Why Doesn’t the Fabric Look the Same as It Does Online?

Choosing curtain fabric from a photograph on a website is useful for narrowing down your options, but it can’t show you exactly how that fabric will look in your home.

The colour you see on screen can be affected by the photograph itself and by the screen you’re viewing it on.

There’s also texture to consider. A fabric that looks quite smooth in a photograph may have much more texture when you see it close up, while other fabrics can have a subtle sheen or woven detail that isn’t obvious online.

A physical sample removes much of that uncertainty.

Look at the Fabric in the Room Where Your Curtains Will Hang

This is probably the biggest advantage of ordering a sample.

Rather than deciding whether you like the fabric in isolation, take the sample into the actual room where the finished curtains will hang.

Hold it near the window and compare it with your wall colour, flooring, furniture and any other fabrics already in the room.

A colour that looked perfect on the website may appear slightly different once it’s sitting alongside everything else in your room.

Decorating the Room Too? Choose Your Curtain Fabric First

If you’re decorating the room at the same time as ordering new curtains, I’d go one step further and recommend choosing your curtain fabric before deciding on paint, wallpaper and some of the other decorative finishes.

Made-to-measure curtains are likely to be one of the more expensive purchases in the room — often second only to something like a new sofa.

That makes the curtain fabric a sensible place to start.

Once you’ve found a fabric you really like and have the sample in your hand, you can use it when choosing your paint colours, wallpaper and other decorative touches around the room.

I think that’s much easier than decorating the room first and then trying to find a curtain fabric that works with choices you’ve already made.

Paint colours are relatively easy to change and there are thousands of shades available. Your choice of curtain fabric is much more limited, particularly once you’ve found a particular design, colour and texture that you really love.

So if you’re planning the whole room together, order your curtain fabric samples early. Find the fabric you want first, then take that sample with you when making the rest of your decorating decisions.

Keep the Fabric Sample While Your Curtains Are Being Made

There’s another really useful reason for ordering a fabric sample that you might not think about until after you’ve placed your curtain order.

Made-to-measure curtains can take several weeks to be made and delivered. During that time, the fabric sample gives you something physical to use when choosing everything else for the room.

Take it with you when you’re shopping.

You can use the sample to:

• Choose or have paint mixed in a shade that works with the curtain fabric
• Lay it against wallpaper samples to see how the colours and patterns work together
• Take it to a sofa showroom and compare it with different upholstery fabrics
• Choose cushions and other soft furnishings
• Compare accessories such as lamps and other decorative items

Instead of trying to remember exactly what the curtain fabric looked like — or relying on a photograph on your phone — you’ve got the actual fabric with you.

It also means the few weeks you’re waiting for your curtains don’t have to be wasted time.

You can get on with decorating the room, order any furniture you need and start choosing the finishing touches, all with the curtain fabric sample there to help you make those decisions.

Then when your new curtains arrive, hopefully everything else in the room is already starting to come together around them.

Don’t Just Look at the Sample Once

I’d also avoid making the decision five minutes after the sample arrives.

Leave it in the room for a little while and look at it at different times of the day.

Natural daylight can make a fabric look quite different from how it appears in the evening under your room lighting. Even the changing daylight between morning and afternoon can alter how you perceive a colour.

This can be particularly noticeable in a bay window because bays often receive plenty of natural light.

If you’re going to live with the finished curtains for years, spending a day or two living with the fabric sample seems well worth doing.

Pin the Samples Where Your Curtains Will Hang

If you already have curtains hanging at the window, one of the best ways to compare your fabric samples is simply to pin them to your existing curtains.

Then leave them there for a few days.

You’ll see the fabrics in the same part of the room where your new curtains will eventually hang, and you can look at them in morning light, afternoon light and under your room lighting in the evening.

Don’t feel that you need to walk around the room holding the sample against everything you’re keeping.

If the sofa is staying, you don’t necessarily need to lay the sample on the sofa. If the walls aren’t being redecorated, you don’t need to keep holding it against the paintwork.

Stand back and look at the room as a whole. When you look at the fabric hanging at the window, does it tone in with the furniture, walls, flooring and other things that are staying in the room?

That’s ultimately what matters. Your finished curtains won’t be sitting on the sofa or held against the wall — they’ll be hanging at the window.

Order More Than One Sample If You’re Undecided

If you’ve narrowed your choice down to two or three fabrics, I’d order samples of all of them rather than trying to make the final decision from the website.

Once they’re sitting next to each other in your room, you may find the choice becomes much easier.

You might even find that the fabric you liked second or third best online is the one that works best when you see it in your home.

Think About More Than Just the Colour

Colour is obviously important, but while you have the sample in your hand it’s worth looking at the fabric itself too.

Consider the texture, thickness and general feel of the material. Think about whether it gives you the look you’re trying to achieve and whether you still like it when you see it close up rather than as a photograph of finished curtains.

If the fabric has a pattern, a small sample may not show the complete pattern repeat, so bear that in mind when imagining how the finished curtains will look.

Remember That Your Finished Curtains Won’t Be Just the Face Fabric

The fabric sample you’re looking at is only one part of the finished curtain.

Your choice of lining — and whether you add interlining — can change the weight, feel and appearance of the finished curtains.

So once you’ve chosen the fabric, it’s worth thinking about those options separately before placing your order.

Should I Choose Blackout Lining for My Made-to-Measure Curtains? →

What Is Curtain Interlining and Do I Need It? →

So, Is Ordering a Curtain Fabric Sample Worth It?

Yes, I think it is.

You’re potentially choosing fabric for curtains that will cover a large part of your window and remain in your home for many years.

Ordering a sample gives you the chance to check the real colour, texture and feel of the fabric, see how it works with the rest of your room and look at it under your own lighting before committing to the full order.

It’s a small extra step in the buying process that can give you much more confidence that you’ve chosen the right fabric.