Here are my tried and true tips and tricks for hanging drapes.
After finishing the board and batten wall treatment in JJ’s room last week, it was time to hang some drapes. If you are looking to elevate your room, drapery is one way to do it. Curtains add warmth and sophistication to any room. There are so many sources for beautiful and affordable drapes. Here are my simple tips and tricks to hanging drapes along with some of my favorite product sources.
Here is what the room looked like before we started the makeover. The room’s dimension is about 12 x 11 so it’s definitely not a big room.
The board and batten walls really added some beautiful interest and dimension.
Here are my tips for hanging drapes. Go out wide and high! This means installing the curtain rod so that the ends go past the window trims. Since the ceilings are around 8 feet in this room, I went up as high as possible. I used 96 inch curtains so they puddle the floor. The most common mistake is buying 84 inch drapes and they are way too short. It reminds me of highwater pants. You don’t want your windows to wear cropped pants.
This image is from Apartment Therapy and they give a great illustration. When you install curtain rods too narrow, they make the entire window look small and you’ll lose a ton of natural light. I measured about 9 inches out from the window trim from each side. I measured about 3 inches down from the ceiling for the height. I could’ve even gone out at least 10 inches wide but I didn’t want the curtains encroaching on the bookshelf I’m placing on the left of one of JJ’s windows.
Here is what I’ve learned from installing many curtain rods over time. I used to use a laser level to make sure it was straight. The problem is that many ceilings are not exactly straight so even though my laser level was showing a straight line, it looked way off with the naked eye. So now, I like to measure with my tape and then just eyeball it. Sometimes, I’ll still use my laser level but it helps if someone looks from across the room to make sure the rod looks straight.
I chose these gorgeous blackout panels from Home Depot for JJ’s room. The sandy color is a nice neutral and the velvet is so luxurious. I had purchased curtain rings but realized the drapes would fall too much on the ground so I just used the simple tabs on the back of the panels.
Make sure to install drywall anchors if there’s no stud behind the wall. These are included in the curtain rods. After some time, it will fall down if it isn’t secure. How do I know this? Because it happened to me! Do it right the first time so you don’t have to mess with it again.
Another tip with drapes is to make sure you iron out any wrinkles! This Conair steamer is a dream to work with because no ironing is needed! I’ve used a couple of different steamers and this is my favorite one. It’s so much easier to use after the drapes are already hung. Velvet curtains are supposed to be dry cleaned but did you know that they can also be steamed?
Make sure the inside of the drapes covers the outside of your window trim. You don’t want to see any of the window trims on the sides so have the drapes frame the windows beautifully.
See how gorgeous these look? They look a little pink in here from the light but they are a neutral sandy color.
My favorite type of curtain rods is the ones that don’t have finial ends. I love this look because it allows the curtains to go all the way around the window. This is the curtain rod I used in JJ’s room and it’s only $34.99.
Here are some other similar rods that I love. I will say the one I installed in JJ’s room along with the first Amazon link is the easiest out of all the ones below. Just remember that when you are ordering drapes, buy 2 if they are sold as individual panels.
Curtain Rod Sources
Curtain Sources
Be sure to always purchase a rod that is long enough for your windows. I went with 88″- 120″ length.
I hope you found these tips helpful! I shared more step by step videos on my Instagram so be sure to check those out too.
xoxo,
Let all that you do be done in Love. 1 Corinthians 16:14
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