Are you ready to hang curtains in your home? these are the top five mistakes you need to avoid
today we’re going to look at five common mistakes that people make when they hang their curtains and how you can fix them
these are all very common mistakes that you probably already know but I know that I didn’t know them up until a few years ago and when I read them I was just amazed at how much of a difference fixing these mistakes actually made in my own rooms
if you correct these mistakes you’re likely going to make your windows look bigger you’re going to allow more light to enter your room and you’re going to make your ceilings look higher and those are all pretty positive things
curtains can totally change the look and feel of a room they’re often decor that can be easily Forgotten or pushed off to the side for later because it’s not the focal point of a room but when done right it can bring a cohesive feel to the whole entire room and bring it all together
By avoiding these top five mistakes you can hang curtains that look great and expertly decorated in your home.
Without further ado let’s jump in!
Mistake #1: Hanging your curtain rod too low
First, let’s talk about curtain rods, the first mistake is are you hanging your curtain rod too low?
You probably already know this but the height and the width that you hang your curtain rod is going to make all the difference in the final look and outcome of your drapes
1. Raising your curtain rod will draw the eye up naturally it will make your windows look taller and it will even give the illusion that you have higher ceilings.
So the general rule in terms of what height to hang your rod is about halfway to two-thirds up between the top of your window frame and your ceiling.
If you have crown moldings you can hang them about three-quarters of an inch below Your crown molding if you want to go for even more impact.
Keep in mind that if you have a lot of space between the top of your window frame and your crown molding it might look a bit weird to hang your rod so close to the molding so use your own discretion and see what works best.
Mistake #2: Having a rod that is too narrow
Mistake number two again is a rod mistake and it is having a rod that is too narrow
Ideally, you want to make sure that your Rod is about four to six inches wider than the outer frame of your window, make sure you’re not suffocating your windows by having a rod that’s too narrow
Ideally, when your curtains are open they’re going to be gathered in front of the wall that is on either side of your window and then just the edges of your drapes are going to overlap the edges of your window this will visually make it appear as if you have larger windows than you do
If your rod is too Narrow and your drapes hang in front of your window it’s going to block the light and the window is actually going to look much much smaller.
Mistake #3: Short cuttings
Your curtains should be at least half an inch from the floor, but there’s nothing wrong with having curtains that are paddling which means there’s a bit of excessive fabric that’s still fine
Excessive paddling is when your fabric is a bit too much on the floor again it all depends on what room you are putting together and sprucing up if it is a bedroom for instance and you’re trying to go for a romantic vibe by all means you can do a little bit of excessive fabric
But on a window you know there isn’t much traffic happening on that side however too much of that in a space such as a living room where there’s a lot of movement might end up being a hazard so that becomes a common mistake you don’t want to do
Make sure that your cuttings touch at least, I mean kiss either kiss the floor that is the one we love the most, when a curtain is barely kissing the Floor it’s like it’s barely there however the standard and acceptable way to have your cut is at least half an inch from the floor it’s kissing the floor
Ideally, if you want to be certain you’re doing the right measurements, make sure that you have fitted in at least half an inch from the floors this in turn will make your space look like it’s much grander much bigger and it’ll feel brighter
Mistake #4: Curtains have too much pattern
When you use curtains that have too much pattern it can really distract and take away from the rest of the space, it’s really beautiful when it’s stretched out like on the cushion
When the pattern is stretched out it really looks pretty because you can see all of it however on a curtain ideally you have gathered it’s something we all want when we have our curtains
When you have gathered and it’s on us on a fabric that has the pattern this is what you’re looking to have so when you have that stretched out on a five-meter window it ends up feeling noisy in design we call noisy a space noisy is too busy so your curtains could end up feeling a little too busy if they have a pattern and have all those gathers which bring me to mistake number five.
