Curtains or Drapes – What Came First?

Curtains are usually the casual window dressing of the country home, cabin or farmhouse, while drapes are hung in a home with a formal living room, dining room or bedroom.

The creative pioneer woman hung hand sewn curtains that were made from flour sacks. In the mid 19th century, curtains that were made of lightweight fabrics, such as chintz, cotton, lace and the popular blue checked linen, hung in the kitchen and bedroom windows. Fabric was often hung on the bedposts to form a decorative or privacy curtain.In the late 18th century, originating from France, elegantly layered and swagged drapes were popular in New England. The formal look of drapes graced the parlor windows of the southern plantations and the uptown apartments, in heavy fabrics of velvet, brocade or wool.

In the late 19th century, a fashionable trend was to hang fabric in a doorway. Pulled to the side with tie-backs or allowed to hang loose, the curtain served as a decorative feature as well as a functional door.

These window hangings, whether they are curtains or drapes, served not only as decorative, but a functional source of insulation against the heat or cold. The curtains or drapes were lined with flannel to manage the room’s temperature, control the light, as well as to aid with privacy.

No matter if it’s the muslin curtain in the kitchen window of the log cabin, the silk drapes in the 1825 Boston drawing room, or the window covering in the family room of the 21st century home in the suburbs, curtains and drapes are synonymous.

The “curtain maker” of the Old World, purchased his curtain fabric from the “draper”. So, which came first, the curtains or the drapes?

Curtains.