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Net curtains

(109 Posts)
TrendyNannie6 Sun 03-May-20 12:27:16

Does anyone have net curtains anymore, spending the lockdown at home 24/7 you tend to notice things that you have never really thought about before, (I’m not bored Honestly! ) but gardening at the front of my house,and looking at the houses around me, not one pair of net curtains in any of the windows! I personally haven’t had any since the eighties

Grandmafrench Mon 04-May-20 08:44:52

pensionpat ‘lower class slut?’ How lovely, and wonder if you know GrannyLaine ? She’s related to the Slutty-Laines (of Great Mucktip ?) and very well versed in the avoidance of all forms of work in the home. In fact, along with dear phoenix she’d doubtless have lots of advice since neither of them CBA with any kind of housework. It’s unlikely that cleaning windows (perish the thought) would ever appear on their tiny list of stuff to be done in a day. They’re frantically busy running their world-famous CBA Club, ( they have a huge membership) but can sometimes make time available, I understand, to discuss potential membership with any like-minded individuals. Looks like kitty’s joined. grin

BlueSky Mon 04-May-20 09:09:11

Surely you don't take this banter seriously? It's a change from the grimness of the virus!

Nannylovesshopping Mon 04-May-20 09:39:54

I found out that I could be seen stripping off in my bedroom by the two boys playing footie in their garden next door blush problem solved with plain opaque film on bottom two panes of sash windows, result, also don’t have to clean those windows, win win!

JuliaM Mon 04-May-20 09:48:46

When l first got married in the mid 1970s every house in the street had net curtains, apart from mine! I looked upon them as rather old fashioned at the time, and not in keeping with my bright Purple front door, pure white walls and ceilings, and jazzy bold patterned curtains in shades of Orange, Lime Green, and Sunshine Yellow!

It was obvious that the local Gossips had been talking about my new home, and had decided that the lack of Net curtains was down to the fact that l could not afford to buy any, and that they needed to do something about it!
One evening I came home from work to find Chief Gossip stood at my front gate with a carrier bag in her hand, and looking rather awkward about, whilst trying to be very wise and friendly. She handed me the carrier bag before making her excuses and scampering off before l could say anything, it was full of her old tatty cast offs of Net curtains!

It was like a scene from out of 'The Last of the Summer Wine' l could just imagine the Comittee calling a meeting together to see what could be done about the lack of Net Curtains over at number 64!
I never did use the bag of old net curtains, but as a token jesture, l bought a pretty half length Lace curtain just to fit across the bottom of my front Lounge window, at the side of the front door, but no way was l going to buy them for every window in the house, or use the tatty stained smoke yellowed ones offered to me out of their Rag bag!

Chestnut Mon 04-May-20 10:03:10

I've had window film fitted on front facing windows which does away with net curtains. You can see outside but no-one can see in. It just looks slightly darker than normal glass. Absolutely brilliant!
Window Film

harrigran Mon 04-May-20 10:22:17

I have vertical blinds at every window except kitchen where I have steel venetian blinds.
I like the fact that I can control the amount of sunshine reaching my carpets and furniture. When I first moved into my house the windows were floor to ceiling and the carpets became bleached with the sunlight streaming in.
Must admit when you walk up the street my house does look a bit like a dental surgery, am I bothered ? Not at all.

henetha Mon 04-May-20 10:42:21

I've still got some net curtains, and some vertical blinds.
I'm paranoid about people looking in. I like privacy.

EllanVannin Mon 04-May-20 11:14:23

It's never bothered me what others have. I always like to be different and even have an Austrian flounce in the bedroom.

I like washing things regularly, you can't do that with blinds---germ catchers.

timetogo2016 Mon 04-May-20 11:16:54

Yes, but only down stairs.
I don`t like folk looking in as they do tend to.

eazybee Mon 04-May-20 11:25:45

I can't bear them.
Being inside a room with net curtains is like trying to look out through thick fog.
To avoid people looking in my father always insisted on drawing the curtains before switching on the light, which as the only light switch was at maximum distance from the window proved somewhat hazardous. He didn't approve of lamps, but fortunately didn't like nets either.

grannysyb Mon 04-May-20 11:51:05

Living in a cottage with a garden only a metre deep I have sheer nets. It's complete b.......is to say it's a class thing. Personally I don't like vertical blinds, but whatever floats your boat.

