Tulle - in modern usage, this general name for window curtains hides various types of fabrics. As a material, tulle is a thin transparent fabric, smooth or with embroidery, a pattern, plain or colored.

Living room interior with golden curtains and transparent tulle
Acting as a partner for curtains, tulle helps to create a unified interior composition.

Types of tulle by fabric type

The rich variety and types of tulle curtains can be represented by the following samples:

  • Organza. This is a transparent, shiny fabric made of cotton, viscose, polyester or silk. It is easy to care for and is perfect for poorly lit rooms. It is a strong and durable material. The disadvantage is that it is stiff and prone to creasing.

    Decorating a living room window with pleated organza tulle
    Organza holds folds well, making it ideal for creating voluminous gathers.
  • Kiseya. This is a light, airy product of a special weave. It is made of separate threads, fastened together only at the top. It is made of silk, cotton and linen.

    Bedroom interior with muslin tulle
    Kisei is often used not only for window decoration, but also for zoning the room.
  • Veil. A semi-transparent mesh fabric, mostly made of polyester and cotton. Suitable for creating a romantic style due to its airiness and light haze effect. It is best washed by hand and stored in a roll. The disadvantage is that over time the veil may acquire a yellowish tint.

    Beautiful draping on tulle from voile
    Veil made of mixed fabric retains drape perfectly
  • Mesh. Fabric resembling large honeycombs. Allows light and air to pass through well. The downside is that the mesh collects a lot of dust, so it is not recommended for allergy sufferers.

    Tulle-mesh spider web with a decorative clip
    The mesh can have cells of different geometric shapes - a cage, a diamond, a honeycomb, or a web, as in the photo
  • Muslin. Densely woven synthetic fabric. Thin but dense, wear-resistant. Does not allow air to pass through.

    Grey Striped Muslin Tulle Curtain
    The plain weave makes muslin durable, while the low density makes it soft and pliable.

The color range of tulle is very diverse. Today, pink, turquoise, lilac, green, and yellow shades are in fashion trend. Very often, along with single-color shades, there is a combination of several colors. For example, a light color smoothly turning into a dark one. If you do not know which tulle to choose and which color is suitable, then choose fabrics whose shade changes depending on the angle of view.

Please note! Psychologists have found that too bright and flashy colors of red or orange are not suitable for the bedroom. They are better preferred for the hall or kitchen, as they have a tonic effect and can interfere with sleep.

Living room design with red tulle
It is important that the red tulle finds a response in the decorative item, it can be a sculpture or a carpet.
Living room interior with orange tulle
Orange tulle adds warmth to the room and makes the window stand out from the background.

Criteria for selecting tulle for wallpaper: combination by color, style, window design

When choosing tulle for a room, it is necessary to proceed from the type of wallpaper pasted in the room. After all, consistency in style and color is the key to a harmonious interior, and this should not be treated with disdain.

Living room design with white sofa
The colors of the walls and curtains should not be the same, otherwise they will merge together in visual perception.
Plain curtains on the window in the bedroom
Curtains that closely match the color of the wallpaper visually expand the room.
White tulle on one cornice with blue curtains
Contrasting curtains will make the room look smaller

Here are the basic recommendations on how to choose the right tulle for wallpaper:

  1. The shade of the curtain should be either a couple of shades darker than the wallpaper or contrasting. The ideal combination is bright and saturated wallpaper with pastel colors of tulle.
  2. Different types of tulle for windows will look harmonious in the interior depending on the lighting. If the room is dark, it should be made lighter, add more delicate shades, for example, choose curtains made of airy organza or veil. If the room is on the sunny side, then you should choose a dense product that does not let in sunlight, for example, muslin.
  3. To make the window stand out in the room, you need to choose a simple, single-color curtain for the patterned wallpaper. If there is embroidery, an ornament or a monogram on the tulle, then it will ideally match the single-color wallpaper.
  4. To visually expand the space of a room, you should pay attention to cold colors, if the goal is to reduce the room, then to warm ones.
  5. If the window is located in a niche or is horizontal, then the curtain must be hung to the level of the window sill.
Selection of tulle and curtains to match wallpaper in the living room
When decorating a window with different curtains, one of them should match the color of the walls.
Triple curtains on the window in the hall
In modern design it is fashionable to use contrasting shades.

