Kitchen Window Curtains 101

I love this kitchen! It belongs to Chef Tyler Florence, host of the show 'Tyler's Ultimate' on the Food Network, who is seen here chopping up vegetables.

It’s from House Beautiful, and is featured as their “Kitchen of the Year.” The kitchen resides in a house within Rockefeller Center in NYC.  

The dark cabinetry against the white subway tile is awesome. Is it a sign that white-on-white kitchens are starting their descend from on top of the must-haves in interior design? I don’t think I’m quite over them, but it’s nice seeing other styles.

Now, onto today’s post…

This photo from last post, kicked my interest about kitchen window treatments into full drive.

I wasn't sure about the short curtains that are covering only half of the window. To me, they just seem sort of misplaced in an otherwise pretty kitchen.

Kitchens are the heart of the kitchen, or so they say. Moms spend lots of time in the kitchen. The kitchen window is a way for a mother to peak out into the backyard to watch her kids playing. I never have thought much about kitchen window treatments, so I figured I could start with a post.

Curtains can be hung mid-window! And there’s even a name for hanging them in this place…café curtains! Ahhh. 

It is also completely acceptable for kitchens to not have curtains. Curtains add a level of dressiness that you may not like. It’s really about personal interest. If you don’t like curtains, but need privacy, shutters are good alternatives that require less maintenance.

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It bet it could get warm in this kitchen! Maybe this is somewhere in the mountains. Surely not in Texas!

A gray and white kitchen. Shelving is either below and/or in a pantry.

If you do wish to dress up your kitchen, there are a few options you have. 

Roman Shades, linen is a good fabric for roman shades. Roman shades can be recognized for their ease of raising or lowering by a cord.

Via Pinterest

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Dana Wolters Interior Design


I will do a post on Dana Wolters sometime. She's fabulous. There are great things in this kitchen. The gray subway tile is a nice alternative to the white tile. And the refrigerator is tucked nicely away disguised as cabinets.


And look at the built-in cooler at the end of the island! These people must be entertainers. Lastly, I like the hanging lanterns. They're a nice mix between rustic and elegant.

I love this kitchen. Via Cote De Texas

If I couldn't do hardwood in my kitchen, A close second would be this brick. This kitchen is so warm with all the gold tones. The brick floor matches the backsplash and countertops.

I could post many more kitchens with roman shades. In my stash, I've unknowingly saved a lot of photos with roman shades. I’m seeing a trend: roman shades and farmhouse sinks.  

Curtains/drapes

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White sheer curtains in this fabulous kitchen via Cote de Texas

This is the kitchen of the home that the movie It's Complicated, with Meryl Streep, Alex Baldwin, and Steve Martin was filmed at. The Spanish style home was used when exterior was being filmed. But if you watch the movie, this kitchen won't look familiar because the interior scenes were filmed on a sound stage in NYC. This is from the listing when the home was on the market a few years ago!

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If you have a stove near the window, it is not really smart to put flammable and swishy curtains there.

Valances offer a more casual look

Mid-century chairs in a contemporary and bright kitchen via House Beautiful

Pretty white-on-white kitchen with a valance covering a natural fiber roman shade. I think this is a marble backsplash (that reaches the ceiling)! The veining in the tile resembles marble. Can someone confirm?

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For full length windows, here are some general tips for hanging curtains:

Hang above the frame

If you mount the rod four to six inches above the frame, or halfway between the frame and the ceiling molding, it creates an illusion of a taller window.

Hang Wider Than the Frame

By extending the rod three to six inches beyond the frame on each side, it will make the window feel grander than it actually is. This causes the fabric to actually hang against the wall and not block the glass. It also allows extra light to stream in when curtains are open.  To achieve this, you must attach the rod to the wall, and not the molding surrounding the window.

Generally, hanging curtain brackets on the wall above and outside the window molding looks best; it allows fabric to fall gracefully.

In formal rooms, like a dining room or a kitchen with a full length window, 5 or 6 inches of fabric pooling on the floor can look romantic. It’s a bit more traditional English to have several inches of curtain on the floor.

             On The Floor.

It’s also more maintenance; curtains need refluffing every time you vacuum or the cat lays on them.

But boy is it dramatic and grand-looking!

By Houston Designer, Pam Pierce. Yet, another person deserving of a post...

Kitchen, Via Cote de Texas

So what are your thoughts on kitchen curtains? Yay or Nay? If so which ones would you actually hang?

And I thought I’d leave you with this beautiful room

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A peek into the Dallas real estate market

I enjoy looking at real estate, especially expensive real estate. It's nice to see different styles, architecture, and timeless design. 


Below are some of the homes around Dallas that are currently on the market. Of course, I posted ones that I think are really lovely or interesting. The homes in Dallas showcase influences from a good mix of styles.

