Maximise Your Privacy with Modern Curtain Designs

August 22, 2023

by Kristen Phang

Home is your personal space you own where you feel comfortable and relaxed. It is your cosy sanctuary where you can be yourself without fearing judgement or criticism, a recharge station where you can let go of all your work responsibilities and be yourself.

With such a beautiful haven, you would want to preserve its safe space as much as possible, so we hang up drapery to give us that little extra privacy. In this article, you will learn how to maximise and control your level of privacy in bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms, study rooms and home offices with the latest modern curtain designs.

What is a modern curtain design?

Usually, most people use the word “Modern” to describe the present day. However, in the interior design world, “Modern” is defined as the modern interior design movement that was developed in the early 20th century and continues to inspire many of our trending house decor trends today. It has:

A monochromatic colour scheme of either white, black, grey, beige or pastel
Clean lines with minimal ornamentation
Minimalism (no clutter or unnecessary flourishes)
Natural light and materials (e.g., wood, glass, metal)

The modern design movement is an excellent choice for a humble and neat home. If you wish for curtains that follow the modern design movement, choose curtains with either thick fabric or a lining to have crisp, clear folds. Select plain colour curtain fabrics with neutral or pastel colours. If you want your curtains to stand out more, try curtain fabrics with a translucent pattern of natural textures, like marble or wood.

However, if you are actually looking for a “modern” design trend as of 2023, then one of the latest design trends of our 21st-century contemporary period is warm minimalism. Warm minimalism has clean lines, natural materials and open spaces of minimalism but adds brighter and richer colours, patterns and small furniture accessories to create warm, natural tones and welcoming vibes. People love this style because of its fair balance of functionality and style, adds warm, positive and lively vibes to the cold look of minimalism, and its Instagram-worthy shots.

There is also a growing Vintage design movement blooming in 2023, a contemporary design counter-movement that focuses on maximalism, earthy tones and plenty of furniture accessories. But for this article, we will focus on how to design with the warm minimalism movement, which has heavy inspirations from the modern design movement and is one of the most popular design trends of the early 2020s.

Stylo / Collection

How to Maximise Your Privacy in Bedrooms?

Bedrooms require a dark, quiet and private environment for a good night’s sleep, which is why blackout curtains are the perfect curtain set for bedrooms. Blackout curtains are 100% opaque, giving you 100% privacy in your bedroom. Its thick fabric also muffles out loud noises from the street, blocks glaring lights from street lamps and keeps the cool air from the fan or aircon inside the room.

The heavy weight of the fabric also holds the curtain in place, creating crisp, clear folds that look lush and elegant, adding an air of grandeur to a room. The weight also prevents the curtains from swaying, removing all distractions that could prevent you from sleeping.

Align your curtains to the warm minimalism movement by choosing rich, calming colours for your room, particularly solid blues, greens and greys, as they have been scientifically proven to aid sleep. Deeper tones of these colours will make your bedroom feel cosier. Other solid colours along the pastel colour palette like Lavender and Sunshine are great alternative bright colours for bedroom curtains. If you want to add a personalised touch to your bedroom curtains, try using patterned solids fabrics like the Dolce Vita, a trimmed curtain lining or DIY tiebacks for your curtains.

Dolce Vita / Collection

If you have a bedroom shared between siblings or roommates, you can also create privacy within a bedroom by hanging up curtains on the ceiling. Using a curtain as a room divider can create a personalised space for each member in the shared room while maintaining each individual’s privacy. A curtain divider can also help you eliminate distractions within a room for better sleep. A curtain divider’s soft elements also give the shared space an elegant, flowing aesthetic feature that makes the environment look more welcoming and comforting.

If it is too much of a hassle to hang ceiling curtains, or if you are looking for a more affordable option, you can also hang your curtains on a tall clothes rack. You can even decorate it with fake crawler plants or fairy lights to create a dreamy chic look or pin photos of your loved ones. In addition, curtains on a clothes rack will allow you to control your privacy as you can move the frame wherever and whenever you please.

Release / Collection

You can use a curtained wall to create a more intimate, private space around your bed, even if you are not sharing your bedroom with someone else. It gives you an extra layer of protection, and the cosy nook will help you fall asleep much easier. Another way to add privacy inside a private bedroom is to surround your bed with sheer curtains from a bed canopy or the ceiling. This style gives your bedroom a fairytale-like fantasy with royal prestige while keeping your sleeping environment cool and refreshing.

How to Maximise Your Privacy in Bathrooms?

Privacy is essential in bathrooms - for obvious reasons. Thankfully, you usually do not need bathroom curtains as most windows are small and high enough to protect your privacy. However, some bathrooms are designed with large windows, so plenty of natural sunlight enters the room. Besides, if you are living in a busy home with a big family and roommates, you may want an extra layer of privacy around the shower or bathtub so that multiple people can use the bathroom at the same time.

Before hanging any curtain or window treatment for your bathroom, consider the humidity of bathrooms. Unless your fabrics or materials are waterproof, your curtains will get stained, wet and gain mould or mildew very quickly. Hence, most fabric curtains will require frequent cleaning or won’t last long. Likewise, fabrics should not be longer than the windowsill for the same reason.

