Chalk-white bedroom with two corner windows dressed in white voile curtains, partially pulled back, layered under pale oyster curtains, pulled back, bed in foreground with white bedding, dressing table and stool in corner against dark grey panelling.

How to choose a modern alternative to net curtains

Written by Yvonne Keal

Product Management specialist

Written: 16/12/2022

Edited by Ellie Thornton

Content Executive

Updated: 24/04/2025

Net curtains were once a popular choice for privacy and diffusing sunlight, but their traditional look isn't for everyone. If you're looking for a more contemporary way to achieve privacy and light control, there are plenty of stylish alternatives available.

In this article, we'll explore modern options that’ll provide privacy and light control while keeping your space stylish.

Sheer bathroom bliss

Corner of cream dining room with picture window on left dressed in wide voile Roman blind in pale dusky pink, floor to ceiling window dressed in matching voile curtains, slightly parted, wooden modern table and chairs, grey runner, grey teapot, earthenware vase with foliage, tiled floor, pendant light with three arms and white spheres at end of each arm.

Elegant and versatile

For sheer elegance, Voile Roman blinds are a beautiful addition to any home. These stylish blinds are great for providing daytime privacy, and they’ll gently filter the light in your room.

To give this minimal dining area a pop of colour, we’ve chosen Voile Roman blinds and curtains in Serenity Powder Pink, which look particularly lovely at wide windows.

For a more flexible year-round solution, layer Voiles with fully lined curtains. They’ll provide warmth and additional privacy in the chillier, darker months. Consider going for a thermal lining for extra warmth when you need it.

Corner of dining room with white wall on left with window dressed in two pleated blinds, pale green to top half and white blind cafe style to lower half, raised halfway, natural brick wall to right, round white modern dining table with white chairs, multiple vases and bowls in shades of green with a fern, ow-eye daisies and plant, console table with large pot with plant.

Compact solutions

Pleated blinds are a neat and sleek option that take up minimal space at windows when they’re opened. There are delicate sheer fabrics to choose from, as well as flexible ways to fit them.

In this dining room, two fabrics are combined in one to create a Transition blind. Mix and match your favourite colours or fabric types to create your own Transition blind that works for your space. For example, combine a sheer fabric for daytime privacy with a blackout fabric for greater privacy at night.

Close in on a dining room with floor to ceiling windows and doors dressed in pale grey diffused sheer full-length blinds, tilted, a woman parts the blinds to look through the window.

Flexible privacy and light

Sometimes sheer isn’t enough, and a little more privacy is needed. We’ve three clever blind styles that are designed to offer just that.

Diffused blinds have flowing panels of opaque and sheer fabric that can filter the light, or provide more privacy when needed with a simple twist of a control wand. They’re ideal for adding a luxurious feel to wide doors, like bifolds; the flowing panels can be separated to allow easy access to the garden, they can filter the light on sunny days and they can help stop your home feeling like a goldfish bowl on dark evenings when the lights are on.

Bedroom with narrow tall window dressed in pale gold day and night blinds fully lowered with vanes tilted, bed with semi-circular wooden headboard, bedding in pale blue with dark blue geometric pattern, patterned cushions in blue and pale gold, pale gold throws, long oval mirror beside window.

Colourful and effective

Day and Night blinds work have a similar opaque and sheer fabric combination. However this design is much simpler, it’s more like a Roller blind, so it’s great for contemporary-styled homes. They’re available in a range of colours and finishes including bold shades and neutral tones for a more subtle look at your window.

In this soft, pastel bedroom, we’ve chosen Sunbeam Calico to match the warm décor. Day and Night blinds are a great choice for bedrooms, the fabric is so versatile, allowing light in while providing daytime privacy, and in the evening the opaque fabric can be aligned to block the outside world.

Subtle style and privacy

For everyday spaces like living rooms and home offices, Triple Shade blinds are a lovely solution, combining functionality with a homely feel for a softer look at windows. They’re similar in style to a Venetian blind but made from a sheer fabric with an opaque vane in the middle to control the light. Tilt the vane to keep the sun’s glare off TV and computer screens and for extra privacy for example if your living room is street-facing.

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