which warms up the room without any curtains.

[K'sMama]

Not much for curtains here - they seem kind of silly to me..  Why have something like that unless it is functional.  We have blinds on most of our windows, and only the living room has *curtains* - purely decorative, but they were here when we moved in and I've never felt the need to replace them.  We are talking about getting rid of the blinds in the kids rooms and buyng dark curtains instead, but won't put in some just for looks.  I would probably skip blinds even if it weren't for hot summer days - that is the only time our blinds ever get closed.

[Siennaflower]

I dislike curtains, always have.  I much prefer the clean lines of blinds.  I have had a valence in the kids room though, that matched their quilts.  I think it's a nice compromise if you want some color on the window.

[childsplay]

We have no curtains here. I love the natural light, and we have nice mouldings around the windows that DH painstakingly installed so I really didn't want to cover them.

Growing up we had drapes and they were pretty high maitenance. There were the 'winter drapes' which were heavy and dark, and the 'summer drapes' which were light and airy. Four times a year we'd wash and iron them. We'd also vacum them. Sometimes we'd mend them. And there was always talk of getting new ones, what color, pattern, etc.

That kind of threw me off window dressings for good : )

[Caneel]

I grew up in a contemporary style house that my dad built and he put venentian blinds on every single window, which as quite a big deal back then!  This was long before you could buy them for $5 at Wally Word.  None of our windows had curtains.  That being said, growing up where I did, many people lived in old farmhouses where thick, thermal to-the-floor curtains were absolutely necessary to block the drafts.

I love the no curtain look and think it works well in older house with nice, thick window moldings.  Sadly, the blinds that I like are crazy expensive so we did go for curtains in the living room and bedroom.  We live on a well-travelled street so privacy is an issue.

[happyhats]

Right now in my living room we only have blinds.  While I do like the look of curtains we just haven't found a great match in here-everything just doesn't "fit" or makes the room too dark, etc.  I'd love to get some colored blinds or even roman shades, but my children are still rough on the blinds so I don't want to spend extra money when we have to replace them every couple months or so. 

[lucifugous]

I can certainly see the virtue of it in some places. I've always lived in apartments with miniblinds and only added curtains a couple times, though nicer blinds would have been awesome. But I definitely want some curtains in my current place!! It's ground floor, I feel like people can see right in even with the blinds shut as tightly as possible, and the place could also really use some personalization/ color/ warmth! I look forward to getting some up!

[purplerose]

We have blinds in all the windows except the huge picture window in the living room, and the kids' bedrooms upstairs. I wouldn't want curtains honestly, and I need to get the blinds down to clean them. I'd be happy with nothing in the windows but I guess that would be weird and people could see in lol

[mumkimum]

We've ended up with curtains usually in bedrooms to help block out more light - but most of the rest our our house is without anything covering the windows.  I love all the extra sunlight.  

I know some people who feel weird without the curtains and like it's an invasion privacy (ie. everyone can see inside the house - these people have heavy curtains constantly closed at their own home). 

[jeslynn]

We do valances. Gives a pop of color and that finished look without having those huge curtains. Plus this way the cats can't attack them! Haha.