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Buying Advice

# Curtains vs Blinds: Which Is Better for Your Home?

It is not a fair fight, because they are not trying to do the same thing. Here is how we decide, room by room.

Written by Blessing Sefah Curtains & Blinds Deco
Published 11 August 2026
Reading time 7 min read
Category Buying Advice

“Should I go for curtains or blinds?” is the most common question we are asked, and the honest answer is that the two products solve different problems. Once you know which problem you are actually solving, the choice usually makes itself.

## The real difference

A blind is a mechanism. It sits close to the glass, occupies almost no floor space, and its job is adjustable coverage of the opening. A curtain is a textile. It hangs away from the glass, takes up space at the sides, and does something a blind cannot: it softens the room acoustically and visually.

That distinction explains most of what follows.

## Light control

For precision, blinds win. A Venetian blind lets you tilt the slats so light bounces off the ceiling instead of into your eyes — you can keep the room bright and kill the glare at the same time. No curtain can do that; a curtain is broadly open or broadly closed.

For total darkness, curtains usually win. A blackout-lined curtain hanging past the edges of the opening blocks light at the perimeter, where blinds tend to leak. Even a good blockout blind leaves a thin gap down each side and at the top unless it is fitted with side channels.

For heat, a lined curtain generally performs better simply because there is more material between the glass and the room, and it traps a layer of air.

## Privacy

Blinds give you finer control of the trade-off. A sunscreen roller or a tilted Venetian gives daytime privacy while keeping the view and the light — useful for ground-floor rooms facing a street or a compound.

Curtains are more absolute: open, and you are visible; closed, and the room is dark. This is exactly why layered treatments exist, and we will come back to that.

## Space and window shape

Blinds are the pragmatic answer where space is tight or the opening is awkward:

- Shallow reveals with no wall space for a curtain to stack
- Windows above a kitchen counter or a fitted unit
- Openings with an air-conditioning unit or handle in the way
- Doors that swing into the window wall

Curtains are the answer where the window is a feature and there is height to use. On a tall living-room or bedroom window, a full-height curtain does something for the proportion of the room that a blind, sitting inside the frame, cannot.

For very wide openings and sliding doors, vertical blinds are often the most practical option — they draw clear of the doorway and do not obstruct the track.

## Cleaning and maintenance

Hard blinds — aluminium Venetians, PVC verticals, most rollers — wipe down. That matters in kitchens, bathrooms and any room where cooking oil or steam reaches the window.

Curtains need occasional laundering or professional cleaning, which means taking them down and rehanging them. Fabric Roman blinds sit in between: softer than a hard blind, but harder to clean than a curtain because of the internal rods.

One point in favour of curtains: a curtain has almost nothing to go wrong. Blinds have cords, chains, tilt mechanisms and brackets, all of which can fail — particularly on cheap systems in daily commercial use.

## Room by room

- Living room — curtains, ideally with a sheer layer. Height and softness matter most here.
- Bedroom — blackout curtains, or a blockout blind plus a curtain if you want total darkness.
- Kitchen — roller or aluminium Venetian. Wipe-clean is non-negotiable.
- Bathroom — roller or Venetian. Fabric and steam do not mix.
- Home office / study — sunscreen roller or Venetian, for screen glare control.
- Dining room — either. Sheer curtains flatter evening light; a blind keeps the wall clear if the room is small.
- Sliding doors and patios — vertical blinds, or a curtain on an extended track if the wall allows.

## Using both

The best-performing windows in the projects we deliver almost always use both. A blind handles the day: glare, heat, a view you want to keep. A curtain handles the evening: darkness, warmth, and the finished look of the room.

Specified together from the start, the two do not compete — the blind sits inside the reveal, the curtain stacks outside it, and each operates freely. Specified separately, six months apart, they usually foul each other.

If you are weighing this up for a particular room, tell us the room, the window width and what bothers you about the light at the moment. That is enough for a recommendation.

Next step

## Talk it through with our design team

Send us a photo of the window and we will suggest a shortlist that suits the room, the light and your budget.

Request a Quote Message Us
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