They have a nice linen-like print on them (they don't feel like linen, they just have the look) and they are a bit more creamy than the stark white I was hoping for, but they look great and I was happiest that they came in an extra long length so I could hang them at the ceiling. They aren't really "darkening," because mine are white, but they effectively block the sun from my south-facing window and keep the room from turning into an oven in the afternoon and that's all I can really hope for.