Please note! If you are planning to do repairs and change the wallpaper in a year or two, it is better not to tie the appearance of the curtains to the wallpaper. Find other criteria for selection: type of curtain fabric, style of the room.

Bright curtains against plain walls
Curtains with a bright pattern will decorate a room with plain wallpaper for painting
Gray curtains in the bedroom with paper wallpaper
Gray or silver curtains go well with blue wallpaper.

Criteria for selecting tulle for curtains: combination of color and tone, distance between curtain and tulle

Correctly selected curtains can change the apartment beyond recognition. Try to match the tulle to the curtains harmoniously, following the rules.

Beige curtains with lambrequin paired with white tulle on the windows in the hall
Before choosing curtains and tulle, you need to decide what will be the background and what you will put as an accent

How to choose tulle considering curtains – selection rules:

  • When choosing a set of curtains and drapes, follow the rule: one of the elements should match the wallpaper, and the other should serve as a complement or contrasting accent.
  • When choosing materials for curtains and drapes, give preference to fabrics in one tone and different shades or contrasting ones. For a bedroom, for example, a combination of burgundy and pink will look beautiful.
  • Don't shy away from experimenting: it may sound funny - a tulle curtain with a flower, for example, a tulip, and vintage brown striped curtains - but in reality it can look extremely cute and beautiful.
  • Pay attention to the material as well. Thus, dense, slightly rough crepe is ideal for tulle made of smooth organza.
The same patterns on tulle and curtains
If there are patterns on the curtains, the tulle should either repeat them or remain neutral.
Bedroom interior with tulle in a discreet flower pattern
Floral tulle looks lovely on bedroom windows, both in rustic and modern styles.

If you are interested in the distance between the tulle and the curtain, this parameter is determined at the stage of installing the cornice. If it is too small, it will be impossible to collect beautiful folds.

Fastening tulle and curtains to the wall cornice pipe
The distance between the tulle and the curtain depends on the size of the folds on both curtains.

Types of tulle by size, tone and quality of fabric

When asking the question of what kind of tulle there is, many housewives get confused, since there are many varieties. It can be a plain smooth tulle 240 cm high for the bedroom or a short tulle 150 by 150 cm for the kitchen or a gazebo in the summer.

Tulle with frills on the kitchen window with beige curtain
When choosing tulle for the kitchen, pay attention to the fact that the material is impregnated with a special antistatic and dirt-repellent composition.

If you want to sew a curtain with your own hands, it is best to buy tulle fabric by the meter. In this case, you will have a lot of room for imagination and design scope. In addition, wholesale purchase will be cheaper.

White tulle on a window with blue curtains
When custom-tailoring, you should take into account the characteristics of the fabric, first of all, its shrinkage after washing.

How to choose tulle for the style of different rooms

Choosing curtains for different rooms is not an easy task, because stores can offer many options for a creative approach. Much depends on the goals you want to achieve.

  • If the room is too bright and sunny, then you shouldn’t buy organza or mesh – they will let in the light.
  • Conversely, if the view from the window is very beautiful and you want to emphasize it and extend the perspective, then it is best to choose a transparent fabric.
  • For the bedroom, dense material with a printed pattern is most often chosen, sometimes colored.
  • And for the kitchen the best choice is short tulle for the room.
  • The hall requires beautiful, presentable fabric: organza, muslin, veil, smooth or with a pattern, lace inserts.
Straight tulle in a minimalist living room
Tulle should fit harmoniously into the overall stylistic composition of the room. For example, transparent rectilinear fabrics are suitable for minimalism
Decorating a bedroom window with tulle in the Baroque style
For baroque or other classical styles, lush and dense fabrics are suitable.
Light transparent tulle curtain on the living room window in high-tech style
High-tech is characterized by light, airy curtains; options with unobtrusive geometric patterns are acceptable
Contrast Roman blind on the window with white tulle
The combination of tulle and Roman blinds is appropriate in a modern living room, children's room or bedroom.

When deciding how to choose the right tulle, you should consider several parameters: the size and type of the room, the season, the color of the wallpaper and curtains, the style of the design, your own desires. When buying curtains for the windows, be guided not only by taste, but also by the advice of experts. As a last resort, look on the Internet for descriptions and photos of beautiful tulle and color combinations in the interior. They can set an example for inspiration, a flight of fantasy and creativity.

Video on how to choose tulle and curtains to match a carpet

Photo Gallery: Combinations of Tulle and Curtains