However, there is a workaround: Roman blinds have levers that allow you to control the amount of privacy and natural light in a bathroom without getting the shades wet. They also use minimal porous curtain fabrics, so you can handle any fabric design you desire without worrying about humidity or mould. For a warm minimalist design, choose white or beige colours to balance out the cold tones in your bathroom. You could also select curtain fabrics with ornamental or curved shapes to balance out the hard edges of the sink, tiled floors and wooden cupboards while giving the bathroom a rich, royal elegance.

If you want extra protection from the outside world, add window frosting on the glass. This window treatment effectively obscures the visibility of passers-by who look toward your bathroom, but it also compromises your beautiful window view of the world outdoors. A more effective way to use the frosted window treatment is to add it to glass panels around your shower area.

Dolce Vita / Collection

Speaking of privacy within a bathroom, you can also hang an eyelet curtain around your bathroom or shower. Every part of the eyelet curtain, from its curtain rod to the fabric, finials and eyelets, can be made of waterproof material like plastic and polyester. Hence, they are durable, practical options for a bathroom’s humid environment.

To create a warm minimalist shower curtain, go crazy with nature patterns like our tropico or Dolce Vita collections. Most solid colours, such as bright, rich tones, muted soft pastels, or deep earthy hues, would work wonderfully in any shower curtain so long as it matches the colour themes of your bathroom. For the traditionally modern aesthetic, choose dark oceanic colours like aquamarine or cobalt and pair them with white, silver or gold geometric patterns to give a luxurious, clean and dynamic appearance. All these designs will negate the cheap appearance of plastic and polyester curtains.

How to Maximise Your Privacy in Living Rooms?

The living room is where you welcome guests to your home and relax by yourself or with your family after the end of the workday. In each scenario, you need a different level of privacy, which is why designers love layered curtains.

Layered curtains with the sheer and solid curtain combination are apt for controlling the level of privacy and the amount of light in the room. If you want only partial privacy and some natural sunlight, draw the sheer curtain. You can draw the blackout curtain if you wish to have complete privacy at night. If you want to admire Mother Nature outside your window, just pull both curtains to the side. This combination also gives your living room curtains an ethereal and luxurious effect that will impress your family and guests.

You can further control your level of privacy by choosing the right material for your sheer curtain. Usually, sheer curtains made from natural materials such as silk, cotton or linen naturally have a drapery, flowing effect, which makes the curtains lighter and more elegant. While synthetic fabrics like polyester and voile do not give the same ethereal effect, they tend to have a wider variety of colours, are less likely to wrinkle and have a longer shelf life.

For warm minimalism, get plain sheer curtains that are either off-white or beige in colour with natural textures or materials.

Ultimately it is up to you how much thickness you want to match the amount of privacy you need. As Kate Diaz from Swanky Den says:

“It’s up to you which material you choose for your sheer curtains. Make sure they match your room’s decor and provide the optimum thickness for the privacy you need.”

To test a sheer curtain’s transparency before purchase, place a sample of the sheer curtain fabric over a window.

According to Jaime Nusser of J Designs, you can place plain curtains on clothes rack next to your table to create a work/homework nook, which can be especially helpful for children.

Curtains are an excellent way to protect your privacy. However, many overlooks how they can help create a personal and protected indoor and outdoor space. With these tips and tricks, you can control your level of privacy with your curtain and let that privacy aid your aesthetic and your lifestyle.

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Tropico / Collection

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References

19 Genius Ways To Get Privacy In A Dorm Room Or Apartment You Haven’t Thought Of. (2019, February 18). Tiny Partments. https://tinypartments.com/19-genius-ways-to-get-privacy-in-a-room-you-havent-thought-of/

Arco, J. (2023, January 6th). How to Create Privacy in a Shared Bedroom - 10 Steps. Bark and Chase. https://barkandchase.com/how-to-create-privacy-in-a-shared-bedroom-10-steps/

Breus, M. (2022, December 13). Best Bedroom Colours for Sleep. The Sleep Doctor.

Briggs, C. (2021, February 9th). 8 Ways To Create More Privacy in Your Home, According to Designers. Apartment Therapy.

Hohenadel, K. (2022, March 1st). How to Add Privacy to a Bathroom Window. The Spruce.

Masterclass. (2021, June 24). Modern Interior Design Guide: What Is Modern Design?. Masterclass.

Masterclass. (2021, July 16th). Blackout Curtains: How to Make DIY Blackout Curtains. Masterclass.

Mundof, D. (2022, Sep 19th). 10 Bathroom Window Privacy Ideas That Won’t Sacrifice Style. Bobvilla.

Tonelli, L. & Tardiff, S. (2019, April 4th). THE IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY DESIGN: Take it from us—these go-to styles are not to be confused. Elle Decor.

Turner, O. (2022, November 19th). How do you layer sheer and blackout curtains? The window dressing trick everyone should know. TheLivingetc.

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