Would it be strange if I did that with the cafe curtain in front of the accordian (towards the interior)-I want a "soft" look for our master bath. So essentially it would be decorative on the inside and outside more uniformed as you mentioned

I'd opt for the privacy first and then add the decorative touch. You have more control of light and view (in and out) with the shades. Hard to get "soft" with all the typical hard edges and shapes in a bath. Houzz won't let me load any pix for you, but search the box above under photos for top down bottom up bath to see some inspiration and the variety in the td/bu shades.

I would not do cafe curtaind they barely work in kitchens IMO. As mentioned top down shades would be great. Not sure what you mean by built in shades but I hope not the kind that are inside your window when they go wrong they go really wrong. I dislike toppers and in most space drapes or roman shades are a much nicer look .You could even do top down roman shades

I agree - all windows with top-down shades. Cafe curtains have been out of style for at least 40 years!

Maybe those sheer, rodpocket, readymade ones are out of style, but a nice linen or cotton cafe hanging from rings on a nice rod are not.

From what I read, they want to put them in a closet window and a bathroom. I don't see anything about a kitchen.?

As for rules, while it does look nice if all front windows look the same, I think as long as all the upstairs match and all the downstairs match in a same color, it looks okay IMO. If you're mixing them on the same floor, not so much.

Yes we we’re going to do some nice linen cafes or even just a hand shade with two rods. But my question is curb appeal if I have two of those and the rest different from street view

This gives a better idea of what we want

I adore cafe curtains . I often notice windows/curtains in homes as I drive or walk by. They can really make or break curb appeal. I think that the windows look best when a uniform color faces the street. So, as long as you are not mixing unlined florals and cream color panels, they will look nice.

I have pleated shades at some bedroom and bathroom windows. They are always kept up during daytime and pulled down only at night. They are never seen otherwise. IMO they look SO MUCH better than the current trend of shades that look like sheets at the windows. Also, some of the shades remind me of movie projector screens, I hate to even mention those brown wooden blinds. I like a soft look that allows light in my home.

Go for what you like! Your options sound lovely.

That’s what I was thinking the neutral pleated shades that face the front will always be open unless it’s morning and a guest is staying (our guest rooms are front facing) Then the shades for our bath will be of a nuetral color too but a half cafe type as shown in the photo

It's always a good rule of thumb to try and keep consistency on the front side of a house to keep the curb appeal the same. It just looks more uniform and finished this way. I would agree with others that top-down/bottom-up shades are a great alternative that provide the same functionality and similar look while keeping a uniform street view.

So we are going to do away with the half cafe curtain as the person across the way lives up on a hill so would be able to view in from the top portion of the window. We really want to keep a lot of light in this room so will do some sort of shade that is more sheer. We decided since the other front faciing rooms are guest rooms we will have accordian shades there that will pretty much always be up unless we have a guest over and its morning time. Now to find a way to make the new master shade look more soft.

I don’t put much store in rules and cafe curtains are certainly not out of style! If something is done well it can look wonderful and stylish! Do what you want! I had these cafe style curtains made for this home and they work perfectly for the privacy they desired from the street!

Jeanking, I see you have solved your dilemma because of your neighbor’s view. I just wanted to add a comment, in general , that pertains to cafe curtains on rings. I do not think they are outdated. They CAN be a solution for some, especially when used with easily moved rings. The photo below shows them used in both large and small expanses , with either a cornice/valance or with drapes . —— That said, we have a large front- facing bedroom window that is 9” off floor level inside. We used to have accordion shades there but I replaced them with plantation shutters because it was always an “ all or nothing” proposition - either open or shut to the view outside. Shutters can be slanted so that there is no view to the inside ,while still seeing all the light and view to the outside. No endless pulling of cords to either expose all or nothing. With just the flip of the tilt bar, we now have a myriad of options ( and when horizontal, the slats let in all the light we want ) .

Meant to say that our shutters are an off white painted finish so they look cohesive in color to the rest of the windows. —- Also, keep in mind that a semi-sheer shade will not provide complete privacy at night when interior lights are on.

This is a good idea, to use both actually. Is this your home?