The living room is an essential focal point for relaxation and entertaining, so it's important to incorporate the right elements to make it stylish, cozy, and functional. Living room curtains frame windows, provide privacy, filter light, and ultimately level up the style of your space. They can even give your living room the appearance of higher ceilings just by how high up you choose to hang them. So without further ado, here's how to choose curtains for a living room to help you narrow down the best options for your space.

1. Consider the Number of Living Room Windows

When deciding how to choose curtains for a living room, start by taking note of how many living room windows you have. This will help you get a sense of how many curtains you'll need. As a general rule of thumb, we recommend two curtain panels per window, but you may need to adjust the number of curtains depending on the width of your window and the length of the curtain rod, or if you plan on layering curtains (more on this in step three). Review How to Measure for Curtains and How to Pick the Right Curtain Size for Your Window for tips on determining how many curtain panels you need for a specific window size.

2. Decide on Curtain Length & Hanging Height

Ultimately, how to choose a curtain length for living room windows all depends on how high you plan to hang curtains above the window frame and where/how you want the bottom of your curtains to lay. For context, the minimum recommended curtain hanging height is 4" – 6" above a window frame. However, you can also hang curtains at the midway point between the top of the window frame and the ceiling, or you can even hang curtains from the ceiling for the ultimate high-ceiling look. Review Here's How High to Hang Curtains in Your Home and How to Hang Curtains from the Ceiling for tips and measurement help.

Once you determine the hanging height for curtains in a living room, consider how long you want them to be. For a clean and polished look, we suggest hanging living room window curtains high enough that they brush the floor instead of breaking or pooling (check out How to Hang Curtains for visual illustrations). You'll need a tape measure to measure from the bottom of the wall to the point above the window frame where you want to hang your curtains. This will help you determine the best curtain length for your living room windows.

3. Consider Privacy & Light-Filtering Properties

The next step in how to choose curtains for a living room is to determine what function(s) they should serve. Sheer curtains allow natural light to filter into your living room while providing a level of privacy – perfect for street-level living rooms or living rooms that face neighboring homes. On the other end of the light-filtration spectrum, blackout curtains completely block out natural light. This makes them perfect for living rooms that double as at-home movie theaters (no more glares on your TV screen!). Our Curtain Style Guide goes over how to choose the right window treatments, including light-filtering curtain options and how they can benefit you.

Tip!

For the best of both worlds, layer blackout curtains over sheer curtains. Hang sheer curtains first on a separate rod. Then, hang blackout curtains slightly above sheer curtains on a different curtain rod. This way, you can easily pull back blackout curtains when you want to allow filtered light into your living room and pull them across when you want complete darkness for at-home movie screenings. Review Window Treatments 101: Layering Curtains & More for more tips.

4. Select Curtain Colors

When deciding how to choose curtains for a living room, you can also go by color. Start by drawing inspiration from your current living room color palette. Create a monochrome color scheme by choosing curtains that are the same color as main furnishings, walls, and floors. Add life to neutral living rooms with colorful curtains. Create cool contrast by opting for curtains in complementary shades to your main furnishings (for example, orange curtains to contrast with a blue sofa). Browse living room curtains by color, below:

Warm:

• Red Living Room Curtains
• Orange Living Room Curtains
• Yellow & Gold Living Room Curtains
• Pink Living Room Curtains

Cool:

• Blue Living Room Curtains
• Navy Living Room Curtains
• Aqua Living Room Curtains
• Teal Living Room Curtains
• Turquoise Living Room Curtains
• Purple Living Room Curtains

Neutral:

• White Living Room Curtains
• Ivory & Cream Living Room Curtains
• Beige Living Room Curtains
• Brown Living Room Curtains
• Gray & Silver Living Room Curtains
• Black Living Room Curtains

Tip!

For more help and inspo on how to choose curtain colors for a living room, check out our guide on How to Choose Living Room Colors & 17 Color Palette Ideas.

5. Choose a Pattern & Style

Perhaps the most fun part of choosing curtains for a living room is choosing a pattern and/or style that matches your living room aesthetic! From cool geometric prints to traditional toile designs, there are so many living room curtain patterns to choose from. If you're unsure which pattern to choose, start by shopping for curtains in a specific design style like modern, traditional, or boho.

Browse by Living Room Curtain Pattern:

• Geometric Living Room Curtains
• Abstract Living Room Curtains
• Striped Living Room Curtains
• Floral Living Room Curtains
• Damask Living Room Curtains
• Paisely Living Room Curtains
• Toile Living Room Curtains
• Plaid or Checkered Living Room Curtains

Tip!

It's important to note that you can also go with solid-color living room curtains if your space already has a lot of pattern and texture.

Browse by Living Room Curtain Design:

• Modern Living Room Curtains
• Traditional Living Room Curtains
• Country/Farmhouse Living Room Curtains
• Boho Living Room Curtains
• Coastal Living Room Curtains
• Glam Living Room Curtains

Tip!

In need of some living room curtain ideas? Check out 14 Curtain Ideas for Every Room in Your Home for all the inspo.

You Might Also Like

Start browsing for the best curtains for your living room!