Trade Secrets: the do’s and don’ts of hanging draperies

It has come to my attention that in the wonderful world of decorators, most have jumped on the bandwagon of "hang ‘em high".  I refer to, of course, the trend to hang the curtain rod for drapery panels well above the window to elongate the proportions in a room. And this does, in fact, work. BUT… like most things, this cannot be applied universally willy-nilly.

The advice is grounded in the notion that a longer line creates an unbroken vertical that makes the perceived height of the room taller. And while this is absolutely true, there are caveats.

DO use full length panels

DON’T buy short panels. Pretty much ever. Please.

This is really only effective for floor length drapery panels and there are very few cases where draperies should NOT be floor length…generally if you can’t have floor length for some reason, you should probably choose another style altogether. Just because they sell them in shorter lengths doesn’t necessarily make it a good idea.

DO consider the overall proportions of your room

DON’T just blindly follow a trend

Make sure you WANT to make your room feel taller – or play up the existing height. If the room is taller than it is wide, you could just be reinforcing the feeling you are standing in the bottom of an elevator shaft….probably not the look you were going for…

DO consider the height of the windows relative to the height of the room

DON’T leave an embarrassingly large amount of real estate between the rod and the actual window.

There are limits to how high above the window you can go before it starts to look ridiculous. 4” – 8” above the window may be fine depending on the ceiling height, but 2 feet above the window is not … all that naked wall between the rod and the window is not fooling anyone and just looks awkward. If hanging the panels that high is a help for the proportions of the room, then also hang a shade behind the curtains at the height of the top of the curtain panels to cover the gap and create the illusion that the window is actually the height of the curtains!

For more tips on hanging window treatments, check out our Tips for a Well-Dressed Window post from August 6, 2016.

OR just contact us at JRL Interiors for a consultation. We would be delighted to help you make your room look it’s very best!