Your ultimate guide to finding window treatments.
Every home you walk into will have some kind of window treatment, whether that be shades, curtains, or drapes. These accent pieces are not only functional—they block out sunlight, muffle sound, keep the warmth in (and the heat out)—but also look beautiful. They dress up your space instantly, especially if you go with a whimsical pair of drapes or a printed design on Roman shades. It can feel daunting shopping for these pieces, especially if you do not know where to look. That’s why I’ve curated the best places to buy curtains ahead—the knowledge is pooled from our House Beautiful editors and me as a design editor.
We’ve had the pleasure of seeing and experiencing a variety of window treatments simply by being part of the design community, so we know the reputable spots to buy from. Before you start shopping for curtains, though, you’ll want to do some preliminary homework: figure out the measurements you need, how much light filtration or privacy you want, and whether or not you want to block out outside noise. Once you’ve answered these questions, then you can get to the fun part: picking out the style and design of your curtains. Check out our editors’ favorite places to shop, below.
Nordic Knots
This Swedish home textiles brand is best known for its high-quality rugs, curtains, and bedding that all have a Scandi design sensibility. The pieces lean more minimalist, allowing the luxurious materials (often natural fibers like wool, linen, jute, and cotton) to speak for themselves in a home.
Why We Love It: The brand offers customization so you can get the exact length you need, and the fabrics are absolutely sumptuous—they will make your home look like a million bucks.
What to Know: You can arrange a free design consultation online (just click on any of the curtains to see this option) to get personalized help with your window treatments.
IKEA
This retailer needs no introduction, and it’s a trusted place for both editors and designers to turn to when they need affordable furniture and decor. IKEA has a small but might selection of curtains and shades, whether you want window treatments for your rental property or first adult apartment in the city.
Why We Love It: IKEA products are affordable and good for small space-living, so you can find anything you need here. The curtains may not be as luxe as custom ones, but they do their job and hold up well over time, according to some of our editors.
What to Know: The window treatments don’t come in a variety of lengths and sizes, so depending on the measurements you need, you may not find what you’re looking for here.
Urban Outfitters
This may not be the first spot you turn to for furniture and decor, but the fashion retailer has a sizeable and often apartment-friendly selection of home goods, including window treatments. The budget curtains skew a bit young—think a teen's room or college dorm—which is perfect if you’re a parent looking to save but want to make your child’s room a bit more lively.
Why We Love It: The curtains feel youthful and require little work to install.
What to Know: The selection is limited, and it’s better for those who want to decorate a dorm room or children’s room without spending a ton.
Everhem
Haley and her husband, Adam, knew the importance of the right window treatment for a space, which is why they started Everhem, a company that provides all things custom curtains, drapery, and shades. When you order with Everhem, you know that each covering is hand-sewn in the United States by their trusted partners and other small businesses. They even offer consultation services so if you're feeling a bit lost on what style would look best in your room, you can speak with experts before making a decision.
Though often overlooked, your curtains say a lot about your space, and creating something that's both high-quality and completely custom will add so much elegance to your home.
Why We Love It: Everhem offers high-quality, custom-made window treatments with style and practicality at the center of the business. There are so many colorways, material, and hardware options to choose from, and their offered services are top-notch.
What to Know: Because their curtains are completely custom, the shipping lead time is estimated to be around six-to-eight weeks, and then you can expect five days in transit.
The Shade Store
Since 1946, The Shade Store has offered high-quality, custom window treatments to consumers, and now, almost 80 years later, they have over 145 showrooms in the United States. From the conception of your project to the installation process, The Shade Store is curated specifically for you and what you're looking for in curtains.
Associate Shopping Editor Jessica Cherner also commends the store's customer service. "My current apartment has floor-to-ceiling windows that get bright light in the mornings, so having ample blackouts was a must if I wanted to sleep past 6 am," she explains. "The Shade Store really pulled through. I was able to schedule a consultation with a representative, who showed up right on time, measured each pane, made a few suggestions based on what I wanted, and came back less than a week later to install them. They’re perfect!"
Why We Love It: With a range of materials and styles, these custom-made curtains are the perfect combination of modern and timeless through their craftsmanship and dedication to customer service.
