How I Made My Cafe Curtains + Cafe Curtain Inspiration
Last month, I was really happy to finally finish off my bathroom renovation by making and installing some yellow cafe curtains over the sash window. Cafe curtains are having a bit of a ‘moment’ within interiors; they are eclectic and whimsical and embrace the current trend for traditional interior design. Practically, for me, they were the perfect choice to add a bit of pattern and texture within my bathroom, as well as keeping the top half of the window clear to still let in as much light as possible.
Soft linen curtains in this wonderful mint green bathroom. Image credit: Brandon Schubert
Mostly constructed from light fabrics such as linen and cotton, cafe curtains hang centrally across a window to gently diffuse light while providing discreet privacy. They were first installed in the cafes of 19th-century Europe (freeing customers from the curious stares of passersby), but they are a great option to use in the home - especially in bathrooms and kitchens where a full-length drape would not be suitable.
A roman blind is paired with cafe curtains in this bathroom designed by Studio Duggan. Photo credit: Sarah Griggs
In rooms where a certain level of privacy is required at all times and a higher level is needed at others, I’ve noticed that top interior designers (such as Studio Duggan) pair cafe curtains with roman blinds to give their clients a variety of decorative window coverings. What I love about this option is the visibility and prominence these treatments give to feature windows (unlike the obscuring nature of shutters).
My bathroom now. Buy this Harlequin wallpaper here.
For my bathroom, I sourced a 9mm coated brass cafe curtain rod from Hunter & Hyland that was cut to size to fit my window and supplied with fixings. You can also buy real brass rods from House Of Brass, or pick up budget-friendly poles in your local Dunelm.
I selected a fabric from Linwood’s new collection and decided to create two separate curtains rather than one large panel due to the large width of the sash. I installed my rod first, then draped my fabric over it to ascertain how I wanted my curtains to look (floaty, but I didn’t want too much excess fabric so they looked all ‘bunched up’). My window is 115cm in width; in the end, I made each curtain 80cm wide as that is what I felt looked best.
I really liked my cafe curtain rod, so I didn’t want to ‘hide’ it by hemming the fabric around the pole. Instead, I created little fabric loops which I folded over and pinned to the underside of the curtain (making sure they looked OK on the rod before I sewed them on). If you like this look but do not feel confident creating the loops, an easy way to install a cafe curtain without sewing is via cafe curtain hoops and clips.
Buy cafe curtain rods and accompanying clips via deVOL.
I simply hemmed up the four sides of each curtain with my sewing machine (I did not use a lining as I wanted to diffuse as much light from the linen as possible). If you really do not like sewing, this could be done easily with no-sew fabric glue!
What do you think? Would you make your own? If not, you can purchase cafe curtains from Etsy, East London Cloth, or the best option would be to source a local maker of soft furnishings who would be able to measure and fit them for for you.
