In Praise Of: Noren Curtains

In my former house, an old colonial, we had a servants staircase that led from the kitchen to the second floor. This is misleading in so many ways. We didn’t have servants, just the occasional babysitter. And our modest home, the smallest on our block, was certainly not fancy or large enough to warrant a second set of stairs. Tired of looking at that dark and steep liability just gathering dust (too spooky for the kids, too treacherous for the adults), one day I decided to fashion a curtain from a beloved lungi I’d purchased from Aunti Oti, and hang it in its kitchen doorway. Presto: The pretty makeshift curtain not only concealed the depressing stairway, but also created a hidden storage area in the process. I now had a place to stash random household items, like extra paper towels, dog food, and our bike helmets (I told you our house was small). Ever since, I’ve been a fan of curtains in lieu of doors as an inexpensive, fast fix for hiding and dividing.

Lately, we’ve been seeing noren curtains, in particular, popping up in projects. Noren curtains are traditional Japanese fabric panels, hung in doorways, across windows, or on walls. What we love about them, aside from their functional simplicity, is that they do double-duty as art.

Behold:

See also:

• 10 Easy Pieces: Colorful Lightweight Curtains
• 10 Easy Pieces: Cotton Velvet Curtains
• Small-Space Solutions: 7 Clever Twists on Room Dividers