What to Know: Because they're custom curtains, The Shade Store does not offer returns.
GreenRow
GreenRow offers fun, feminine curtains that, like their other pieces, are made to last and meant to be passed down to other generations. With five strong values at its core, this brand prioritizes responsibly-sourced materials for their consciously-made products to promote a greener lifestyle without sacrificing style.
Though they don't have the most curtains available, their curated selection ranges from sheer to lined when it comes to light filtration. All the curtain options are made from natural fibers, like linen and cotton, and each is OEKO-TEX certified, meaning they've been tested for over 1,000 harmful substances (and none of which are present in Green Row's products).
Why We Love It: The brand's dedication to using responsible materials is commendable, and their options are very charming in style.
What to Know: There is a smaller selection of curtains here than other options, in both size range and colorways.
SelectBlinds
For a wide range of custom curtain options starting at relatively affordable prices, SelectBlinds is the place to go. With versatile style options from the fabric available to the color to the hardware, this window treatment brand makes designing your own curtains extremely easy and user-friendly. After finding a fabric you like, you can decide on whether or not to include a liner for better light filtration, the finish of the grommets, and, of course, the exact measurements for your space.
SelectBlinds also makes shopping for specific features very easy, allowing you to browse by motorization and room darkening abilities, for example, as well as by specific rooms. Plus, they even provide guides on how to measure and offer free samples so you can ensure the color and material you want actually looks good in your space.
Why We Love It: They have such a wide range of products and styles, and they offer free shipping. Select Blinds also offers free design consultations.
What to Know: Their free warranty is only for three years, and they do not offer exchanges or refunds.
Pepper Home
Pepper Home offers a more design-centric perspective on custom curtains. Started by two friends, Kelsey and Erin, after spending too much time in their cramped West Village apartments that didn't feel like home, they created this chic furnishings brand to help other people make their spaces feel more personal. Every single custom piece is made-to-order, reducing the environmental footprint and allowing the brand to work more sustainably.
For curtains specifically, they offer both full-size and café curtains in a range of beautiful designs and colors. The customization process allows you to choose your ideal width, input your exact length, choose the lining, and pick out what trim you want, if any. What really makes Pepper Home stand out are their gorgeous patterns and prints, and the ability to add fun trim to your curtains, like tassels, bands, or pom-poms.
Why We Love It: They offer a wide range of curtain styles to choose from in beautiful prints and elegant solids. Pepper Home also offers resources for more personalized design help and calculators to better estimate your final cost.
What to Know: You aren't able to input the exact width you might be looking for.
TWOPAGES
Ray, the founder of TWOPAGES, started the company because he wanted people to have an easy-to-use site that allows them to purchase good-quality, custom curtains. At TWOPAGES, functional and chic go hand-in-hand, offering various fabrics, patterns, lining types, and hanging styles to choose from.
While the general tones for the curtains lean more neutral, the various prints can help add excitement to your space if that's what you desire in your drapery. You can expect each panel to be made of high-quality materials as well, as the brand's goal is to bring beauty into your home without costing too much.
Why We Love It: TWOPAGES is dedicated to making the custom curtain experience as seamless as possible, which is evident in their quality, the user-friendly nature of the site, and in their various colorways and styles.
What to Know: Like with many other custom curtain stores, TWOPAGES doesn't accept returns of custom items.
Pottery Barn
Anyone who considers themself a designophile is familiar with Pottery Barn. The home brand is known for its great quality items and the beauty of each piece, no matter what it is you're shopping for.
They have a wide range of window treatment options with over 100 curtain styles alone. Pottery Barn offers a typically more mature aesthetic, and while their curtains come in a variety of prints, materials, and opacities, they're generally more muted in color. The brand makes design easy for both amateurs and professionals, offering design classes, services, and endless inspiration.
Why We Love It: Pottery Barn allows returns up to 30 days of receiving an order, and they provide a range of elevated options when it comes to your curtains. They also sell curtain hardware so you don't have to go to different sites to find those pieces.
What to Know: Since they don't sell custom options, their different sizes are limited.
