For a quick and satisfying reno, updating your kitchen window curtains or blinds is easy and affordable. Even more so if you’ve decided to forgo any window treatment at all and only need to revamp the space to better take advantage of a gorgeous window frame or view. Below, we’ve gathered the most gorgeous and practical kitchen window ideas for you to consider.
If going with curtains and blinds, finding the right material is everything and will depend on personal taste and your chosen décor style. But it also depends on the amount of light you are working with. In kitchens with minimal light, you’ll be wanting less opaque fabrics and materials and considering designs like valances rather than full drapes. Ultimately the goal is to create a bright, chic and streamlined look in your kitchen, with practical easy to clean material especially if it’s in a splatter zone.
But if you’re still deciding between curtains or no curtains, I’ve got some gorgeous bare kitchen windows that simply look beautiful unadorned or ones that utilise the windowsill space for décor instead.
Here are 40 kitchen window ideas that are all in great taste—enjoy!
The no-treatment treatment
So first let’s take a look at kitchen window ideas that don’t involve curtains or blinds. Lots of people are opting for keeping kitchen windows bare if privacy is not an issue. Here are some stunning examples.
1. Let there be light
One of the main reasons people decide to keep windows naked is to allow the full amount of available light to flow in. Show off a stunning all-white kitchen aesthetic without curtains or blinds detracting from your clean, streamlined window. And if your kitchen window looks out on lush greenery, why hide it?
2. Full-scale window
Here’s a stunning full-scale window in a great modern house design but when they are looking for that mid-century touch. Have a window expert help you find and install gorgeous ones like this!
3. Don’t spoil your view
Blinds and curtains can sometimes interrupt the view, especially if you have a modern entertainer’s kitchen. But kitchen cabinets framing horizontal glass splashbacks allow the cook to enjoy a tranquil verdant view. See more kitchen splashback ideas for alternative options too.
4. Use the windowsills for decor
When you don’t have curtains or blinds in your kitchen window, you can make the most of the unobstructed windowsill space for styling. For a bare, almost monastic kitchen, leave windows unadorned so they allow in all the light, and takes advantage of the sill space for cookbooks and small decorative items. If you’re looking for kitchen window sill ideas, I’ve got more inspo below.
5. Farmhouse kitchen windows
These beautifully restored kitchen windows and side door are perfect for a small home.
6. Add skylights
Can’t have a window? Well then add a skylight, not only will it let in a bunch of sunlight and also naturally warm up your house as well.
7. Dress it up with black trim
If you have a white or light neutral colour scheme in your kitchen, you can give it a chic update by painting your window trims black. It’s a high contrast contemporary look that especially suits windows without curtains, providing a finished look and defining the windows without introducing the clutter of fabric.
When you are going for a naked window look, you want your windows to be truly sparkling clean. These windows are no walk in the park to clean, so sometimes it’s best to leave the hassle to window cleaners.
8. Tiny kitchen windows
Any window is better than no window, maybe not so much for the natural light but more the airflow especially when you’re going to be cooking up a storm!
9. Blend black and white and greenery
Black interiors have been popular for some time and are still going strong. They just give a chic and contemporary edge to any décor style.
10. Enjoy a view of plants
This kitchen looks airy and spacious thanks to the massive backsplash window and the generous skylights. Even if your kitchen only looks out onto a basic and plain courtyard, install oversized container plants to stand in front of your window. These can also act as a privacy screen if necessary.
11. Go bold with black steel
Here’s another example of a modern kitchen featuring black steel frame windows that require no embellishment. The windows were some of the original features of this converted warehouse that the homeowners decided to hang onto when renovating.
12. Contrast busy colour with plain white
Do you have a happy kitchen-dining space full of colour bursts, perhaps beautifully contrasted against whitewashed floors and walls? Keeping the windows free of curtains or blinds, and simply painted crisp white, is a good idea when working with a lot of colour. A white window frame also creates a nice backdrop for vivid, coloured metal pendant lights.
13. Use the frames for colour
For a stunning modern farmhouse kitchen, paint naked sash windows in a gorgeous colour, like a soft bottle green. This is another way you can introduce colour into your kitchen without necessarily going down the blinds/curtains route.
When the focus is squarely on your kitchen window, it goes without saying that your frames should be in tiptop condition. You can get someone to give you a hand with any frame repairs or other general window repairs that you might need.
