Creative Curtain Hacks To Upscale Your Home

It might seem odd to say, but curtains can say a lot about who you are as a person. From the colours that you choose, to the texture, transparency, and even where you place your curtains, it offers an insight into your personality. Even if you are renting like I am, you can still customize your curtains, and make your home your own. Anyone visiting my flat for the first time would say that I love to bring colour into my home, and am passionate about prints, being bold, and above all quirky. Even my curtains, have been personalized, to match the mood of the room I am in. My living room has shutter blinds that are colourful, in a beautiful shade of teal. This is because I have predominantly blue colourful art prints, so I wanted the shutter blinds to have the same vibe. When it comes to creative curtain hacks to upscale your home, mine knows no bounds.

In contrast, the bathroom has silver shutter blinds, to match the minimal aesthetic of the bathroom. There are neutral tiles, slick white cupboards, and a real sense of calm. If it were up to me, I would still have colourful shutters, but it wouldn’t match the bathroom we are in now. As you can imagine, there is only so much you can do when you are renting a flat. You have to be careful about what you can, and can’t redecorate. Then we have the skylights, both on the landing, and also one of the windows in the bedroom. Both have neutral blackout blinds, in order to stop the light waking us up at 5AM. These blinds are more practical, than stylish, but they get the job done!

On the other hand, the other window in the bedroom is much more my style. We have a blackout blind again, but this time it is tropical themed. I have a tropical, peaceful theme in the bedroom, with a focus on greens, palm prints, and calming, relaxing colours that bring joy. It is so different to anything else in the house, and truly reflects my personality, like no other room. It is bold, out there, and unafraid to be out there. If you were a guest in my bedroom, you would see me as someone who does not shy away from colour, or prints. After all, being quirky brings happiness into my life. Obviously, if we had our own home, there would be a lot more that I would do to upscale our curtains. However, I am quite happy that we have managed to strike the balance between calming neutrals, and clashing brights.

But how can something as simple as curtains transform your home? From adding colour, to using electric curtain tracks, and even upcyling old curtains, here are 5 creative curtain hacks that will leave your guests astounded.

Try Electric Curtain Tracks For A Smart Home 

Electric Curtain Tracks are like the RuPaul of the curtain world. They are smart, full of wisdom, and beautiful to look at. For those who haven’t experienced the joy of electric curtains, electric tracks are ideal for hard-to-reach, large or heavy curtains, AV and conference rooms or just a touch of luxury. An electric rail has all the features to make it operate simply and efficiently. You will love the speed of setup and the way it will integrate with all your smart home features including google home and Amazon Alexa. If you are into technology like I am, having curtains that can be controlled via a wall switch or remote control, is very impressive!

I love the idea of electric curtain tracks, because it is easy to install, accessible to use, and can really elevate your home. Even if you are on a budget, you can find cheaper electric tracks, that upscale your home. With ‘Touch Impulse Technology’, you can gently pull the curtain to open or close. If you are looking for a way to impress your guests, it really does not get any better than this. Plus, it has a silent motor, meaning that you can control your curtains, without the offputting noise that you often get. If you get stuck, and there is a power failure, you have an Integrated Emergency Control, for manual operation of the curtain. Suitable for your personal home, or commercial use, it also has a longer-life period than regular curtains.

Why? Because you are using technology to control it, meaning that it avoids damage and soiling of materials through touch. From a practical stand point, electric tracks are great for curtain hacks that add security into your home. Even if you are not at home, the curtains give the illusion that someone is still in. As curtains have a timer, and light sensor, you can set it up to close when it is dark. When it is light, the curtains can open again!

Hang Curtains High To Make Your Room Look Bigger 

Even if you have a small room, curtains can make your room look bigger than it actually is. How? Well it is simple! Simply hang your curtains as high above the window as you possibly can. When you attach your curtain rail closer to the ceiling, it makes the wall look bigger. In turn the room is expanded, making it warm and inviting to stay in. You can do this in any room, but I think this would be especially effective in the bedroom. Realistically speaking, that is probably where you want the most space, to hanging your curtains nice and high, will do the job.

You might be wondering how high above the window you should place the curtain rod. According to HomelyVille, you should place the curtain rod ‘ 4 inches above the window (if you have ceiling moldings), and 6 inches above it, if you don’t. They also add that using ‘longer curtains’ in a small space, makes the walls appear longer, and leaner. In other words, just how you would wear heels to elongate your legs, the way you hang your curtains, makes your room bigger as well.

