A cute room with poorly hung curtains looks like a beautiful lady up close wearing "too small pants". It belittles everything else, stands out jarringly, and makes everyone feel uncomfortable. A few years ago, we decided to tackle the problem by reviewing some of the biggest mistakes people make when buying and hanging curtains and with many homeowners (and disgruntled curtains) in need, we thought that It was time to update the post with some new tips, as well as rounding up some of our out-of-the-box favorites in one massive roundup.
In case you missed the other design mistakes: The Generic Sofa Roundup |carpets too small |Painting a small, dark room white |Poor wood finishes |How to hang curtains |Generic art |Not having a plan |Who pays for design mistakes | My biggest design mistakes and what you can learn from them | When to hire vs. DIY
So, let's start with curtain mistakes.
I used to do this, I hung my rod just slightly above my window frame mainly because I was buying the wrong curtain length, then as I was trying to avoid the curtain being too short ( see below), I had to hang it lower. Now it doesn't ALWAYS have to be 20" above your window, literally just below the ceiling, but go at least 1/2- 2/3 the distance up to help your ceilings appear as high as possible. This is not only the best way to hang your curtains, but at this point we have a "cultural height" of the where your curtain rod line should be, how high we as people are used to seeing it, and if you get too close to the windowsill, and if you have plenty of space to play, it stands out in your room. Raise the rod, which raises the eye, making your ceilings appear higher and your larger space.
What I love, however, is how that white pillow is styled on that chair in the photo above/right. That's all WHUT, I'm not just a pillow, I'm a diamond. And I receive ladies.
Meanwhile, the most common curtain mistake is just painful to look at - the "too short" curtain. Waiting for a flood curtain. It does EXACTLY what too-short pants do - it cuts your part (leg) in a really jarring way making it look short/chunky and awkward. You have three other options – all good/legal to avoid this look:
1. The Slight Float - Less than an inch above the floor. If you want to hang your curtains without any interruptions, so that they are completely straight, the float is the best option for you. It does not touch the ground, but barely.
2. The Kiss - It barely touches the ground. This is the hardest to pull off as you have to measure SUPER accurately from the shaft (and making sure to include any rings/clips or hooks in your measurements ).This is my favorite because it looks the most personalized and intentional, but is the hardest to accomplish.There is often a small break/crease in the curtain when opened which I completely agree.
3. The Puddle – Where exactly it does, it puddles all over the floor. This is best for you romantics, or anyone looking for a more feminine, old-world vibe. world and Europe.Marie Antoinette made puddles all over this villa, dripping with her cakes and sapphires.We just installed a few puddles in an ultra-feminine baby room and it looks GORGEOUS. This is especially a good idea if/when your fabric is very high quality - either washed linen or velour, because the more it puddles the more you can see the beautiful texture of the fabric on which you've probably splurged on. It should be thick and grand, not small cotton curtains that will look just accidental and far too long.
Another common mistake is not having the rod wide enough, on both sides of the window, so your curtains are forced to hang partially in your window, blocking the light and making the window appear smaller (thus making your smaller room).Extend the rod at least 6-10 inches on either side of the window frame (if you have the space) so that when the curtains are fully open, you can see almost the entire window .
The height above your sill can be similar to the space on either side of the window sill - raise and widen where you place the rod so that the window frame is as tall as possible and lets in as much light as possible. Remember that natural light is your best accessory, so let it… shine…
If you have a large window, make sure you have double wide panels on both sides of the frame. Let's say your window is 100" wide and your panels are 54" wide (standard), then SREMENT when they are closed they will technically block the light but they will be taught and have no softness. Also when the curtains are open they will look really shabby and out of proportion to your large window. You may need to buy four panels (2 on each side), we often do this. You can either have your tailor/dry cleaner sew them together or hang them as is and often times you can't see the break as they are now so full and so undulating.