Amazon
Amazon: You know it, you love it. It's basically a huge, online warehouse that sells, well, everything, including ready-made curtains. Whether you're on a tight budget or are looking to splurge, Jeff Bezos's brainchild has you covered every step of the way.
From blackout options to super sheer, in every style and color imaginable, you'll be able to find an option that works for you. These window treatments obviously aren't custom-made or made-to-order, so you do have to purchase what is offered to you if you decide to go through Amazon, but you can generally rely on the shipping to be quick and reliable.
Why We Love It: Amazon offers hundreds of different styles, sizes, colors, and more when it comes to curtains. Even though they won't be custom, you can pretty well assume that what you're looking for in measurements will be available on the site. Amazon's return process is also very good.
What to Know: Third-party retailers aren't always the most reliable when it comes to quality and shipping.
Etsy
Etsy is essentially one big marketplace full of custom and vintage items from small businesses and sellers, and they're a great place to buy curtains. It's easy to find window treatments of any style with a range of features depending on what you're looking for, whether it's blackout, noise-muffling, antique, hand-sewn, or more.
Because of the user-friendly way Etsy is designed, chatting with the sellers is also fairly easy to do, so if you have specific questions about curtains, you can simply go to their seller profile and send them a quick message. You can also easily filter out certain shopping options on Etsy to make your search a bit less overwhelming, since they do offer so many options.
Why We Love It: Etsy provides a range of different curtains for many different budgets, whether they're custom, vintage, or ready-made.
What to Know: Because you place orders through specific sellers, the shipping times and personalized customer service can greatly vary.
Anthropologie
Anthropologie is That Girl when it comes to all things home and fashion. Their home products are elegant with a hint of playfulness, and the curtains and other window treatments fall into the same category. Whether you're looking for a simple panel to add movement to your living room or something patterned and exciting for your bedroom, Anthropologie definitely has something for you. They even offer whimsical hardware, like this toadstool tieback, to fully accessorize your space.
This brand is a trustworthy one that offers free shipping on orders over $50 and accepts returns up to one year after purchase for in-store credit. Though their curtains aren't custom-made, they do allow you to filter through their website by light filtration, size, and other general options like color and brand to scroll through exactly what it is you're looking for. Plus, most styles and patterns come in various colorways, like these semi-sheer ones.
Why We Love It: Anthropologie is a trusted brand that sells good-quality home items. They have a standard shipping and return policy, and they have brick-and-mortar stores that can help make the shopping process easier.
What to Know: They only offer ready-made items, so if your windows are a bit funky in size or shape, you can only shop what they have.
West Elm
For beautiful, modern home decor that's also high-quality, you can trust West Elm to deliver. This store offers a range of items from couches to bath mats to, of course, curtains. Their website allows you to shop for ready-made curtains by fabric, light filtration, color, and pattern, but they also offer custom shades and drapes. Though their custom color and style range is relatively small, you can choose your width and length from many options.
One of the best aspects of West Elm is that they offer free design services that cover quick expert tips to full-blown home makeovers. On the site, you can find more resources, like a 3D space planner and more general advice if you're feeling a bit lost in the design process.
Why We Love It: West Elm provides high-quality items and promises great customer service. Plus, they have curtains in a range of prices, from ready-made to custom.
What to Know: You can't input your own dimensions with the custom orders.
Quince
Quince is known for their high-quality products at a more affordable price tag. From fashion to home decor, their brand values explain that they will always strive for the sustainable option and will be honest about how their pieces are manufactured.
The curtains offered on their site show a range of solid neutrals in a variety of fabric options, such as linen, velvet, and silk, to name a few. Clicking into each curtain, you can see what Quince has priced it at versus what the traditional retailer would, clearly showing you how much you'll save by buying through them. They offer a range of opacities for their curtains, and while their selection isn't the largest, it shows elegant options that can bring sophistication to a space.
Why We Love It: Quince offers returns or exchanges within 365 days of purchasing your item, and they offer different lining options for the majority of the curtains they sell.
What to Know: They don't have the largest range of colors for their curtains, and there are no patterns whatsoever.