Kandinsky Mon 04-May-20 12:10:28

It very much depends on the type of house you live in. I live in a 1930’s semi so lovely net curtains actually work. ( and there is such a thing as lovely net curtains wink ) I think blinds are very ‘1980’s whereas nets are timeless.
I only have them at the front on the house mind you, for privacy mostly, but they look fine.
Pretty much everyone down my road has them and we’re ( mostly ) all under 60.

EllanVannin Mon 04-May-20 12:25:49

It would seem that everyone now has blinds. I was never one for wanting what everyone else had anyway and will stick to being my own person----with curtains, including Sandersons and William Morris, both of which can't be beaten on pattern and quality if you want a bit of luxury around the home.
I go for comfort, not style, the same with clothing and shoes.

Greyduster Mon 04-May-20 13:19:18

The last time I bought net curtains was when we lived in The Netherlands, our house had very large front windows and it felt like we were living in a shop front, so I bought some sheer nets. My elderly Dutch neighbour thought this was very odd, as they were quite happy for people to see into their homes (housework, like justice, had not only to be done, but be seen to be done!). It was the local practice to either cover the top part of the window with a decorative net, or to fill the window with a net at the top and plants at the bottom which gave a sort of letter box effect in the middle! I don’t think she ever stopped thinking I was strange!

3nanny6 Mon 04-May-20 13:23:31

I have a lovely thickly embroidered net curtain on my bedroom window. (the only window in the house to have some) All new windows went in my house two years ago and a friend gave me all her antique wood curtain poles which are lovely so I put them all up. There is a street path at the back where my bedroom is and after a shower I go into my bedroom to see what to wear and do my make-up usually just wrapped in a big towel.

My net curtain is for my privacy and to stop any-one getting an eyeful of me naked. (heaven forbid)

grandtanteJE65 Mon 04-May-20 13:33:03

I would rather have net curtains than the blinds DH put up when we moved in here.

Chacun á son goût, ladies.

travelsafar Mon 04-May-20 13:59:12

I love my nets they make the windows look finished in my opinion. We have the windows with square in them which are in keeping with the older style of our home. Without them i feel the windows look 'blind'. smile Also people walking past our front windows would be able to see in.I dont have them in the kitchen as i overlook my back garden and the bird feeders and bath are visable whilst i am washing up or working in there.

NfkDumpling Mon 04-May-20 13:59:12

We have net curtains at all our front windows. We’re quite close to the road and a lot of people walk past. Without them it’d be like living in a goldfish bowl. Much as I like them vertical blinds wouldn’t suit our 1910 house and horizontal ones get too dusty. Well, they show the dust too much. The nets just get bunged in the wash every now and again and hung straight back up.

GabriellaG54 Mon 04-May-20 14:24:23

Bridie22
A pompous upper class snob ?
gave you the opportunity ?

Well, who said that nets were not seen in upper class snobby households?
Nets can be seen in every type of home but you obviously have no idea of my background so can be forgiven for thinking that I'm an upper class snob
One doesn't have to be upper class to be a snob.
GB is purported to be a classless society. I very much doubt it, however, this thread is a bit of banter, joshing, not meant to be in the least bit offensive.
Thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to respond.
It was a very magnanimous gesture.
Er...do you need a hand to get down ???

Riverwalk Mon 04-May-20 14:42:37

I've never had nets and am very low down on the class scale!

And can't abide vertical blinds - they just look so office/suburban/awful.

Dinahmo Mon 04-May-20 20:06:32

Voile instead of net is OK unless you like people staring in.
When I lived in London I used to deliberately stare in to peoples' houses if they didn't have voile. or shutters (no nets) possibly some lace. The reason was that they liked to show off the stuff that they had.

Our front door was painted matt black and we had shutters on the ground floor and voile on the first floor, because we were worried about burglars (lived on the borders with Brixton). We thought our front door was very smart but a client came round and said it looked as though old people lived there.

Served the purpose though - in the 7 years we were there, no burglaries.

GabriellaG54 Mon 04-May-20 20:53:37

Dinahmo
Now if only you used gloss and your house number was 10 ??

Hetty58 Mon 04-May-20 21:23:20

There is definitely a snobby thing about them. My friend was horrified when I referred to her curtains as nets. 'No - they're voiles!' she said (looked just like plain nets to me).

Hetty58 Mon 04-May-20 21:25:00

I have thin cotton blinds, permanently left down. Which social class do they automatically assign me to?

Hetty58 Mon 04-May-20 21:30:34

Bridie22, fyi, the upper class have no desire or need to be snobs!