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OK, a friend tried to copy a beautiful Pinterest or Instagram post’s curtain design, but the result was a failure. What happened and how can they avoid a disaster like that again? If the window measurements or the room size in the post differed too much from their own home’s size, then their copied design was doomed to fail. Here’s how to take store-bought curtains and make them look custom-made.
Big box stores like Lowe’s sell a lot of mass-market 84-inch standard length curtains and advises us “to hang rods on or just above the frame. ... For a flush appearance go six inches above the frame for a standard look. ... Or, hang near the ceiling with long drapes to make the room look taller.” However, Lowe’s 84-inch lengths are too short for most windows and their 95″ curtains are too tall for 8-foot ceilings. Designer’s tip: Rather than settle for Lowe’s shorter 84-inch curtains, buy their 95-inch length curtains and have them hemmed to 90 inches.
Architectural Digest magazine, which features luxurious high-end homes, advises, “Curtains should be hung between four to six inches above the window frame, so install your curtain rod accordingly.” Whenever you hang a curtain rod high, it will make the room appear taller. Designer’s tip: Hang curtain rods either 4 to 6 inches above the window frame, or two-thirds of the distance on up to the ceiling … or hang them 4 to 6 inches below the ceiling.
Don’t let your curtain rod’s width match your window frame’s width, because when all the way open your curtains will still cover too much glass, blocking light, making your window look smaller, which makes your rooms feel smaller. Let your curtains stack back on the wall to show almost all of your window glass when your curtains are open. Designer’s tip: Assuming there’s enough wall space, we window treatment specialists set rod brackets out 6 to 10 inches on either side of the window frame.
Proportions are important. When hanging a pair of single 54-inch-width curtains as side panels on, say, a 100-inch-wide window, you’ll quickly discover you’ll need more than one width of fabric per side. Technically, two side backs panels 54 inches wide will close across a 100-inch window, but those panels will be stretched too tight, too taut, and have no softness whatsoever. Plus when opened, a single width per side looks skimpy on a large window. Don’t be that person. Designer’s tip: Buy four panels (two for each side) and either have your dry cleaner’s seamstress join them together … or push them together so you don’t see where they’re separated.
Curtains look best when hung at one of three different lengths: Hung 1/2 to 1 inch off the floor, hung to barely kiss the floor, or hung to puddle on the floor. When hung higher than 1 inch, curtains look cheap. And while “pooling on the floor look” can be spectacular, be aware they will be dust catchers. Designer’s tip: If extra cleaning will bother you, hang your curtains to either kiss the floor or almost touch it.
Live well – live in beauty!
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STEPHEN THOMPSON has been creating tasteful interiors in north Mississippi since 1975. For consultations, comments or questions, contact Designer Connection, P.O. Box 361, Tupelo, MS, 38802 or stephen2816@mac.com.
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