Now, with all that said, you might be wondering how am I not the girl who wears the pants too small? With the help of illustrator Jonna Isaac, we've created this handy guide to hanging your curtains in the best possible way. You may need to invest in longer curtains or even more panels if you have a larger window, but otherwise hanging a curtain the right way actually costs the same as in the wrong way. So please follow this guide and save everyone the discomfort of "too short", "too low", "too thin" and "too narrow" curtain ".
But where do we buy them?
Well, we've put together a roundup of our favorite long (at least 95) readymade curtains for you. There are very few homes that only need curtains that are 84 inches high. It's like if the housing and curtain industry had had lunch, got drunk and one of them said 'we're going to make the standard height of newly installed windows about 6' or 7' tall, so go ahead and only make curtains about 84″ tall and they'll all buy it and we'll all become millionaires.” But 84″ is almost always not long enough. Unfortunately, 95″ can often be too long if you have 8′ ceilings, but better to buy the 95″ and have them hemmed to around 90″ (which is what we usually do in this case) than go for the 84″. Of course, i hope senate presidents around the world will read this article and start implementing changes, making 90 inch length as size e standard. And if you're still making curtains 72 inches long, go ahead and hit pause for that mission. It's a failure and you're doing society more harm than good.
Let's move on to my favorite long/affordable/ready-made curtain options (in a variety of styles to suit many of you) that will hopefully solve all your problems.
1. Pom Stripe Window Panel |2. Saddle cotton and linen panel |3. Washed linen curtain panel |4. Yellow geometric curtain |5. Gray blackout curtains |6. Pink curtains |7. White cotton curtain |8. Blue Textured Weave Window Curtain Panel |9. Brigid curtain |10. Majgull Curtain |11. Natural color striped curtain |12. Burlap curtain |13. Linen Look Light Blocking Curtain |14. Velvet curtain panel |15. Cameron Rod Pocket Curtain Panel |16. Navy Stripe Embroidered Curtain Panel |17. Betsy Striped Curtain Panel |18. Pinch Pleat Single Curtain Panel |19. Light blue curtain |20. Korben Plaid Curtain Panel |21. Textured waffle natural curtain |22. Blackout gray curtain |23. Indigo curtain panel |24. Blue and white curtain
Many of these are sold per panel, so be sure to buy at least two if you need them.
For those of you who don't mind spending more, here's a selection of 95 (or more) curtains over $50.
1. Stonewashed linen tie curtain |2. Striped linen curtain |3. Boxter Plaid Blackout Drape |4. Blue and white striped curtains |5. Ivory linen curtain |6. Gray blackout curtain |7. Blackout curtain with white pleats |8. Fan cut velvet decorative curtain |9. Pink linen curtain with flounce |10. Cross curtain |11. Striped linen curtain |12. Green velvet curtain |13. Preston Plaid Blackout Drape |14. Faded linen rocket pocket curtain |15. Lindstrom blue curtain |16. Blackout liner for crossover curtains |17. Block print striped curtain |18. Basket weave cotton drape |19. Gray linen curtain |20. Ruffled gauze curtain |21. Blue velvet curtain |22. Freehand blackout curtain |23. Plaid curtains |24. Tassel curtain |25. Stonewashed linen curtain with tab |26. Sewn border curtain |27. Etched wave curtains |28. Ikat Raindrop Curtains |29. Diamond Jacquard Curtain |30. striped curtain
There's got to be a whole rod/ring conversation going on, but I'm just going to say it right now - when in doubt, go simple (white, black, brass or silver), stay away from the crazy curly wrought iron stuff unless you live in a Scottish castle. (or an old Hollywood house) and fancy showpieces are only your friends if the style of your home can handle it.
In case you missed any of our posts from our Design Mistakes/PSA series, check them out here: The Generic Sofa Roundup | rugs too small | Painting a small, dark room white | Bad wood finishes | How to hang curtains | Generic art | Not having a plan | Who pays for design mistakes | My biggest design mistakes - and what you can learn from them | When to hire vs. DIY