3236 Bryn Mawr Drive, University Park

$1,149,000

The ceiling in this home adds so much interest. I also really like the bookcase that surrounds both sides of the doorway. The fireplace in the corner is a nice touch too. It's nice to see these expensive homes offer something unique and custom.

I'd put a soft chair in this corner and do some reading, or blogging!

I love homes with harwood floors in the kitchen

According to The Remodeling Guy, hardwood floors are great for any room—including the kitchen.

People sometimes hesitate using hardwood in a kitchen. But—there’s only one floor that will do better in a flood scenario—tile. And even tile doesn’t always survive a broken pipeline. 

Solid wood floors can withstand more than manufactured wood. Engineered floors like plys with a hardwood top do better than laminate flooring (which really isn’t wood at all).

Hardwood floors look good with some wear and tear. If you use a solid lumber, 3/4” thick it will wear better than wood that’s only a few millimeters thick.

4420 Westway Avenue
Highland Park $1,600,000

The listing called it "A bygone era of style--1930s mediterranean style home." A true mediterranean style home has a stucco exterior--requiring a home to be built of brick with stucco added over it. This home, you can see below has a brick exterior. In mediterranean interiors, walls are usually textured.


But I like brick homes, especially if they're painted...like this one:

I like the use of color in this home. The rugs are also really great.

Seagrass rug. 

Sitting area inside the masters suite

Love the color in this room! The rug is a neutral pallete with colors popping from the blue silk curtains, green chairs and patterned pilows. The chairs across the room have a pattern to them, but it's hard to tell what it is.

The curtains are at a good spot, a few inches from the ceiling...all the way around the room.

There is something else great about this home--the designer didn't use a lot of "recessed canned lighting." Instead they used chandeliers, lamps and of course, natural light! The canned look not only looks ugly, but it doesn't feel as home-y.

The molding design at the top is impressive.

I am liking this backsplash and the oven hood. This is a white kitchen that works. But why did they place the curtains halfway up the window?

5422 Merrimac Avenue Dallas 75206

$549,900

This is a nice little 1927 Tudor home on the M Streets. It's a designated historical home.

This property is also for rent at 3,000 a month.

5316 Waneta Dr. $739,000

Greenway Parks

I just love the architecture of this 1931 Tudor!

Designed by C.H. Griesenbeck, is quite the charmer. Tall ceilings, a flowered courtyard with saltwater pool, and a gourmet kitchen are just for starters.

These owners must be ready to sell the home. Notice how enjoyable it is to be able to view these high resolution photos. They're from the real estate site.

This floor is perfect with these white cabinets. I am starting to belive that all-white kitchens just aren't very easy to take photos of (without a photography crew preparing lighting, etc.) and are probably hard to keep clean.

So pretty.

I love how these curtains puddle a bit at the bottom. They seem so elegant.

3709 Gillon Avenue, Highland Park

$5,949,000

Built in 1983, this Neo-Classical residence was renovated in 2008 with a Palm Beach chic feel. The home showcases wide-plank oak floors with French limestone. Dome skylight with hand-forged ironwork.


I don't really like this type of grandoise exterior, but the scrolling wrought iron, windows, and greenery are nice elements. I like a lot of things about the inside of this home too...

Formal dining room. There's some type of mirrored tile on the walls adding glitz and lots of reflection to the room.

I like this kitchen a lot. I really like the black door and window trim.

The kitchen counters are corian. The wood floor is painted with a black pattern to match the trim. The wooden beams on the ceiling are also painted black to match. Beyond the black beams is a weathered wood ceiling. There was so much detail given to this room.

This home has been on the market for 184 days. This rug matches the one in the kitchen. Golden with a hints of blue and red. This room has a lot of symmetry.

I love the silvery blues in this bedroom. This home has 7 full bathrooms!

3708 Maplewood

$3,599,000

Located between Preston and Hillcrest, this Cape-Cod style home was built in 1917. Highland Park's first development was in 1907. 

They used 2 different types of wood on the stairs to create the dark/light combination.

Seagrass and a monochromatic look. Antique, french furniture throughout.

  I like the popped out window. I wonder if that is original architecture?

 The entry way also capitalized by using 2 different kinds of wood-lovely!

I like the different patterned slipcovers for the chairs and a seemingly unrelated deer rug underneath.

Dallas has a nice and diverse collection of historic or architecturally significant houses. These homes sprung up in the early 20th century, when business was booming and many high-end neighborhoods were being developed.


Local architects are largely responsible for the homes—like Clifford Hutsell, who designed a Spanish eclectic house for himself in the 1920s, and Charles Dilbeck, who later became known for the Texas Ranch—but some notable architects from all over the country came to work in Dallas, too. In older neighborhoods like Highland Park and Lakewood, you'll find colonial revivals, craftsmans, roursquares, Spanish mediterranean and tudor houses.


To learn more about Dallas's historic neighborhoods and available homes, visit www.architecturallysignificant.com.


Thanks for reading!

Tara