Last Updated on June 19, 2023 by Rental Recon
Hosts overlook the power and elegance of window blinds and curtains. These decor elements can make a dramatic impact to the feel of your Airbnb. Here’s our list of the best curtains and blinds for Airbnb…
What are the Best Curtains for Airbnb? How about Blinds?
- Our Top Choice for Airbnb Curtains: Nicetown Heavy Duty Blackout Curtains.
- Our Top Choice for Airbnb Window Blinds: Chicology Cellular Blackout Blinds.
Other Good Airbnb Curtain & Blind Options:
- Bedsure Linen Blackout Curtains
- StangH Velvet Curtains
- Windowsandgarden Custom Cordless Single Cell Shades
Window Coverings for Your Airbnb Should Have the Following:
- Cordless blinds conforming to CPSC child safety guidelines
- Blackout curtains for bedrooms
- Light filtering curtains for kitchen, dining room, and bathroom
- Top-down/bottom-up cellular blinds for bedrooms and bathrooms
- Fabric accordion or cellular shades
Look for These Features When Picking Window Coverings for Your Airbnb:
- Style: Curtains and blinds come in a range of styles and colors, so you’ll want to consider what will match your vacation rental decor.
- Ease of Use: Make sure whatever window covering you choose, that they are user-friendly for your guests.
- Affordable: Depending on the size of your home, curtains and blinds can be an expensive investment. While luxury options are nice and your guests will appreciate their elegance, it’s important for Airbnb hosts to still consider their budget.
- Durable: Look for high-quality materials that can withstand the wear and tear of frequent use and washing (for curtains).
When it comes to your short-term rental, getting the right curtains and blinds can help in providing a better guest experience.
Which to Use? Curtains or Blinds?
Window treatments serve a multitude of purposes. They let you control light, privacy, room temperature, and some even reduce noise, while complementing your vacation rental decor. The two most popular window treatments for Airbnbs are curtains and blinds.
Traditionally, curtains are best suited for bedrooms and living rooms, but nowadays blinds are becoming more popular and chic. However, full-length curtains should be used for larger, spacious rooms, while blinds are better options for smaller, compact rooms, and high-moisture rooms like kitchens and bathrooms, where mold growth is a concern. Also, if there is any furniture below a window, like a bed or couch, blinds are the better choice in this instance.
Blinds are generally less expensive, more durable, easier to clean, and offer more light control options than curtains. Curtains offer better noise reduction and insulation, and more design options.
Or you can do what the hotels do: Use both! Layer the two window treatments to offer more privacy and light control. Pairing the two window treatments creates a feeling of depth and a more intimate setting for your Airbnb guests.
Curtain Rods
Don’t forget the curtain roads if you are using curtains! We love simple black curtain rods for our Airbnb. Black curtain rods give a timeless look!
Make sure you are ordering a rod that is wide enough for your window. Measure your window’s width on the outside of the trim and add 12-18″ for each side. As for mounting height, you want to make sure your curtain selection reaches the floor.
Do You Need Blackout Curtains for an Airbnb?
During two recent stays in my Airbnb, I have had guests complain about light coming into the bedroom from my entry porch light. Luckily, my reviews didn’t suffer, but I did add this criteria to my list of must-have items for my next set of blinds and curtains. Essentially, blackout blinds have opaque material put inside the blinds that block out sunlight, even during the day. You can also get blackout curtains that serve the same purpose. Both are recommended for your vacation rental.
Blackout curtains should be used in bedrooms while kitchens, dining rooms, and bathrooms should have light-filtering curtains. Always go for longer panels that are 95″ or 96″ long and then hem them as needed. You can buy iron-on hem here, so you don’t need to know how to sew.
Here are the curtains we use in our Airbnb bedrooms:
Best Curtains for Airbnb: Nicetown Heavy Duty Blackout Curtains
Ever since I put these blackout curtains in our Airbnb bedrooms, the guests have been raving about what a great night’s sleep they had. These curtains keep out 100% sunlight and UV rays. They even provide energy savings because they are insulated.
Free shipping
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- Ready Made: 2 panels per package. Each Classic Lined Curtain measures 52" wide x 95" long (Total width is 104"). 2.7-inch rod pockets are recommended with no greater than a 1.7-inch rod for maximum movement. Create pleats easily, adding decorative style.
- 100% Blackout: Sew in black liner backing makes the drapes thick enough to completely keep out the 100% SUNLIGHT and UV RAY. The greatest benefit is to offer you a real dark environment, bringing you a good night's sleep during the day.
