Voile

Both voile and sheer linen curtains let in plenty of daylight, but they create a different feel. Voile is smooth and airy. Sheer linen has a natural texture that gives a warmer light.

Voile has an even surface that diffuses daylight softly and keeps the room bright and clear. It falls in regular folds, resists wrinkles and gives a clean, refined look. It is the classic choice for hotel style sheer curtains.

Sheer linen has subtle variations in the yarn that create a warmer glow and slightly more privacy. Linen is a natural material that may change slightly over time, and its soft wrinkles are part of its character. Sheer linen curtains bring a relaxed, Scandinavian feel.

Choose voile for the brightest, cleanest look. Choose sheer linen for texture and warmth in the light.

Tip: Order curtain swatches of both and compare them in your own window.

A voile curtain provides good privacy during the day, but less in the evening. During the day, you can see out while others have difficulty seeing in. When the lights are on inside, the effect is reversed.

How much privacy a voile curtain provides mainly depends on where the light is. During the day, it is brighter outside than inside. The sheer fabric catches the daylight and lights up, making it difficult to see into the room from the street, while you can still see the outlines of your surroundings outside. When it gets dark and the lights are turned on inside, this changes. The interior becomes more visible from outside, especially close to the window.

The width also makes a difference. A sheer curtain hung with generous folds, preferably at double width, creates several layers of fabric in front of the glass and provides more privacy than a curtain that hangs almost flat.

Color also plays a role. White and light shades reflect the most daylight and provide the best privacy during the day. Warmer shades such as off-white and sand soften the light slightly more.

If you need privacy in the evening as well, for example in a bedroom or a room on the ground floor, combine the sheer curtain with a heavier curtain that you can close when it gets dark. This is the principle behind hotel curtains: light during the day, privacy in the evening.

Tip: Hang up the fabric sample and look at it both in the middle of the day and in the evening with the lights on, preferably from outside.

Yes. In rooms where light and soft privacy matter most, a voile curtain works beautifully on its own.

Voile as a single curtain suits living rooms, kitchens, dining areas and studies, rooms where daylight matters more than darkness. The curtain frames the window, softens the light and makes the room feel complete without making it darker.

Whether voile is enough depends on when you use the room and how overlooked it is. During the day, voile offers good privacy. If you want full privacy in the evening, or darkness for sleeping, add a denser layer in front and add a hotel feel.

When voile hangs on its own, generosity matters even more. Choose double width for full folds and let the curtain reach all the way to the floor. It will look luxurious even without a second layer.

Tip: If the voile hangs on its own near a window that is often open, curtain weights in the hem help it fall evenly.

Hang the voile closest to the window with a denser or blackout drape in front. This gives you soft light during the day and darkness and privacy in the evening, just like in a hotel.

The voile hangs on the inner track and can stay drawn all day. The outer drapery is drawn when you want darkness.

The simplest solution is a double curtain track with two tracks side by side. If the track is mounted on the ceiling, both drapes can run from ceiling to floor, which accentuates the ceiling height and creates that luxurious look. A double track or rod on the wall works too. Choose a track that is wider than the window, so the curtains can be drawn fully to the side during the day.

Choose the outer layer based on the feel you want. Velvet gives the most classic hotel look, linen feels lighter and more natural, and a patterned fabric becomes a focal point.

Tip: Book our free curtain planning if you would like help choosing the right combination and track.

A hotel curtain is a sheer drapes that hangs closest to the window, often paired with a denser drapes in front. This creates the classic hotel feel: soft light during the day and darkness and privacy in the evening.

In hotels, drapes almost always hang in two layers. The sheer drape can stay drawn all day. It lets in light, softens the view in and makes the room feel calm and framed. The denser drapery panel is drawn in the evening.

Our voile drapery panel is designed for exactly that inner layer. It is light, falls in even folds and works just as well on its own as with a denser curtain.

What makes hotel drapes look so luxurious is their generosity. They hang in full folds, run from ceiling to floor and are often mounted on a ceiling track. You can create the same feel at home, in both the bedroom and the living room.

Tip: Read more about how to combine voile with other curtains for a hotel feel in Ask the curtain expert.