CB2
For modern, high-quality home decor and furniture, shop CB2. Their website design is as sleek as their products, making it very easy to use and browse as you search for pieces you want, so in this case, new curtains.
CB2 offers a nice range of curtains and hardware to choose from, mostly leaning towards the simpler side in their designs. Solid and rich colors make up the majority of their curtain section online, and they have a range of prices and materials. You can filter your search by light filtration, and while they don't offer custom curtains, the brand does market free design services.
Why We Love It: You can expect high-quality materials from CB2, and the majority of their curtains ship for free. Since these aren't custom pieces, you can expect them to arrive within a standard timeframe for online purchases.
What to Know: CB2 doesn't have the most options when it comes to sizes of their curtains.
Wayfair
There's a reason why Wayfair is such a popular option when buying home decor, and it's because they have a lot of options at a range of price tags. Because they don't manufacture their products themselves, instead using many suppliers, they have a lot of different styles for various home furnishings and decor, like curtains.
From rustic to modern to dainty, the drapes that Wayfair offers can appeal to anyone. While they don't offer custom window treatment options, it's typically safe to assume that you can find what you're looking for on the site due to there being so many designs to choose from. Their return policy is also ideal for non-custom curtains, allowing returns on most items within 30 days of delivery.
Why We Love It: It's very easy to find exactly what you're looking for in curtains through Wayfair because of the various styles to choose from. Their return policy is also very user-friendly.
What to Know: They don't offer custom curtains, meaning your choices might be limited when it comes to dimensions.
Walmart
When it comes down to finding affordable home decor, whether it's candles or curtains, Walmart is consistently there for us. The grocery giant knows its way around your basic home furnishings, and because it is so large and popular, you can expect a certain level of online customer service.
When it comes to their curtain selection, Walmart offers over 1,000 options in different styles and colorways. On their site, you can filter the window treatments by light filtration, curtain type, material, length, and so much more. Even though you can't find custom curtains at Walmart, they have plenty of good options that you can fit into your aesthetic.
Why We Love It: They have literally over 1,000 options of curtains in so many different styles, colors, sizes, and opacities. Plus, their return policy is extremely user-friendly.
What to Know: Remember that they don't offer custom curtains, so your dimensions will need to be within their measurement confines.
What to Consider When Buying Curtains
The curtains you buy can truly make or break the aesthetic of your home, so you need to make sure you're buying the very best that fit with your home style. This means they need to be the correct length for your space so they don't make the room feel unfinished or messy, and you should go into the buying process already knowing what opacity you want them to be. Plus, whether you're buying custom or not, knowing the return policy is of the utmost importance.
Length: Obviously, you're going to want to purchase curtains that are the right size for your windows, and this is for multiple reasons. You want to make sure they fully cover the glass to the outside for both your desired light filtration and privacy, but you also don't want them to be too long or too short and appear shabby. If you go into the shopping process already having the exact measurements you need, it will make it so much easier.
Warranty and Return Policy: No matter how much research you do about certain products, sometimes things happen, and items arrive looking different from the way you expected. With something as important as curtains, which must be ordered with your necessary measurements, it's important to go into the shopping experience knowing a certain brand's warranty and return policy. While custom curtains often aren't allowed to be returned, you should still be familiar with what to do if they don't come out the way you wanted.
Light Filtration Level: Typically, you'll want different opacities for different rooms. You'll probably lean more towards blackout curtains for bedrooms and possibly semi-sheer ones for less intimate communal areas, like your living room and kitchen. As you're browsing through window treatment options online, make sure you check how opaque the curtains are, seeing how much light they will let into the space.
Why Trust House Beautiful?
The editors at House Beautiful are experts in all things shopping and home decor, as we get to scroll through deals and products for hours at a time as we research stories. When it comes to window treatments, whether it's inspiration or shopping specifically, we have spent countless days finding and narrowing down tips, tricks, and brands to ensure our audience has the best available options.
For this story on the best places to buy curtains, I spent the past week asking our editors their favorite places to shop for drapery and did my own research on the subject, consulting our trusted retailers and customer reviews. I determined the list of the 18 best brands based on the brand's customization options, variety of styles, and accessibility (you will find a nice mix of affordable and more luxurious options).
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