When I was living in The Netherlands, I was intrigued by one minor aspect of Dutch living. Why don’t Dutch people close their curtains?
I am not alone in wondering what’s going on here. After some Google searching, it looks like others have tried to explain this habit.
While obviously we can’t generalise about everybody, there are certainly many people who love the open-window look. The living rooms of many houses and apartment are often left open for all the world to see, and this can seem pretty strange to some foreign visitors.
When I walk past, a flickering TV might catch my eye, or a cat grooming on a windowsill, or a room full people eating dinner together. Meanwhile, here in Australia, when the lights go down the curtains are well and truly closed.
So why exactly are the Dutch so open with their lounge rooms?
Why do the Dutch keep their curtains open?
To address the question, there are two main theories which Dutch historian Anton Van Hooff described in the 1991 edition of Dutch newspaper NRC.
Being open about your private lives
The first idea is that the Dutch are might be proving that they have nothing to hide, and that the private world of a person should be just as presentable as their public image. This concept probably goes back hundreds of years to the Calvinist mentality.
Bragging about your home and your possessions
Van Hooff also speculates that it may be a form of bragging about the presentation of your home, and the stuff you own!
Forming a sense of community
Another reason why the curtains stay open could be to foster a sense of community, according to a 2006 study by Hilje Van Der Horst and Jantine Messing. They concluded that the friendlier a neighbourhood is with each other, the more likely they are to keep their lounge window open to see. Dutch windowsills are often decorated with collections of small toys or bottles, on display for the public to enjoy.
Proving there’s no funny business going on?
There are some other wilder theories, too. One myth goes that when many Dutch sailors were at sea during their hayday of international trade, the women of The Netherlands kept their curtains open to prove that no ‘cheekiness’ was afoot.
Just admiring the view outside
Of course, leaving the curtains open might be more for the residents’ desire to look out of their windows, and see what’s happening outside. Many Dutch cities are very beautiful, and older parts of town may offer views of canals, cathedrals, architecture and people-watching. After all, isn’t that what windows are for?
But still many questions remain!
What if it’s really hot, and you need shade? Do Dutch people care if tourists glance inside? Does having curtains open invite break-ins or theft? Don’t curtains make a room feel cozy at night?
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I’m still not convinced. I love curtains, and closing them when the sun goes down helps me feel like I’m creating my own little cozy private bubble. One of the best things I like about curtains is having flexibility: you can choose to close them, or keep them open as well!
Do you live in The Netherlands, and do you keep your curtains closed or open? Let me know in the comments below!
StickyMangoRice 
Hi there, you have a fabulous travel blog! I thoroughly enjoy the combination of your beautiful, dreamy sketches and interesting cultural observations, thank you! I am definitely a curtains-closed-type-girl. Holland is a fantastic country and I really enjoyed these insights! Cheers
Thanks very much! Yes, I hope that by hand drawing what I see and where I’ve been, it adds a more personalised touch to my blog 😁
It absolutely does! Keep going, your work is really charming 🙂
ha, ha, true…we Dutch feel we have nothing to hide…look as much as you like. Although I live in the UK…I do not have curtains in living room..I do in Bedrooms!!
Nice to hear you’ve brought your no-curtains philosophy over to the UK! Here is Australia it’s very rare to see somebody with their living room in full view at night
Nice 😊😊
Thanks!
There’s certainly much more openness this way!
After 17 years in Amsterdam, I think I understand the open curtain thing. They want to show off their good taste and affluence without it being obvious that they are showing off. They have their curtains open and you just happen to look in. It like the old Calvinists, they wore simple black clothes with minimal lace decoration because colorful and decorative clothing was vanity…but their black clothes were made of the finest wool and the lace was as expensive as they could afford. So no vanity there!
Also people sit in their living rooms, at their tables for all to see with a laptop and a cup of coffee, posed like a photo in a magazine. It’s the cozy feeling you get that everything is perfect at that moment (just like the magazine showed you) and you want to brag to the world…in a modest way, of course. You will notice that front rooms with the curtains open are designed like a magazine photo and are not cluttered or haphazard.
That’s a good point – living rooms open to the street are always clean and in good order. Nice to have the insight of someone who lives in Amsterdam!
Someone once told me it comes from the Second World War. Dutch people under German occupation wanted to show they had ‘nothing’ to hide, i.e. Jews! – I hope that’s not true.
It’s possible, for sure. These days it must be more habit than anything, and it’s a nice little feeling of community.