Net curtains

We’ve never had them - my mother was very sniffy about them, but then she never lived in a house where passers-by could easily peer in.
If I lived in a house with no front garden, or a very tiny one, on a busy-ish road, I’m sure I’d want some sort of protector of our privacy.

I’ve noticed that some very expensive period houses in an expensive part of SW London, with small front gardens and on a street with a lot of foot traffic (since near the Tube) often have indoor wooden shutters on the lower half of their downstairs front windows. Presumably that’s the acceptable alternative for anyone who’s ? about nets.

Ha TrendyNannie6... 'even better when used to sit on the top of double decker bus could see into their bedrooms'. Moved into my town centre flat above a shop, not overlooked at all (I thought), was standing at my bedroom window putting my bra on when a double decker bus went by, level with my window, full of uni students. They all fainted ha ha ha. Now have a rail halfway down the window with pashminas hanging on it.

I didn’t realise that you could still buy net curtains, thought they had ‘fallen by the wayside’ in fashion terms.They do have privacy appeal for some windows though.If kept very clean and white looked nice, although I remember many looking as if they could do with a dip in Daz.?
Easily controllable blinds do the job well, where you need to control either privacy or heat/sunshine.

CanadianGran, fashions come and go - therefore net curtains are due to have retro appeal very shortly. Only in the UK are people judged by their window dressings (by some, not all of us) - hilarious stuff!

Well I had to take another language lesson and find out what net curtains were. Over here we call them sheer, no matter what material they are, or whether they have patterns or are plain.

I realize you don't often see them in decor magazines or shows; they have tended to go out of fashion. But fashion be damned... I think they are useful in places, and can look lovely when done in a plain material. I'm not sure if you would consider my front windows to have net curtains. I have vertical blinds with sheer material woven around them in a dark chocolate brown. They keep out the bright sun while still allowing in light.

Some here could lighten up...

G54 My DH used to say that I'd make a good Tory politician, despite my political leanings, because i was very quick with a response to whatever was said to me (ie excuses) Brain's far too slow now.

You have to keep gloss paint looking smart whereas matt paint always looks a bit dull.

Voile is fine cotton (or synthetic I guess), definitely not nets which are lose weave I think.

Hahaha, Gabriella, I thought you were being reported for the dogging comment, not the snobbery. Fancy being offended by a snob.

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

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

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).

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

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.

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.

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 ???

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.

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'. 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.

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

Chacun á son goût, ladies.

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)

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!

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.

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 ) 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.

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.

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.

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