Curtains for Nursery & Kids Room: Top Ideas & Tips for Children's Rooms

 

Nursery curtains have two jobs that matter more than anything on the mood board: darkening the room for naps and bedtime, and being safe around small, curious hands. Get those right and the rest is the fun part: the colour, the pattern, the pompoms. The best curtains for a nursery or child’s bedroom have blackout lining, hang from a sturdy, well-fixed pole that runs past the window, and stop at the sill or just above the floor, so there’s nothing to trip over or swing from. Below, our experts share how to get the practical side right, then how to choose colours and patterns your child won’t outgrow in a year.

Control Light with Room-Darkening Drapes

 

Efficient control of incoming light is extremely important in nurseries and kids’ bedrooms to create a sleep-friendly ambience for a smooth segue from playtime to naptime. Hence, the nursery or children's room curtains should be capable of room-darkening, which, to a great extent, depends on the choice of the drapery fabric and lining. 

Blackout curtains are a sound choice for kids’ bedrooms. In addition to blocking light effectively, they also muffle sound and help keep the room’s temperature steady. The good news - when shopping with The White Window - is that this does not mean limiting your choices to blackout ‘face’ fabrics only. In fact, by simply adding blackout lining behind, you can convert any curtains into blackout drapes, keeping the wide world of our 2,500+ drapery fabrics - from homely cottons to sumptuous velvets - open for choice. Our blackout lining is sewn in and comes in white, beige or grey, so it sits as happily behind soft pastels as deeper colours. It blocks most light rather than every chink, so pair it with a pole that runs well past the window.

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Ensure Daytime Privacy with Sheers & Voiles

 

Room-darkening drapes give good light control and privacy which is indispensable during your child’s sleep hours. But, for a nursery/ kids room facing a busy street or exposed to sunlight for long hours, blackout curtains as standalone treatments don’t quite complete the mandate. Hence, we recommend pairing blackout curtains with sheer curtains or blinds. 

Semi-transparent window treatments soften the harsh glare of the sun while also providing daytime privacy. So, the little explorer can be kept amused with the views outside whereas, in the absence of this sheer layer, you’d be forced to choose between this privacy and light. Our sheer curtains have a chain weight along the hem, which helps them hang straight and fall neatly back into place.

Make your Palette Considerations Wisely

 

Drapery is the soundest spokesperson of the palette and decor style of any room as curtains often enjoy significant optical real estate, easily capturing the eye. So, let the curtains define the palette of your nursery/ kids’ room or complement it with a suitable hue that syncs seamlessly.

If you’d like to take the conventional (and adorable of course!) route of baby blues and pastel pinks, there is no dearth of choice in our collection. Light-blocking Berry Crush curtains’ gentle blues and polycotton Full Blossoms’ soft pinks are just two special mentions to offer you a glimpse.

But, if you want to take a gender-neutral decor approach or simply try something different from the usual, consider pastel versions of orange, green and yellow that offer cheerful and playful shades suitable to both boys and girls. 

Or, if you’re looking to create a very versatile set of drapery that can outlive the fleeting interests of your little one, consider super-neutrals like beige, grey, cream, brown and white. These colours can mingle with most palettes and decor styles, making them a future-proof choice for your kids’ spaces. 

For small nurseries and petite windows, we suggest selecting curtains that closely match the colour of the walls. By not bringing in striking visual contrast, this creates a sense of visual continuity that helps to make the space ‘feel’ more expansive than it is. And a small window’s dwarfism is masked efficiently by blurring the profiles of the curtains whereas contrasting curtains could have highlighted the smallness of the window.

Let Pattern Add Playfulness Without Going Too Far

 

Nurseries and kids/ children’s rooms are incomplete without playful elements, making the colourful strokes of zesty patterns quite inevitable here. Trust this role to your kids' room or nursery curtains and they will wear them with the soft elegance of their rippled contours. However, do spare a moment of forethought when choosing the patterns.

Age-proofing is a wise strategy when selecting the motif for a nursery or kids’ room unless you are that rare design enthusiast who remains unfazed by the effort and cost of frequent decor updates. To our other clients, our experts advise avoiding overly kiddie patterns and highly saturated colours as children’s fixation with such themes is usually short-lived. Instead, we recommend opting for timeless motifs and versatile palettes for your curtains, that can outlive their momentary obsessions. Let our fabric collection inspire you.

