Style labels are a shorthand, not a category. What actually makes a window look coherent is that the fabric, the heading and the hardware finish agree with each other. The groupings below are ways of getting them to agree.
Find the one closest to the room you already have, then treat the routes underneath it as a starting point rather than a rule.
Natural and relaxed
Quiet colour, visible texture and plain hardware. The fabric does the work through its weave rather than through pattern, and the heading is usually a soft one that gathers loosely instead of holding a rigid pleat.
Start with linen and linen-look fabrics, and keep the hardware unassuming. Wood poles in a natural or painted finish sit more comfortably in this look than polished metal does.
Modern and architectural
Cleaner lines, restrained colour and hardware that reads as part of the building rather than as decoration. Headings are flatter and more regular, and a track is often the better answer than a pole precisely because it disappears.
Consider matt black hardware, or a curtain track where you want no visible fitting at all above the window.
Classic and tailored
Structured headings, deeper folds and fabric with real weight to it. This is where a decorative pole and a proper finial belong, and where the lining makes the most visible difference to how the curtain hangs.
Look at poles in antique brass and read the curtain headings guide on the pleated headings, which are what give this look its shape.
Country and rustic
Softer than classic and less spare than modern: painted or natural wood, cotton and linen weaves, and small-scale pattern used sparingly. Nothing in this look should appear to have arrived new all at once.
The same wood poles suit here, and a painted finish often sits better than a stained one against older joinery. The finishes pages set out how each finish behaves in daylight.
Coastal and natural
Pale neutrals, an open weave and as much daylight as privacy will allow. The discipline is restraint: one texture, one colour family, and hardware that stays out of the way entirely. There is no separate collection for this look at the moment, so build it from the natural and relaxed route above and keep the palette tighter than feels necessary.
Statement
Pattern, saturated colour or deliberately heavy hardware, used once in a room. A statement window works when everything else stands back from it, and stops working the moment two things compete.
Start with patterned fabrics, and check the repeat at the size of your own window before committing to it. A design that looks balanced on a sample can be too large for a narrow window and too small for a wide bay.
Soft and sheer
Sheers filter daylight and soften a view without blocking either. They work on their own where privacy is not a concern after dark, and as a layer under heavier curtains where it is.
Sheer and voile fabrics covers the fabrics. If you are layering, remember the window then needs a system that carries two sets of curtains, which is a hardware decision to take early rather than late.
Generous and hotel-like
The look people usually mean by hotel style comes from quantity rather than expense: more fabric than the window strictly needs, a full lining so the curtain hangs heavily and holds its folds, and a pole set high and wide so the curtains clear the glass when they are open.
Choosing between them
If more than one of these appeals, that is normal, and the decision is usually made by the room rather than by taste. Curtains by room works from the practical requirements instead, and find your perfect curtains takes both into account. Whichever direction you take, order fabric samples before you commit to it.