Some types of fabric immediately bring to mind a certain style, whether it’s because we have seen it so often in certain settings that we simply agree in our heads that it just looks right or there is some other factor at work. For the country appearance there is a fabric that almost always makes an appearance and that fabric is gingham. It works perfectly in a country kitchen or a rustic dining room and you would almost wonder why there weren’t gingham curtains on the windows if there were some other decorations in their place.

Gingham is a woven fabric that has been dyed into checks, stripes or plaid. In reality gingham is a striped fabric but the most common form that we see is a fabric that is striped both along the vertical as well as the horizontal. This forms the checks we associate with gingham although you would probably notice that the horizontal stripes are a slightly different hue to the vertical.

Gingham fabric has been around a long time, originally coming from Indonesia and the introduced into England by the Dutch in the 17th century. It was identifiable by the checked pattern of the cotton fabric from which it was made. These days gingham is available in a wide variety of colors and is used extensively for many kinds of soft furnishings in the home such as curtains, linens, decorative design for crockery and even shoes. Gingham curtains are synonymous with the farmhouse look and call to mind a relaxing atmosphere of simpler times. Gingham curtains give you a splash of color in the room while never becoming overpowering or obnoxious with the small checks the preferred option that is most often seen.

For some reason the gingham window treatment always makes it feel like springtime, even when you looking through them out into an obviously winter affected backyard. Bright gingham curtains in the kitchen can help to liven up the most-used room in the house. Another very common type of curtain feature that you will find using gingham is the café curtains. Again, this is a casual, almost breezy style of curtain that is designed specifically to maximize the amount of light that is allowed into the room.

Upon finding a set of gingham curtains and running your fingers over the weave of the fabric you may realize that it is a rather loose weave that can feel a little on the stiff side. This is really just an indication of how durable the cotton fabric is going to be over the long haul. Gingham curtains are going to last a long time and they are perfect all-rounders as effective window treatments for a multitude of situations.

You will often find a matching set of country kitchen curtains made from gingham in a farmhouse style kitchen. To soften the look to become quaint country kitchen style the curtains invariably have ruffled edges and are complemented with a matching valance or topper.

The gingham kitchen curtains work especially well when matched off against some other linen items scattered around the kitchen or dining area such as place mats, tea towels or table cloth. The important factor is that the matching style isn’t over done which could make the look too twee.