Curtains can quite literally make or break a room! When you walk into a room you want to see those big beautiful blue eyes (if it’s a sunny day with blue skies) looking at you! The number one mistake I see and quite frankly the most embarrassing is when the curtains aren’t skimming the floor. It makes me think of that poor kid in school that’s wearing flood pants. Honestly I really wish retailers would not even sell 84 inch curtains. I don’t even know why they make that size! Here’s a few examples of DON’T.
Here are my tips to hanging beautiful, take your breath away drapes.
– Hang your curtains as close to the ceiling as you can. To create the illusion of height, mount the drapery rods just a few inches under the ceiling/crown molding or at least 1/2-2/3 the distance towards the top to help your ceilings. This will help to make the room to look as high and tall as possible.
Remember that this same guide applies when the windows are arched.
Curtains and drapes should not block out any light. They should just skim the side of the window and extend the wall 10-16 inches (or more) beyond the frame on each side. This makes a window feel so much grander and allows extra light to stream in when the curtains are open (the fabric hangs against the wall without blocking the glass or the view).
It also tricks your eye into thinking the window is much larger than it actually is.
Fullness – The wider your window is the thicker your curtains should be. I love lots of fullness so you always want to buy lined drapes. A lining also adds thickness, which protects against drafts (if you close the curtains) and helps fabric fall more luxuriously. Many times I will use two or three panels on one side… yes that’s a total of six panels for one window to create fullness.
Have the drapes skim or pool at the floor. (Never, ever make your windows wear flood pants!) For a clean, casual look, hang drapes so that they fall just a 1/2 inch above the floor – especially if you open and close your drapes frequently. (I personally don’t feel curtains should be opened and closed… except on a rare occasion.)
For a luxurious puddle effect, add 6-8 inches to the rod-to-floor measurement of the drape. This look isn’t as popular as it once was but it’s inherently luxurious and can still work in formal spaces and it’s also precious in baby nurseries!
FWI -The look of having drapes pulled back with a hook or a tassels is out. (Unless you have a very traditional style home.)
I like to think of curtains as putting on a gorgeous dress to complement those beautiful big eyes! And lastly if you’ve never had a professional clean your windows inside and out you must do it! Look on Groupon or for a coupon. Seriously, you won’t believe the difference!
I hope this helped! Please forward this link to all your friends so we can make all windows and rooms beautiful!
