If you're looking for an elegant way to make your home feel more private without shutting out natural light, café curtains could be the answer.
Once the preserve of charming French bistros, these gauzy half curtains have become a favourite in British homes, thanks to their ability to shield interiors from prying eyes while still bringing softness, movement and allowing sunlight to stream in.
Better still, it can be a surprisingly affordable – and even renter-friendly – update. With a simple tension rod and a pair of ready-made voile panels, you can recreate the look from around £14.99, making it one of the easiest ways to refresh a kitchen, bathroom or living room on a budget.
Traditionally fitted to the lower half of a sash window, café curtains offer privacy where you need it most, while leaving the upper pane uncovered to maximise daylight. When all goes to plan, a room is left feeling bright, airy and welcoming, without the need for heavy curtains or blinds.
Tori Murphy, designer and founder of her eponymous textiles company, says: "Café curtains are an easy and elegant way to introduce texture and privacy. Adding a delicate barrier between you and the outside world that perfectly veils what's inside, but still allows the light through, seems to be the solution to many people's window dilemmas.
"Hence, they're particularly well-suited for rooms where a little extra privacy is important, but sunlight is still welcome – such as kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms on the ground floor."
How to DIY café curtains
The good news is that this is one of the most achievable sewing projects around. Whether you're an experienced maker or trying your hand at DIY for the first time, café curtains require only a handful of materials and a little careful measuring.
You'll need
- Fabric
- Scissors
- Pins
- Measuring tape
- Curtain rod or tension wire with hooks
- Curtain brackets
- Screwdriver
- Sewing machine or iron-on hemming tape
- Spirit level
- Curtain rings and hooks (if using pencil pleat heading)
Step-by-step guide
1. Decide where your curtain will go
...obviously! But seriously, this will help you decide what style of curtain to go for and where it will hang – halfway up, or at a dado rail-equivalent height?
2. Choose the right fixing
A tension rod is ideal for renters or anyone looking for a drill-free solution. Alternatively, use a slim curtain pole or tension wire with hooks for a more traditional finish – we like brass best.
3. Plan your curtain style
Decide how you'd like your curtain to hang. Gathered, slot-top and pencil pleat headings all create slightly different looks, while you can choose whether your curtain opens in the centre or draws to one side.
4. Measure carefully
Measure the width of your window, cupboard or opening, along with the finished length you'd like your curtain to be. For a softly gathered effect, allow between one-and-a-half and two-and-a-half times the width of the space in fabric.
Keep in mind that different headings require different amounts of fullness. Pencil pleats, for example, need less fabric than triple pleats.
5. Cut and sew
Lay your fabric flat before cutting it to size. Create your heading first, adding curtain tape if required, before hemming the sides and bottom. If sewing isn't your forte, iron-on hemming tape offers a quick, no-sew alternative.
6. Hang your curtain
Thread the curtain onto your rod or wire, install the brackets and adjust the gathers until you're happy with the finished look.
Why we love the look
Whether you opt for crisp white voile, relaxed linen or a delicate lace, café curtains bring softness and character to a room while solving a common problem for overlooked or street-level homes.
Starting from around £14.99, they're proof that one of the prettiest decorating updates can also be one of the most affordable.
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Maddy is the Homes Writer at House Beautiful UK and Country Living UK, where she can be found writing about the latest interiors news and collating inspiring trend edits. She has previously worked for Good Housekeeping, Prima and Red, and has an MA in Classics and Ancient History from the University of Manchester and a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, where she was the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper.