The colour fusion of ombre as in Valentine Moon, the floral fest of Urban Cape, and the dabbled prints of Fluid Sail carry whimsical undertones that children will likely love to carry forward to their teen bedrooms without second thoughts. Similarly, Blythe’s tassel-embedded motifs and Pasture Moss’ outdoorsy theme of perched birds have a frolicsome twist, however, without seeming too kid-specific. You can even consider slightly more mature patterns such as the abstract print of Wallbach or the multi-coloured geometric pattern of Akina that proffer an easygoing personality to the space without being too cutesy.

Thus, by avoiding ‘theme-tight’ patterns and still retaining a playful vibe, you dress your nursery and kids/ children's room with curtains that neither you nor your kids will tire of too soon. And that’s how you make it timeless! There are umpteen ways to crack this future-proofed recipe of kids’ curtains, from idyllic florals to chic geometric patterns, which you can explore in our collection of patterned and printed curtains. 

Consider Hypoallergenic Drapery Fabrics for Sensitive Skin

 

If your child is prone to allergy issues, consider natural fabrics like cotton and linen, which many people with allergies find gentler. Besides being safe for your kids, they are breathable, enduring and casual, making them perfect for a room where fresh air and a lighthearted aesthetic are key.

If you love the visual appeal and benefits of natural fabrics but are concerned about their upkeep, consider cotton and linen blends. These fabrics bring you the best of both worlds - the breathability of natural fibres and the crisp finish of polyester. So, you can enjoy the natural elegance of cotton/ linen while keeping the curtains less prone to creasing.

Deck Up with Decorative Baby-Proof Curtain Trims

 

Curtains rigged up with colourful trims are just the right way to finish a kids’ room or nursery curtains. These delicate delights offer the perfect excuse to add a playful element, colour and texture to your little one’s haven besides rendering a designer touch to your decor. 

Lush pompoms offer their curvy silhouettes and plushy texture. Tassel trims, braid trims and fringe trims offer a sumptuous decorative appeal fitting for a traditional setting. Ribbon trims give a playful spin to any drapery without being too whimsical or dressy. Name them all, curtain trims are beautiful ornaments that rhyme with the lighthearted theme of kids’ spaces. 

However, that said, we would like to put a word of caution for nurseries and very small kids’ rooms as toddlers are in the habit of mouthing amusing things and they will not be able to resist trying their luck with these lovely little adornments for too long. So, for baby-proofing the room of very young inhabitants, we suggest adding braid trims or ribbon trims that offer the same scope to add colour, texture and detail sans the risks involved with dangling baubles and tchotchkes. 

And for an older kid’s room who has outgrown the stage of mouthing small objects and has been sufficiently taught about safety measures, the whole world of passementerie should be explored. Here, beauty and safety are not conflicting, so, opt for any curtain trim that rhymes with your style - from jumbo pompoms to petite baubles - anything that lights up their little faces.

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Invest Forethought in Determining the Length

 

The length of the drapery needs special attention in the context of a kid-specific space. Considering that rambunctious kids get into trouble easily with trailing fabrics, we depart from our oft-repeated recommendation of long drapes and instead advise sill length as the appropriate drop-point for both nurseries and kids’ rooms. This will cancel the chances of your kid tripping over the curtains or getting entangled in them. Also, the curtains will not end up as hide-and-seek locations and handy swings, saving you from many unwanted troubles.

However, if you must go for floor-length drapes for decorative reasons or because you want them to be permanent additions not begging for change when the kid grows, we recommend staying within the streamlined approach and letting them stop at the floor or slightly above the floor. Avoid ‘puddling’ the drapes as fabrics pooled together on the floor are bound to cause accidents. Measure the drop from the pole to where you want the hem and order that finished size. Aim for about 2 cm above the floor and the hem will stay clear. For a detailed explanation of how to measure the length of curtains, visit our Drapery Measurement Guide.

