21 Perfect Above Sink Curtain Ideas That Instantly Upgrade Your Kitchen

The window above the kitchen sink is the most looked-at window in the entire house. I realized this when I spent a long weekend at a friend’s cottage and found myself standing at her kitchen sink washing dishes and noticing for the first time in years how much time I spend simply looking out of that window. The window above the sink is where we look while our hands are busy — while we wash up while we fill the kettle while we rinse vegetables, and wait for the water to run cold. It is the window that gets the most attention of any in the house and it is the window that most kitchens treat as an afterthought. The right curtain above the kitchen sink changes everything. Here are twenty-one ideas that prove it.

1. Classic White Linen Cafe Curtains

White linen cafe curtains hung on a simple brass or chrome rod covering only the lower half of the window above the kitchen sink are the most universally flattering and most consistently beautiful above-sink window treatment possible. The cafe curtain provides privacy from the window’s lower section while allowing natural light to pour in from the top half and the simple white linen has a clean soft quality that makes any kitchen feel more considered and more genuinely beautiful.

2. Lemon Print Cafe Curtains

Lemon print cafe curtains above the kitchen sink bring the freshest and most cheerful possible seasonal energy to the most-viewed window in the kitchen. The bright yellow lemons on white or cream fabric make the window feel like a still life painting of summer and the cafe curtain length means the lemons are always at eye level and always visible. A pair of lemon print cafe curtains is the fastest way to make a kitchen feel alive and seasonal.

3. Sheer Voile Panel

A single sheer voile panel hung from a rod above the kitchen sink window and left to fall softly to the counter below creates the most delicate and luminous above-sink window treatment possible. The voile fabric diffuses the natural light into a soft glow that makes the whole sink area feel warm and beautiful and the movement of the sheer panel in a gentle breeze from an open window creates one of the most peaceful kitchen atmosphere details imaginable.

4. Sage Green Linen Curtains

Full-length sage green linen curtains above the kitchen sink that fall to the counter or to the floor create a kitchen window treatment that feels both fresh and grounded. The muted organic quality of sage green linen complements almost every kitchen color palette and the warmth of the natural linen texture adds a softness and personality to the sink area that no blind or shutter can provide. Sage green linen curtains make a kitchen window feel genuinely styled.

5. Striped French Ticking Curtains

Classic French ticking stripe curtains in navy and cream or grey and cream above the kitchen sink create a window treatment that references the farmhouse and bistro kitchen aesthetics that everyone loves. The narrow stripes of French ticking have an informal elegance that fits every kitchen from a city apartment to a country house and the crisp clean quality of the stripe pattern keeps the sink window looking neat and intentional.

6. Ruffled Vintage Curtains

White or cream ruffled curtains above the kitchen sink in a gathered ruffle style create a window treatment with a cottage and vintage quality that makes the sink area feel warm and personally styled rather than simply covered. The ruffles add texture and dimension to the window that flat curtains lack and the slight informality of the gathered style communicates a relaxed comfort that is deeply appealing in a kitchen.

7. Roman Blind in Kitchen Print Fabric

A Roman blind in a fabric that references the kitchen’s theme — a botanical print, a small geometric in kitchen colors or a simple stripe — above the sink window creates a window treatment that functions perfectly and looks genuinely considered. A Roman blind is neater and more architectural than a curtain panel and the choice of fabric makes it personal and specific to the kitchen it inhabits.

8. Macrame Panel

A handmade or purchased macrame panel hung from a rod above the kitchen sink creates a window treatment that is as much wall art as curtain. The woven fiber texture of macrame diffuses light beautifully and creates interesting shadow patterns on the wall around the window and the natural beige of cotton macrame complements virtually every kitchen color palette. A macrame above-sink curtain is the most bohemian and most personal window treatment a kitchen can have.

9. Gingham Check Curtains

Gingham check curtains above the kitchen sink in any classic colorway — red and white blue and white yellow and white or green and white — create a window treatment that references country kitchen farmhouse and cottage aesthetics simultaneously. The gingham check is one of the most cheerful and most universally liked patterns in textile design and above the kitchen sink it makes the window feel instantly welcoming and full of character.

10. Embroidered Linen Curtains

Linen curtains with simple embroidered details — small botanical motifs scattered across the fabric or a single embroidered border along the hem — above the kitchen sink create a window treatment that has a handmade personal quality that manufactured curtains entirely lack. The embroidery adds detail and personality to the linen and the combination of the natural fabric and the hand-stitched detail creates a window treatment that tells a story about the person who chose it.