Colour Is Your Friend. Add Life To Old Curtains And Upscale

One of my personal favourite curtain hacks, is to add colour, and interest. Whether you choose a block colour, add a print, or a multi-colour, find what works for you. The colour that you choose for your curtain, says a lot about what you are trying to convey. If you use a white curtain in your bathroom, it shows that you are creating calm, elegance and sophistication. As a colour white stands for peace, innocence, and optimism. On the other hand a brighter colour like red connotes warmth, passion, and energy. You might use red in your living room, or your bedroom.

Blue, one of my favourite colours, is a calming colour. Like green it is soothing, exudes comfort, and is uplifting. When you use a warm, bright blue (or blue tone like aqua), your curtains can immediately uplift someone’s mood. I love having a lot of blue, and green in my home, because they are both colours that bring me joy. When people come to our home, they all feel the same thing. There is a real sense of open warmth here. As you know, my bedroom uses a lot of green. Not only do I love the colour, but it is a great colour to symbolize rest and wellbeing. It is a relaxant, and helps de-stress the mind, and eyes.

Pink is another calming colour, that I would love to have more of in my home. While pink features heavily in my wardrobe, it sadly does not in my home. Pink is a great colour as it is associated with love, kindness and compassion. Light pink is playful, tender, and whimsical, while a brighter pink like fuschia can be used to depict romance, love, and cheerfulness. Speaking of cheerful, yellow is one of the most joyful colours that you can use for your curtains. A light yellow, has a mellowing impact, without being over stimulating. Muted yellows, are best used in places like the living room or bedroom, to signal rest, and relaxation. On other hand, a sunshine yellow, is warm, happy, and welcoming.

Upcycle And Decorate Your Plain Curtains 

Upcyling is one of the best ways of adding interest into your home. Not only can you bring new life into old curtains, but you can also try something new with a DIY project. You will learn new skills, and create unique curtains that will be the talking point of your home. Whether you choose to add patterned tiebacks to your curtains, embellish curtains with flowers, or dye your curtains a different colour, here are some creative curtain hacks.

My personal favourite is the idea of adding flowers to your curtains. As someone who is massively inspired by floral designs, flowers, and nature, I love the idea of floral curtains. I don’t just mean buying a floral print to your old curtains, although that is a good idea too! If you are looking for something subtle and whimsical, you can tie a fresh (or fake) flower bouquet around the curtains for a floral tieback. It will make your curtains look and smell amazing! You can use any flower that you like, whether that is roses, hydrangeas, peonies or anything else. If your flowers aren’t already arranged, arrange them first, and then use an elastic band that attaches to both ends of the flower to secure. To tie on the curtains, just use a floral wire to secure it.

If flowers are not your thing, why not try something luxe. Layering curtains is a great way of adding a touch of luxury into your home. You can embellish your curtain with multiple layers, and textures to create something special. For example, let’s say you have a deep royal purple curtain, that is missing something. You can add a gold tassel tieback, and tie it around the curtain, for a subtle yet luxurious feel. On the other hand, detailing like a scalloped fringe, twisted rope cord tieback, or materials like brocade, embroidery, or braiding, can really bring old curtains to life.

Draw Attention To A Beautiful Bay Window

Last but not least are the gorgeous bay windows. If you are fortunate enough to have one (like I do), you know that it lets in more natural light. It adds style, and more volume to a room, and is great for cats like mine. My cats love to sleep, play, and relax in the bay window because they can look outside, and enjoy the sunshine that is coming in. We have a bay window in our living room, and it really helps complement the open-plan style of the living room. But how do you draw attention to a bay window?

For me, I am planning to revamp the curtains that we have in the bay window. While the other windows (rectangular and smaller) have colourful shutters, the bay window still has neutral blinds. I am looking to use the same colourful shutters that we have on the other windows, but complement the bay window with some additional extras. For examples the shutters might be embellished with floral designs, for something eye-catching and different.

Of course, you could turn your bay window into a reading retreat, and calm oasis too. In this case, you would want to use calm, muted, and tranquil colours like pale pink, pale blue, and white. Use curtain colours that accentuate the bay window, but also create calm. Look for colours, textures, and prints that don’t overstimulate the senses. For example in the reading retreat, you could hang fairy lights over the curtains, and have blankets covering the window sill. It depends how much room your windowsill has, but ours jutts out a lot. It means that if we wanted to, we put a lot in the windowsill. We choose not to though, as we don’t want it to be cluttered.

What Are Your Creative Curtain Hacks?

*Disclaimer

Please note this is a collaborative post but all thoughts are my own, and are not affected by monetary compensation.