Though a beautiful set of curtains or drapes can bring any room in your home to life, you might be surprised at how many people have no idea how to hang curtains. While executing the task correctly requires measuring and a dedicated block of time, hanging curtains improperly can be a home decor disaster.
Before installing window treatments, take the necessary time to ensure you know how to do it right. This article will discuss the trickiest parts of hanging curtains and some must-have tips to help you get those decorative drapery rods up where they belong.
Installing Curtain Rods
One of the most challenging aspects of installing new drapes is understanding how to hang curtain rods. A few things impact where you need to place your rods, including window style, covering, and ceiling height.
Curtains can complete the look of a room by controlling the light while lending warmth, style, texture, color, and privacy. These guidelines will help you make the most of your window treatments, whether you're working with a bay window curtain rod or ceiling mount curtain rods.
Finding the Right Height
Knowing how to measure curtain rods is all about finding the right height. For standard drapes that typically hang on both sides of the window, the typical height to hang the curtain rod is halfway between the ceiling and the top of the window casing.
If you have cathedral ceilings, you'll want to leave four to six inches above the window trim. Regardless of ceiling height, the minimum distance from the top of the window casing to the installed curtain rod should be two inches.
For those who want to create a height illusion, you can try hanging curtain rods an inch or so away from the ceiling. If your home has low ceilings, this will make a massive difference to how your window treatments look and feel. Arched windows should follow these same curtain rod hanging guidelines.
Focusing on Width
You can easily create an illusion of more expansive windows based on where and how you hang your curtain rods. The typical distance from the end of the curtain rod to the window casing should be 4 to 10 inches on each side of the window.
Your drapes will generally be open during the day, so you'll want the rod to extend beyond the inside frame to let as much natural light in as possible. If you're looking to create the illusion of a wide window, you can extend the rod further, up to 10 inches. IMAGE
The Size of Your Drapes Matters
It's crucial to purchase the correct size when hanging curtains. The right length and width for your space are essential. In most cases, the correct length of curtains means they're long enough to kiss the floor.
Remember, where you hang your rods will make a difference, so ensure you've read up on how to hang curtain rods. It may take a bit of trial and error to find the perfect spot for your curtain rod.
If you'd like your drapes to look full, you'll want each panel to have a combined width of double that of the window. So, if you're working with two panels, each one should measure up to the window's width. Also, fabrics tend to hand differently. While light fabrics may need more fullness, heavy ones will not.
Tips for Hanging Your Curtains Correctly
Now that we've talked a bit about installing curtain rods and choosing the size of your drapes, we can get into additional tips to help you get the best out of your window-hanging experience.
Avoid Narrowness
Choosing a curtain rod wider than your window will allow enough room for the panels to hang neatly on both sides. If your curtain rod isn't long enough, it will create an awkward, stretched-out feeling when your curtains are closed and restrict light from entering when open.
Use Enough Fabric
Whether purchasing your curtains or having them custom-made, collect the measurements you need to ensure you're using enough fabric. Curtains should feel nice and full, even when they're closed. The correct measurements (curtains that extend twice the width of your window) are crucial here.
Hang Them High
You have the information needed to hang your curtains however you want, but if it were up to us, we'd hang them high. The higher up your curtain rod sits, the taller your window appears. This alteration of appearance can help maximize your space and make smaller rooms feel larger and airier.
Choose the Long Curtains
The fabric of the drapes should brush the floor unless we're talking about cafe curtains. A bit of puddling will cause a romantic feel, depending on the style of the room, but stopping the fabric just before it hits the floor is perfect and will keep it from getting too dirty.
Use a Template
A hanging template can help you ensure that you hang your curtain rods at the same height for every window. You can make your own right at home! Templates can save you a lot of time in the measuring department. You'll also want to use a level because nobody wants to invest their time to end up with crooked rods.
The Right Tools
Having the right tools handy to hang your curtain rods is essential. For the most part, you'll need a tape measure, level, template (if you've made one), curtain rod and brackets, screws, and a screwdriver or power drill.
Hanging Curtains Takes Time and Patience
Correctly fitting and hanging all the windows in your home with drapes takes time and patience, but it's well worth it in the end. Curtains have a way of bringing your home to life, but taking the time to do it properly makes all the difference. Hanging curtains is not a task you should rush; hopefully, this guide, and knowing how to measure for curtain rods, will help you in your next curtain-hanging endeavor.