How to Decorate & Enhance your
Home Interior with Curtains!
Today we’re going to look at the most common mistakes that people make when they hang their curtains and how you can fix them. And by fixing them you will be shocked by how much of a difference it is possible to create in the appearance of the size of your windows. You are going to enable more light to enter your home, and you are also going to make your ceilings seem taller, both of which are rather favourable changes that will occur as a result of your choices.
First let’s talk about curtain rods. You probably already know this, but the height and width at which you hang your curtain rod are going to make all the difference in the final look and outcome of your drapes, so the first thing you should check is whether or not you are hanging your curtain rod too low. If so, this is the first mistake. Because raising your curtain rod will naturally draw the eye up, it will make your windows look taller, and it will even give the illusion that you have higher ceilings, the general rule for what height to hang your rod is approximately halfway to two-thirds up between the top of your window frame and your ceiling. This will draw the eye up and create the illusion that you have higher ceilings.
You may hang it approximately three quarters of an inch below your crown moulding if you have it. If not, you can hang it just below your crown moulding. If you want to go for even more impact, keep in mind that if there is a lot of space between the top of your window frame and your crown moulding, it might look a bit weird to hang your rod so close to the moulding, so use your own discretion and see what works best. If there isn’t a lot of space between the two, hanging your rod close to the moulding should look fine.
The second common rod error is using a rod that is too small for the window. Ideally, your rod should be about four to six inches wider than the outer frame of your window. You want to avoid suffocating your windows by using a rod that is too narrow. When your curtains are open, they should be gathered in front of the wall that is on either side of your window. If your curtain rod is too thin, and your drapes dangle in front of your window, it is going to obstruct the light, and the window is really going to appear much smaller. Now we are going to talk about problems that are related to the curtain panels themselves.
Curtain panels that aren’t wide enough for your windows, this means that whether your curtains are open or closed, they won’t have an elegant appearance. You can avoid this problem by purchasing curtain panels that are 1.5 times to 2 times the width of your windows. For instance, if you have a window that’s 4 feet wide, you should buy a panel that’s 6 to 8 feet wide. This will ensure that your curtain panels will always have a luxurious appearance.
When buying curtain panels that are too short and short curtains do not have an attractive appearance. There are normally four lengths of curtains that are used by interior designers. These are the kiss, the puddle, the brake puddle, and the float. Having your curtains touch the floor is probably the most difficult method to execute, but it also appears to be the most tailored and custom. You need to be extremely precise in your measurements in order to get this right. Your drapes are actually floating precisely on the surface of the floor if they touch the ground when they are at their lowest point. In order to achieve this, you will need to take precise measurements beginning at the top of the curtains and ending at the bottom of the room.
The puddle length is by far the most dramatic of all of the other ways to hang curtains, but it’s also the one that’s the most difficult to maintain clean. To get the puddling effect, add an additional two to four inches to the length of the curtains.
Your panels should extend four inches past the floor. The panel doesn’t hang straight like it does with the kissing the floor or the floating method, and the break adds a little bit of interest. The idea is that you add an extra half inch to one inch to the curtain length so that the panel breaks as it hits the floor. The brake pedal length is kind of in between the kissing the floor length and the puddle length.
If you don’t want your curtains to come in contact with the floor in any way, you may use a technique known as “floating” to hang them so that they are just half an inch above the ground. This creates an exceptionally streamlined appearance.
If you use this method, your curtains should hang perfectly straight, despite the fact that it is a slightly less formal option. However, you should avoid raising them more than half an inch off the ground to avoid giving the impression that there was an error in your measurements because it is not very easy to achieve this look. You need to be very accurate with your measurements but being able to install your curtains gives the appearance that the area has been professionally decorated.
Do not hang your curtains too short it looks bad please so if you’re confused about what length you actually need in the room that you’re decorating first and foremost I would suggest looking at the function of your room typically if it’s a formal room you can go a bit longer with your curtains and if it’s an informal room you tend to want to go a bit shorter formal rooms obviously tend to have a little less traffic so you can get away with longer curtains in formal rooms informal rooms obviously tend to have more.
Puddling is something that people tend to do, but if you overdo it, then it might not work so well if you find excessive dust bunnies in your curtain pile.
Short curtains are bad, but excessive puddling is almost just as bad. If people are tripping over your curtains, the chances are that your curtains are probably a little bit too long, and your puddling situation has gone a bit overboard. You want to make sure that you stick to the guidelines that we discussed earlier, and not overdo it, because otherwise it might look more like a mistake than an intentional puddling situation.
I also wanted to go through a few questions that are asked very often and that seem to be the most common ones:
How can I hem curtains without having to actually stitch them?
You can easily hem your curtains without sewing by using iron-on hemming tape. You can even do this when they’re hanging directly on the rod; simply fold and pin the curtains to the length you want, then bring your ironing board over to the window and iron the hem. Remove the pins after the hem has been ironed. Simply apply the heat-activated hemming tape, and you are finished. Command hooks are the answer to hanging drapes without having to drill holes.
It may not be the most elegant solution, but it can work really well if you want to hang curtains but you are unable to drill holes in your wall. It is also a good solution for people who rent their homes. Make sure you double check the weight of your curtain rod and curtains, and buy the larger command hooks that will actually take a lot of weight.
What is the proper method for hanging curtains from the ceiling?
You can hang your curtains from the ceiling in one of three ways: you can mount your rod brackets directly to the ceiling instead of on the wall; you can use a curtain track; or you can try the curtain wire system from Ikea. Any of these options can be used to create a divider to section off an area of your home. Sometimes people want to hang their curtains from the ceiling to create a divider to section off an area of their home. Sometimes people just want to hang curtains as high as possible.
How do I hang curtains if I have baseboard heaters?
In a nutshell the only heating system you really need to be careful with is with electric baseboards, be very careful about how you hang your curtains, if you have electric heating in your home and if you have any doubts whatsoever talk to a professional.
I really hope that you found some of these tips useful and that you can implement them in your own décor.
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