11. Woven Bamboo Roman Blind

A woven bamboo or rattan Roman blind above the kitchen sink creates a window treatment that filters natural light into a warm dappled glow through the gaps in the weave while providing privacy and an organic natural texture that fabric blinds cannot replicate. The warm honey tones of natural bamboo complement every kitchen style from modern to farmhouse and the natural material quality communicates a genuine connection to the natural world.

12. Floral Curtains in a Single Color Story

Floral curtains above the kitchen sink in a single color story — all the florals in shades of one color against a neutral background — create a window treatment that is both lively and visually cohesive. A single-color floral print feels more sophisticated and more considered than a multi-color floral because the color editing communicates intentionality and the flowers still provide all the organic energy and beauty that floral fabric offers.

13. Half-Height Roman Blind With Sheer Below

A Roman blind that covers the upper half of the kitchen sink window combined with a sheer panel covering the lower half creates a layered window treatment that provides privacy control and visual interest simultaneously. The blind can be raised for a full view of the garden and lowered for privacy while the permanent sheer panel maintains some privacy at the sink level at all times without blocking any light.

14. Curtains With Contrast Trim

Plain linen or cotton curtains above the kitchen sink with a contrast trim — a different color fabric edge along the hem and the leading edge of each panel — create a window treatment with a custom bespoke quality that ready-made curtains never achieve. The contrast trim adds definition and color to the window in a controlled and elegant way and the detail communicates that the kitchen has been put together with real attention.

15. Gathered Tier Curtains

Gathered tier curtains above the kitchen sink — two tiers of gathered fabric one above the other creating a layered ruffled effect — create the most traditional and most cottage-like above-sink window treatment. The gathered tiers add abundant texture and volume to the window and the layered effect makes the window look dressed and full even with relatively little fabric. This style works especially beautifully in white or cream with small prints.

16. Jute or Burlap Roman Blind

A jute or burlap Roman blind above the kitchen sink creates a window treatment of extreme natural warmth and texture that is completely unique among kitchen window options. The rough organic texture of burlap filters light in a completely distinctive way and the warm tan tones of natural jute sit beautifully in farmhouse rustic and bohemian kitchen environments where other natural materials are already present.

17. Dark Linen Curtains for Drama

Deep charcoal navy or forest green linen curtains above a kitchen sink create a window treatment of genuine drama and sophistication. Dark curtains in a kitchen are unexpected and powerful — they create a rich backdrop for the window view and they communicate that the kitchen belongs to someone with a confident and distinctive design sensibility. Against a lighter kitchen the dark curtain panels become a design statement.

18. Broderie Anglaise Curtains

Broderie anglaise curtains — white cotton with the characteristic cutwork embroidery pattern — above the kitchen sink create a window treatment of delicate feminine beauty that is completely unlike any other kitchen window option. The cutwork pattern allows light to pass through in a dappled charming way and the white broderie anglaise has a fresh clean quality that makes the sink area feel genuinely beautiful and personally chosen.

19. Seasonal Curtain Rotation

The kitchen sink window is the perfect window for seasonal curtain rotation — keeping a collection of above-sink curtain panels in different colors and prints and changing them with the seasons. A lemon print for summer, a warm plaid for autumn, a snowy botanical for winter, and fresh floral for spring. The ritual of changing the sink curtain with the seasons is one of the simplest and most satisfying ways to keep the kitchen feeling alive and current throughout the year.

20. Brass Rod as Design Detail

The curtain rod above the kitchen sink is often overlooked as a design element but a beautiful brass or unlacquered brass rod makes even the simplest curtain panel look considered and expensive. The warm golden tone of a brass rod above a white or linen curtain at the kitchen sink window adds a jewelry-like detail to the window that transforms the whole area and coordinates beautifully with brass faucets and hardware elsewhere in the kitchen.

21. Pom-Pom Trim Curtains

Curtains above the kitchen sink with a pom-pom trim along the hem or the leading edge create a window treatment that is playful, charming and completely unexpected in a kitchen. The small colorful pom-poms add a handmade crafted quality to even the most basic curtain panel and they move slightly in any air movement creating a gentle animated quality at the window that is genuinely delightful to look at while standing at the sink.