Alternatives to net curtains

Leif

I'm thinking about curtains - joy of joys - and although I will fit standard ones with a curtain pole, I'd like some way to allow light in whilst preventing outsiders seeing in. Net curtains is the usual way I guess. Are there alternatives? I bought some sticky back plastic to diffuse a torch, and that stuff could work, just stick it on the windows. Not ideal though. Suggestions please.

MX5huggy

I have these as well a curtains:-

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/00084325#/80084350/

You can angle the slats so that you can see out but not in.

bloss0m

We have vertical blinds which we use all time you can alter the angle whilst still allowing light in and they double as curtain, you can use curtain along with them if you wish although we just have curtain for decoration whcih are just tied back

Leif

Thanks. At the moment my top choice is a roller blind as it is functionally simple. I have venetian blinds in the flat where I am temporarily staying and they get into a mess i.e. break easily. At work we have vertical blinds, and they are 'de rigeur' in the area where my new house is as everyone has them. But I was hoping for translucent curtains, perhaps blinds made from translucent fabric.

MaggieBaking

Wooden slats would be less fragile. You could have a window film as you said http://www.windowwallpaper.co.uk/

Or an etching spray to put on the window.

Ikea have some curtains that are very light, so they would keep the room bright. Perhaps you could have the very sheer curtains and use them in the day sometimes, and a roller blind for the evening?

evoke

If it's a window that you never need to blackout then consider voiles - just like nets but come with designs and dark shades. We're putting up voiles on our stairs window.

Here's some examples:

http://www.curtainnetwork.co.uk/

mrtobs

We had a similar situation in one of our previous houses - needed some privacy but hated net curtains. We solved it by getting plain roller blinds with a kind of gauze-like material (semi see through, like net) - let the light in, but kept our privacy. These could be relatively easily cut down to size also. We got them from ikea, not sure if they still do them but I'm sure that other places would do similar.

ginvzt

I got these in my living room:


I love them, and I am going to get them for a few other rooms as well!

abankerbutnotafatcat

I was going to suggest sheer curtains/voiles - much more modern than nets and easily washed.

ginvzt: what are they?

ginvzt

They are like a roller blind, but the fabric is on both sides of the roller - back and front, so when you scroll, you either have 'solid' and 'transparent' lines matching and you can see through to the outside (they still work like net/voile curtains, so you can't see much from outside in), or you can have 'solid' aligned with the 'transparent' one on the other side of the blind, and you have a full cover. Very good for blocking out sun, but not the light!

ginvzt

http://www.sunflex.co.uk/index.php/component/virtuemart/?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=47&category_id=22

Manufacturer's website. They are similar to facette blinds, which are much much more expensive!