Mistake #5: Not enough fabric
All the time when it comes to your curtains darling make sure you are splurging on the fabric if your window is ideally two meters wide you need to have at least two or three times or even four times
Number of fabrics I usually go with three times three times we consider that seventy-five percent cutting with four times to consider it a hundred percent cutting
It means If I have a two-meter window I should have at least six meters of the curtain so that I can have the ideal number of gathers.
Mistake #6: Hanging curtains right above the window
It’s a common misconception that you should hang your curtain rod right at the top of your window frame, you should actually hang your curtain rod well above your window frame
By doing this you will draw your eye up past the window and it gives the illusion that your ceiling Is higher than it actually is a general rule of thumb is that you should hang your curtain rod about two-thirds of the way between the top of your window frame and your ceiling or about six to eight inches above the window frame
You also need to take this into consideration when determining the length of curtain panels that you need instead of measuring from the floor to the top of your window Frame
You need to take into account the amount of space above your window frame that you will be hanging the curtain rod as well or you will have to hang it shorter.
Mistake #7: Not leaving space on the sides of the windows
Just like you want to hang your curtain rod well above your window frame you want to make sure that your curtain rod extends past your window frame
As well you want your curtains when they’re hanging to be hanging in front of the wall not actually in front of your window so to do this you generally want to leave about 5 to 10 inches on each side of the window frame to hang your curtain rod
Given that you have enough space on the wall you don’t have enough space you can always make it a little bit shorter but adding more space to the sides of the window for your curtain to hang is also going to give the illusion of a bigger window
It makes it look wider when you do this you leave most of the curtain panel hanging in front of the wall and just a little bit of the panel overlapping the window frame to give you the widest vantage point possible.
Mistake #8: Not considering the support needed for your curtains
you want to make sure that your curtain rod can support the weight of the curtains that you choose so this means that you need to choose a curtain rod that is wide enough in diameter to support whatever curtains you are going to hang on it
if you choose heavier lined curtains or putting multiple panels on a curtain rod you also might want to consider using molle bolts or drywall anchors to keep it supported in the wall if you don’t do this and you have heavier curtains and not enough support there are a couple of things that can happen:
Your curtain rod can shift because your screws in the drywall or your wall can’t support the actual weight causing your curtain rod to become unlevel or in even worse cases
if there’s not enough support and too much pressure are applied to the curtains by maybe a kid or a pet pulling on them they can come right out of the wall.
Mistake #9: Hanging wrinkled curtains
This is a problem for a couple of different reasons, first of all when you’re hanging your curtain rod if your curtains are wrinkled when you’re hanging them you’re not going quite get them at the right height as they settle and gravity is pulling on them
They will lengthen just a tad which might cause your measurements on the wall to be a little bit off and the curtains to not be hung where you want them
The other reason this is a mistake is that wrinkled curtains just don’t look as good as not wrinkled curtains it makes a huge difference if your curtains are nice and wrinkle-free whenever you put them up
There are a couple of ways that you can fix this:
You can Steam your curtains if you have a handheld steamer it’s really easy to just work the steamer along the curtains, in order to get out all the wrinkles
If you don’t have a steamer you can just use an iron and an ironing board to iron out all the wrinkles before you hang them on the wall believe me it’ll make a huge difference in the look and feel of your room
Mistake #10: Buying curtain panels that are not wide enough for your windows
Now we’re going to talk about mistakes related to the curtain panels themselves
Mistake number three is buying curtain panels that are not wide enough for your windows so what this means is when your curtains are open or closed they just don’t look luxurious
so the way you can Fix this is by purchasing panels that are one and a half times to two times the width of your windows so for example:
If you have a four-foot window you’ll get a panel that is six to eight feet wide this will ensure that when your curtain panels are open or closed they’ll always have a very nice gathered look to them they’ll look awesome.
