Say Goodbye To Curtains: Nate Berkus Has A Better Idea To Cover Kitchen Windows

The smell of a home-cooked meal is hard to beat, unless you're trying to get it out of your kitchen curtains. In that case, smoked bacon or steamed fish suddenly becomes anything but appetizing. According to interior design genius Nate Berkus, that's exactly why you should say goodbye to curtains in favor of a better idea that covers windows while making them seem larger at the same time. "In an area where there's food preparation or steam or smells or things like that, it's usually better to not use a textile," he told a guest on the "Rachel Ray Show" who asked for some kitchen decorating advice. "So, it's usually better to use a shade, or a woven blind, or something like that," Berkus recommended.

The trouble with using fabric kitchen window treatments for your cooking space comes down to what experts at the Royal Society of Chemistry have dubbed "permastink." While their research focuses mostly on why workout clothes smell terrible even after going through the wash, the same science applies to kitchen smells that penetrate your fabric curtains. Tiny odor-causing compounds, oils, and microbes released during the cooking process bond with fibers inside your kitchen curtains, eventually turning rancid-smelling, no matter what you do. That's what makes Berkus's advice to replace heavy fabrics with shades or blinds made of less-absorbent materials so spot-on.

While there are countless window shade styles, woven blinds made from materials like jute or bamboo are popular for kitchens. Streamlined options like vinyl solar shades are also low maintenance. Compared to deep cleaning curtains and drapes, they are also easier to wipe down in the event of a kitchen catastrophe.

Plus, according to Berkus, it's a simple way to make even a tight space look bigger if you choose the right size. While you could opt for one that fits just inside your window, the interior designer offered Rachel Ray's viewers an even better option. "If you order a blind that's actually wider than the window by about 3 to 4 inches on both sides, you can actually mount it almost to the ceiling and keep it down so that it hangs just above the top [window] molding. That makes your windows look like they go all the way up to the ceiling and makes the ceiling feel higher," he explained.

A curtain swap-out is a quick way to update a dated kitchen. You can eliminate those lingering odors by removing heavy fabrics and choosing the right material. And by choosing the right size for your new blinds or shades, things will feel light and airy in no time.