Kitchen blinds and curtains
Sometimes you just want more privacy or maybe just less sunlight so blinds or curtains will be desirable. Safety may be an issue if your window is near your stove, so streamlined choices without fluttering fabric are the best option. And simple, unlined styles are usually easier to launder at home.
At the moment there’s a bit of a vibe about coarsely woven blinds, whether organic material like linen, fibres like bamboo, or woven wood. Here’s a selection of gorgeous kitchen window blind ideas.
14. Mix linen with mid-century
Mix large windows and doors with linen curtains. You can tell from the sunlight streaming in that it must get warm during the day and that window coverings are a must.
15. Go for woven wood blinds
Current trends in kitchen window treatment ideas involve the copious use of organic fibres, including woven timber. These blinds add a dose of warmth and tactile texture to a monochromatic colour scheme, and look beautiful in a modern farmhouse kitchen. You can leave the upper windows bare to ensure maximum light flow, while the lower windows can be covered for privacy.
16. Choose fresh and clean Romans
Kitchen window blinds don’t need to be a blackout fabric, in fact, it’s usually better if they aren’t. Opaque blind like these grey Romans will give you privacy but still allow plenty of light through.
A Scandi style kitchen especially suits a lovely, simple window treatment like Roman blinds. Go for muted soft natural tones and the knobby texture of a coarsely woven fabric. Keeping the blinds permanently half-drawn will ensure you have window sill space to style up, too.
17. Venetian blinds in kitchen
While blinds and shades are practical and have that streamlined, uncluttered look, traditional kitchen curtains can still look completely lovely. Sheer white blinds will take the edge off the sunlight and give you a little privacy but still remain unobtrusive and airy.
18. Pick organic materials
For a modern family kitchen with coastal farmhouse vibes, mix fresh white and timber, and glam it up with marble benchtops and chrome hardware. Organic fibre blinds suit a range of decor styles, giving earthy warmth to any setting.
19. Go for gingham
When it comes to kitchen window treatment ideas, you can’t go past the classic, never-fail country charm of gingham, in any colour or check size that you like. Consider an oversize buffalo plaid style in barely there pale grey and white, adding a dose of pattern to an otherwise all-white space. Going for a country kitchen aesthetic? Add pretty white wall sconces.
20. Have linen shades
Coarsely woven fabric with a textured grain is a chic and classic choice for your kitchen window treatments. Simple shades can look just casually arranged, with their random asymmetrical length. Linen in natural tones is always timeless and elegant, whether it’s washed or raw, and will add understated sophistication to any décor.
21. Kitchen curtains
Are your kitchen curtains a feature? Then make sure they look the goods by having a professional handle the curtain cleaning from time to time.
22. Roof windows in the kitchen
Roof windows are great to add when they can be opened correctly. They are different to skylights because you can manually open them, so you need to be able to access them sufficiently to do so. It also means that loft style spaces are then considered a legal space (depending on your local rules and building restrictions). This one has built in blinds as well!
Kitchen window decoration
23. Use plants as curtains
Instead of curtains or blinds, you might also like to try using use plants as window treatments. What about a gorgeous ‘plant curtain’, with tendrils of this silver dollar vine affixed to the kitchen wall? If you use electrical tape you can gently move it along as the plant grows.
Certain climbing plants are best for this kind of look because they are lighter and will grip better onto their support so ask your nursery for their recommendation. Learn more about the best indoor plants for your home.
24. Go Boho
This apartment has a similar-looking effect, this time created by vines cascading from a plant in a hanging basket. This is perfect for Boho, Jungalow/Kinfolk or even Scandi style interiors, infusing lots of natural charm, colour and movement into a space.
25. Add rustic jugs
For more kitchen window sill ideas involving plants as décor, consider a densely placed collection of potplants and cut flowers in galvanised steel and ceramic containers and set atop a slab of marble on the sill. This will give you a time-worn, rustic aesthetic, especially if paired with a vintage faucet and taps.
Use the window for shelving
Another option for kitchen window treatments is to banish blinds and instead, install glass shelving. Obviously highly practical, it’s also a chance to showcase your favourite kitchenware, especially glassware which will look amazing in the light too.
26. Glam it up with glass and brass
Shelving is such a great way to use the kitchen window space constructively. An entertainer’s kitchen can really up the ante with beautiful, lightweight brass shelving to hold all your glassware, which adds sparkle and shine to the space.