Pick a Full-Coverage Heading Style

 

The heading style of your curtains confers a unique personality to the drapery and also dictates its operational ease. At The White Window, you get to choose from over a dozen heading styles that each have a unique configuration of visual appeal and functionality. Please refer to our Drapery Headings Style Guide for a detailed probe.

In general, for nurseries and kids’ rooms, we recommend opting for heading styles that feature a continuous coverage top devoid of eyelets and intervals so that light does not find loopholes in the header to peek in. The tab top style, for example, has looped fabric tabs which will not work in favour of your agenda of darkening the room for naptime. Instead, opt for styles like double pinch pleats, back tabs, rod pockets, flat panel tops, and so on, that have no loops, gaps or eyelets in their headers for light to peek in. 

Make Careful Choices with Hardware

 

There are also a few matters to be kept in mind when ordering the hardware for your kids' room or nursery curtains. Besides ensuring that the drapery pole and accessories are compatible with the heading style of the curtains, there are other aspects to be considered.

Firstly, order a drapery pole that extends at least 15 centimetres beyond your window trim, if space allows. This will ensure a wider coverage and minimal light leaks from the sides of the drapery. Similarly, mount the pole/ track a few centimetres above the window so that you can minimise light leaks from above the curtains as well. 

Back to hardware considerations for kids’ spaces - safety concerns are our next subject for thought. The hardware must not only support the curtains but also be safe to be around for kids. Install sturdy drapery poles that will not get dislodged from their position easily when small hands tug on the curtains. Avoid tension rods that pose the risk of falling, if not by the weight of the drapery, then by the forceful yank of a cheeky kid. Instead, opt for standard drapery poles and accessories that can carry the weight of the drapery. And, ensure that they are tightly secured to the walls.

If you pair curtains with blinds, secure any cords or chains with the safety device supplied, such as a cleat or cord tidy fixed well out of a child’s reach, and keep the cot away from the window, as RoSPA advises.

Nursery & Kids Room Curtains: FAQs

What are the best curtains for a nursery?

Curtains with blackout lining for naps and bedtime, a heading with no gaps across the top, a length that stops at the sill or just above the floor, and a sturdy pole fixed firmly to the wall. Add sheers if you want daytime privacy with soft light.

Do babies need blackout curtains?

They aren’t essential, but many parents find a darker room makes daytime naps and light summer evenings easier. Blackout lining blocks most light; run the pole past the window to cut leaks at the sides.

How long should nursery curtains be?

Sill length is safest for a nursery or toddler’s room. If you prefer full length, let the curtains stop just above the floor and never let them puddle.

How do you make nursery curtains child-safe?

Screw a sturdy pole firmly to the wall rather than using a tension rod, keep hems off the floor, keep the cot away from the window, and make sure any blind cords or chains are secured with a safety device, well out of reach.

Are curtain trims safe in a nursery?

For babies and toddlers, choose flat trims such as braids and ribbons, which add colour without anything to pull off or mouth. Save pompoms and tassels for older children’s rooms.

How do you choose kids' room curtains they won't outgrow?

Skip character prints and very bright colours in favour of soft florals, ombre, geometrics or gentle neutrals. They feel playful now and still suit a teenager’s room later.

What heading is best for nursery curtains?

One with a continuous top that lets less light through, such as double pinch pleat, back tab, rod pocket or flat panel. Tab tops leave gaps between the tabs.

In Closing

 

Nurseries and kids’ rooms are dreamscapes where parents attempt to create a whimsical universe for their little ones to play, learn and explore. Curtains can assist this cause with their joyful colours, thematic prints and playful adornments while fulfilling their prime functions and child-safety measures. Aesthetic, function and safety are not contradictory notions for one who has all the tricks up their sleeve, and of course, you are that privileged kids' room and nursery curtains expert now. 

So, it’s that time now when your new skill is going to be put to the best use. Let your inner child out and start browsing our collection, and let the drapery and child-safety expert in you decide on the specifics of the order. Because that’s how you get the most functional and aesthetically pleasing drapes for your nursery and kids’ rooms. The White Window proudly joins you on your happy mission, with every curtain made to measure and handcrafted by artisans in India! If you need help choosing, email us at info@thewhitewindowcurtains.co.uk.

 

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