Transform Your Porch with Outdoor Curtains

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Turn your porch or outdoor space into a cozy retreat with outdoor curtains! Quickly add privacy and shade to your screened porch, covered patio, or balcony with this affordable, beautiful and weatherproof ‘how to hang outdoor curtains’ tutorial.

Looking for more fab backyard ideas? Check out how to create a vertical herb planter, these must-haves for chic outdoor living, and how to hang outdoor string lights.

how to hang outdoor curtains

One of our favorite spaces in our new home is our new three season porch, we practically live out here from April through October! BUT, it looks out on the biggest regret we have about building our home: the lot we purchased. When we bought it, the lot was described as ‘fully wooded’. Little did we know they’d sold the land behind and the new builder clear cut the trees right up to our property line. We now have two houses basically in our backyard, and it’s a bit disconcerting for someone who craves privacy. Thankfully, we came up with a beautiful and affordable solution that not only gives us the privacy we need, but shades the porch during hot weather and the added bonus of turning it into a cozy resort-like space: gorgeous outdoor curtains!

outdoor curtains on a screened porch

While we’ve done this on our porch, this is also an awesome privacy and shade solution for front porches, balconies, covered patios, pergolas, and basically anywhere with a roof.

I was a bit skeptical of these curtains on Amazon because I didn’t want to block lots of light but still wanted privacy. Thankfully, they are a DREAM! They’re thick enough to block the view in the back while still letting in tons of light. To show you the difference, here’s the view of the house behind us:

screened porch with outdoor curtains

Close them up and boom-shaka-laka… a light-filtering solution!

screened porch with outdoor curtains

Isn’t it perfect? It truly blocks people from seeing inside (and us, from seeing that dang house) while keeping the light, airy look we crave.

porch with outdoor curtains and bar cart

outdoor sectional and outdoor curtains on a three season screened porch

outdoor decorations

wood beaded tassels

Another thing I love about these curtains (besides the price, they’re very affordable when compared to mall brands!) is that when open they are nice and slim, maximizing the space. In fact, they perfectly line up with the vertical poles:

three season screened porch with outdoor curtains

how to hang curtains on an oudoor porch

When hanging outdoor curtains, it’s best to use an outdoor rated curtain rod as well. We ordered these outdoor curtain rods and love them— not only do they extend quite far, but the ends are flat which helps them go right into the corners.

outdoor curtains on a three season screened porch

What Fabric is Best for Outdoor Curtains?

When choosing fabric for outdoor curtains, you want to make sure it’s weatherproof, blocks UV light, fade resistant, and easy to clean. Sunbrella fabric works great, as does specially treated polyester or canvas. These particular curtains are made from polyester but have a heavy canvas feel.

How to Hang Outdoor Curtains

While we’ve done this on our porch, this is also an awesome privacy and shade solution for front porches, balconies, covered patios, pergolas, and basically anywhere with a roof.

You’ll need:

Step One: Measuring is your friend. Make sure the curtain rods will fit the space, as well as the curtain panels when they are fully open. Allow for a little extra fabric in the width so you don’t have to pull them too tight when opened. It took some searching, but I finally found outdoor curtain rods that would fit the width of the porch, and we bought a similar curtain rod for the left side as seen here as well.

three season porch with outdoor curtains for privacy

wood frame outdoor chair // rug // outdoor curtains

Step Two: Use the measuring tape to mark where you want the brackets. When you hang the rods, position the center bracket so it won’t interfere with the operation of opening and closing the curtains. Here’s how we placed our middle bracket:

how to hang outdoor curtains on a screened porch

outdoor curtains and outdoor ceiling fan

I usually have the two panels on the left together so one curtain is to the left of the bracket and the other to the right, which makes it fuller in the middle, but for photography’s sake this looked better. 🙂

three season porch with outdoor curtains

The corner is the only tricky part, but here’s how we worked it so that everything was level. The curtains cover the corners here whether they’re open or closed, so you never even see this intersection:

how to hang outdoor curtains

Here’s how we hung the rod in the right-most corner:

how to hang outdoor curtain rods

Step 3: Add the curtains, with an even number to the left and to the right of the center bracket. Then grab a mojito and enjoy your new ‘resort’!

three season porch with outdoor sectional and curtains

Don’t you love when a solution to a problem is this easy, affordable and beautiful?!

how to hang outdoor curtains on a screened porch

shop the post handlettered

Outdoor Curtains

Outdoor Curtain Rods

Wood Frame Outdoor Chairs

Our Outdoor Sectional is no longer sold online, this one has great reviews though!

Outdoor Rug

Wood Bead Tassels

how to hang outdoor curtains on a porch for a cozy, private backyard retreat!

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