27. Kitchen window shelving
Another stylish glass shelving set up might be opting for black iron bars for a modern kitchen look. Contrast with traditional elements like white subway tile.
28. Hang pots and pans
Glass shelving can keep your most used items visible and within easy reach, and you can even add a row of hooks to your curtain rod (sans curtain) for hanging your pots. This look is perfect if you have a galley kitchen, to get that authentic ‘ship’s galley’ vibe, and to really take advantage of every spare inch in a small kitchen.
Need more inspo for kitchen layouts? We’ve got kitchen layout ideas, and you might like to look at U-shaped kitchens too.
29. Kitchen shelving
Got an odd space in-between windows? Add some custom shelving to make the most of the space. This is especially important in a small kitchen where you’re tight on space.
30. Create cottage charm
If you love an eclectic loo, mix salvaged vintage décor from around the world for layers of nostalgia and history that will bring so much character. You can enhance your window space with a weathered timber hutch to hold plates, or add a collection of retro kitchenware along the window sill.
31. Hang herbs
My final example of ways to utilise the kitchen window space for functional storage is rows of hanging potted herbs installed in the window. Add a simple set of white plastic Venetians behind the plants to allow you to moderate the amount of light your plants get (they may not like the full sun all day). Choose pots which fit into your kitchen’s colour scheme too.
Breakfast bars & serveries
A specific type of kitchen window is the servery window. These open up completely (whether hinged, accordion or bifold style) to create a new indoor-outdoor dining space. Kitchen serveries are becoming more popular as they just suit our lifestyle so well, enabling alfresco eating and entertaining, and letting in loads of fresh air and light to boot.
Even if you don’t have a servery window that opens up, you can still create an eating nook inside by extending out your window sill. Here are some of the breakfast bar and kitchen servery window ideas I found especially enticing.
32. Add doors
Why have windows when you can have large retractable sliding doors? The fresh air is a huge bonus as is the added natural light. If you just added a mirror indoors too, you’d be able to bounce more of that natural light around the room. But an interior lighting designer or architect will help you make those important decisions.
33. Servery window
A servery style window that opens up to your outdoor entertaining area is the modern must-have for any home. Whether on the other side is bar stools or just casual patio dining – it works for anything.
34. Consider bifolds
So clean and fresh, you can open out a small modern kitchen to the garden with bifold servery windows. White ones featuring black hinges look stunning in a contemporary kitchen, especially if complementing matte black tap fittings. A mix of plentiful white, timber and plant life is a surefire way to create a kitchen that would be so relaxing to cook in!
35. Set up a breakfast bar
Ensure you have enough room to tuck your barstools away under the breakfast bar.
36. Window sill seat
Window seats are not all that common in kitchens. But I can see one being really handy. A timber bench seat also adds a complementary warm touch to an otherwise all-white coastal farmhouse or even Hamptons look.
37. Bright minimal servery
When it comes to kitchen servery window ideas, the aim is to create an open, airy space that seamlessly blends the outdoors and indoors. Look for a café style hinged window—if you needed to create shade for your outdoor dinners, this style of window in another material would be ideal. To change up your kitchen window to transform it to a servery window, find a window replacement expert to create a custom look for you.
38. Go large
Most kitchen servery window ideas involve the installation of a decent-sized window that is able to open up to create a servery area. But that’s not to say you can convert an entire kitchen wall to windows that fold right away. An oversized servery window is perfect for people who love to entertain.
39. Maximise the outdoor connection
Since kitchen serveries are intended to create a harmonious interaction between indoor and outdoor social spaces, it makes sense that you often see them in coastal style homes that tend to appeal to people who love the outdoors. You really can’t beat an al fresco kitchen servery if you are lucky enough to have amazing views!
40. Window sill bar
Lastly, if you are short on space you can still create a little breakfast nook. Transform a small kitchen window into a tiny spot to enjoy a cuppa and enjoy your garden view, simply with the addition of a wooden shelf, attached by brackets mounted to the window trim. You can place it at a table or bar height depending on your preference, then simply add your favourite chairs or stools.
So there you have 40 kitchen window ideas that beautifully enhance the spaces they’re in. Personally, I always thought curtains were non-negotiable for all house windows including kitchens, but now I see the light (literally). I think I’m going to try growing trailing plants as kitchen window treatments instead. What are your favourite window treatments for a kitchen and what works for you at home? Let me know in the comments!
