Forget Blinds: Emily Henderson Has A Better Idea To Add Privacy To Bathroom Windows

Balancing privacy with lighting is hard, especially in spaces where both are important. Of course, you can add heavy blinds or even a full blackout curtain to your bathroom window to keep anyone from accidentally seeing something they shouldn't, but you'll end up with a dark room that feels heavy and stuffy. Interior designer Emily Henderson has a great alternative — cafe curtains!

Cafe curtains, also called tier curtains, are smaller than full curtains. They cover only the bottom half of the window, so even when they're fully closed, the room will still receive some light. The treatments are light and charming and make a great curtain idea for unique bathroom windows that are a challenge to work with. You also might be able to keep some of the outside view even when the curtains are closed, making this a fantastic option for bathrooms that overlook a garden or other lovely scene. On her Style by Emily Henderson blog, Henderson revealed she used them when redesigning her bathroom for just that reason. "I love that I can lay in the bath and still see the sky and trees but with full privacy," she explained. "It also splits in the middle so when I know that no one is over, I'm able to open them and look directly out the window, as well. It's very, very dreamy."

If Emily Henderson's cafe curtain idea sounds like a great addition to your bathroom, you'll be excited to hear that they're simple to install. You don't even need mounting hardware if you use a tension rod. Tension rods aren't always ideal for heavy curtains, since they're lightweight and not attached to anything. However, cafe curtains are smaller and lighter, so they easily hang on either fixed or tension rods. They let you set your curtains at a preferred height based on how you use the space. When planning the bathroom in her mountain house, Henderson opted for a cafe curtain for convenient use next to her tub. "Something I can easily open and close while in the bath. Hopefully, a fabric that just filters the light, and adds privacy without making it dark," she explained on her blog.

If you want to make treatments to put on your bathroom windows, you can DIY charming pinch pleat cafe curtains with some spare fabric, or you could roll the top of it over to create a rod sleeve. Of course, if you're not feeling crafty, it's easy to find cafe curtains at many home goods stores as well. Avoid fabrics that are prone to mildew or mold, such as cotton or linen, since bathrooms tend to be higher in humidity. Traditionally, a cafe curtain covers the bottom half of the window, but you can adjust the length to be longer or shorter. You could even simplify the process by using an easy no-sew curtain hem technique to get the proper length. If you're unsure, step outside to see how much of your bathroom is visible from the yard or sidewalk, and use that to determine the placement of the curtain.