We loved that we could adjust the length of these curtains and could throw them in the washing machine for easy cleaning. The one thing we didn’t like about these curtains is that even though the advertisement says they help with noise reduction, our Airbnb guests didn’t notice a difference.
Cut The Cord – Or Just Go Buy Cordless Airbnb Blinds
In my Airbnb, I have been restricting children from staying. But I’m still concerned with visitors potentially bringing over small children without my knowledge. And although child strangulation by window blind cords are rare, I personally don’t want that potential liability.
Per the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) website found here, “After December 15, 2018, products that consumers can pick up in a retail store or order online as ready-made will not contain hazardous cords if the product is compliant with the ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2018 standard. Consumers should look for window coverings that comply with the new voluntary standard.” So when I was looking for new window blinds, cordless was at the top of my must-have list.
Cordless blinds are straightforward to operate. You simply pull up the bottom portion of the window to the desired height. There may be some dirt build-up from hands on your blinds, but it should be minor. Here are the blinds that we have used in our rentals and they have worked out great:
Best Blinds for Airbnb: Chicology Cellular Blackout Blinds
These are the absolute best and easiest-to-use blackout blinds we have used in our vacation rental. They are the most durable brand of blinds that we have tried.
5 used from $23.77
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- WINDOW SHADE : Chicology blinds come in multiple fabric colors as light filtering or blackout shades
- CORDLESS BLINDS : Cordless pull down blinds made for ease and safety
- HONEYCOMB BLINDS : Insulated window shades that prevent heat or cold from entering
- WINDOW COVERING : Best as front door blinds , kitchen blinds , blackout shades for bedroom and more
- BLINDS & SHADES: These cordless window blinds are true to size. Hardware and instructions provided
They come in an array of colors that can filter out light or block out light depending on the darkness of the color. Honeycomb shades are wonderful at reducing noise and regulating temperature. The blinds pull down and up so easily without the use of cords.
We found that installing these blinds was extremely difficult due to unclear instructions. However, eventually, we figured it out and have been happy with them ever since!
Other Airbnb Curtain and Blind Alternatives for Hosts:
Bedsure Linen Blackout Curtain
The Bedsure Linen Blackout Curtains are a great alternative choice. They block out 90-99% of the light, protecting your privacy while retaining natural light. They are thermally insulated to keep both heat and cold outside. These curtains are machine washable, but you should not put them in the dryer; lay them flat to dry.
Amazon.com
- Blackout curtains block 90-99% of the light, protecting your privacy while retaining natural light.
- 2 Panels, 8 Grommets with 1.6" inner diameter. Each panel 52x84’’.
- Polyester curtains with linen texture leaves a soft glow in the room.
- Thermal insulated window curtains keep both heat and cold outside.
- Machine washable in cold water. Iron on low heat. Please do not tumble dry, bleach or dry clean.
StangH Velvet Curtains
The StangH Velvet Curtains have a luxury, velvety look and feel. They are thick and heavy, which allows them to block most sunlight and they can resist summer heat and winter chill. These curtains are machine washable or they can be dry cleaned.
Free shipping
Amazon.com
- Ready Made: Package includes 2 panels of W52"x L120"(132cm x 304cm) each | W104"x L120"(264cm x 304cm) in total. Each panel has 8 solid grommets (1.6" inner) which fit most standard rods.
- Luxury Look: These velvet curtains feature silky-smooth touch and beautiful drape sense, which creates a warm elegant feeling to rooms.
- Light Dimming: Thick and heavy velvet drapes can block most sunlight to create a dark and cozy environment to better TV viewing or sleeping. Meanwhile, resisting summer heat & winter chill to lower cost.
Windowsandgarden Custom Cordless Single Cell Shades
The Windowsandgarden Custom Cordless Single Cell Shades are child-safe, cordless, light-filtering cellular shades (also known as pleated shades or honeycomb shades). These curtains are light-filtering and offer complete privacy. They come with a limited lifetime warranty.
Amazon.com
- PLEASE FOLLOW steps below when ordering. STEP 1: Select your color. STEP 2: Click on the first drop down above the colors and you will see different sizes for that color. For WIDTH pick the width to the inch rounding up. For height if you need 24-48 high any height up to 48 will do. If you need 48 1/8-72 high pick any size you see that is 49 or greater. For example, if you need 30 3/4w x 48 3/4h pick 31 for the width and any size 49 or higher for the height.
