Finishing touches for your room: Hanging Draperies

After laying down the area rug, placing the accent chairs, aligning them with the sofa and placing accessories, one of the most asked questions I get as a designer is how high we should hang our draperies.

The industry standard is to hang them as high as possible. If you are a homeowner trying to put them up yourself in an attempt to save some money (hint always hire a professional) but if you are brave enough here are a few tips.

There are homeowners who are unsure because of the molding or shape of the window. Then you also have to worry about the length. Some owners like them right above the base molding. Some like a nice puddle.  I, as a designer like a romantic drape with a break that hits the floor sweetly. The key is measuring and then measuring again for proper height and width.

Drapery is a fancy word for curtains. Most curtains come in four typical lengths: 72”, 84”, 96” and 108”.  If you have an older home, your ceiling heights are not as high. Most were between seven to nine feet high, whereas today they can be between ten or higher.

My personal rule is to place the rod 4-6 inches above the wall casing, depends where the crown molding above lands. I would put a bit of painters tape to mark the area and measure from there to the floor. There is your drapery length.

As I mentioned before, it will depend on where the crown molding lands. If there is very little room between the molding and casing, go high as you can. At that point, if it becomes an issue you will probably need custom draperies from a local seamstress.

There are multitudes of drapery hardware to hang the drapery properly.  I personally don’t like to hang them on the rod on their own. Ever heard of the windows are the eyes to a home? Well, they need a liner, eye shadow, and sometimes faux lashes to bring them out.  The hardware is essential for a beautiful hung curtain panel.

You can purchase drapery hardware from most home centers, furniture stores, upholstery outlets, and design centers. It’s worth the investment because it’s an accessory that really highlights the panels and makes the room look more expensive than it is. I would match the rod to your finishes in your room. The most popular finishes come in brass, nickel, chrome, black iron and oil rubbed bronze. Finials and end caps are usually found in the same finishes. You can have ready-made or custom finals that can be made in any color and even have them blinged out.

You can purchase the rod you need as a single rod, double rod or if you want very little peeking from the window, a French or blackout curtain rod. The rod circumference usually ranges from .75” to 3”.  From the rod, you can hang the panels using ring clips, s-clips, drapery pins and in special circumstances a hidden transom track. Double rods are usually used for drapery panels and sheers.

In deciding how many panels, most windows can get away with two panels. Most panels are 48”-54” in width. On a rare occasion, you can find double width panels. If your windows can handle it, usually double panels will give you the fullness and the privacy you desire.

Hanging curtains isn’t very hard and I hope these tips and information helps you add a little color and flair to the eyes to your room.

credit: duralee.com, byronandbyron.com, crateandbarrel.com, blinds.com, and pinterest.com

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