Mistake #11: Purchasing curtain panels that are too short
Mistake number four is purchasing curtain panels that are too short, don’t do this short curtains don’t look good there are typically four curtain lengths that interior designers revert to they are called the following:
- The Kiss
- The Puddle
- The Brake Puddle
- The Float
1. The Kiss
to have your curtains kiss the floor is probably the hardest method to pull off but it also looks the most tailored and custom, you need to be incredibly accurate in your measurements In order to get this right
if your curtains kiss the floor they’re literally hovering perfectly on the surface of the floor, to accomplish this you need to measure the exact distance from the top of the curtains to the floor
A tip to do this accurately is to hang the curtains on the rod and mark or pin them while they’re already hanging.
2. The Puddle
The puddle length is by far the most dramatic of all the ways to hang Curtains and it’s the one that’s the most tedious to keep clean to achieve the puddling effect add an extra two to four inches beyond the floor to your panels.
3. The Brake Puddle
The brake pedal length is kind of in between kissing the floor length and the puddle length, 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.
4. The Float
if you don’t like the idea of your curtains touching the ground at all then opt for hanging them just half an inch above the floor this is called the floating method
this gives an extremely clean look although it is slightly less formal your curtains should hang perfectly straight with this method, try not to go any higher than half an inch off the ground though or it will start to look like a mistake in your measurements
they’re not super easy to pull off you got to be precise with your measurements but it makes your room look so much more polished
if you can hang your curtains in one of these four ways, I highly recommend it do not hang your curtains too short it looks bad.
What length curtains do I need?
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
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 go maybe for the puddle option whereas bedrooms are a bit more informal
You probably want to avoid long curtains unless you’re going for a super romantic look And then you’ll probably want to go for the puddle option as well living rooms tend to be a combination of formal and informal so you could probably go for the float or for the kiss in a living room.
Mistake #12: Excessive Paddling
Short curtains are bad but excessive paddling is almost just as bad, so we just talked about curtain lengths paddling 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 if people are tripping over your curtains chances are your curtains are probably a little too long and your paddling situation has gone a bit overboard
You want to make sure that you stick to the guidelines that we talked about earlier and not overdo it because otherwise, it might look more like a mistake rather than an intentional Paddling situation.
Mistake #13: Choosing the wrong curtain color
When Done right the curtains can bring your whole room together for a cohesive look but if you choose the wrong color or pattern it can clash with your room or bring way too much of one color into the space
Try to choose a color proportional to the color of your bedroom or your home.
Final Verdict
Your curtains are an important part of your home’s interior design. They can add color and style to a room, as well as provide privacy and insulation. But if they’re not hung properly, they can look messy and take away from the overall look of your space.
There are a few things to consider when hanging curtains, such as the type of curtain rod, the length of the curtains, and the placement of the curtains. With a little planning, you can hang your curtains in a way that looks great and functions well.
Avoiding the mistakes on hanging curtains we mentioned early you will make your home and living room, and bedroom stunning, you’ll allow more light to enter your room and you’re going to make your ceilings look higher.
Thanks for reading!
Don’t you know how to hang your curtain the right way, we written an article showing how to hang your curtain step-by-step.
To buy High quality curtains and rods check the links:
Frequently Asked Questions:
How Can I Hem Curtains Without Sewing?
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 just:
Fold and pin the curtains to the length you want, then bring your ironing board over to the Window, iron the hem remove the pins, use the iron on hemming tape and you’re done.
How Do I Hang Curtains Without Drilling?
Use command hooks it may not be the most elegant solution but it can work really well
If you want to hang curtains but you’re not able to drill holes in your wall it’s good for renters too.
Make sure you double-check the weight of your rod and curtains and buy the larger Command hooks that will actually take a heavy load you can also use a tension rod.
How Do I Hang Curtains From The Ceiling?
Sometimes people want to hang their curtains from the ceiling to create a divider to section off an area of their home or sometimes people just want to hang curtains as high as possible and so you use the ceiling
it’s very popular to do so there are three ways you can hang your curtains from the ceiling:
1. You can mount your rod brackets directly to the ceiling instead of on the wall
2. You can use a curtain track
You can try the curtain wire system from Ikea any of these methods should work great
