I'm showing you how to pick out the right length for your curtains, how to hang up drapes as well as a simple technique to make your curtains and curtains look like they were made and hung up by a professional.
For me personally, I just think that curtains can make or break a room because it's the subtle techniques that make a room look professionally done.
When you hang curtains, there are a few pro tips that you should adhere to which I'll go in detail below.
- Choosing the right room for your window and ceiling height of your room
- Ensuring that you are installing and utilizing draper returns
- Training your curtains and drapes to lay properly
In the sections below, I'll go at length (pun intended) around how you can achieve a professional look to your curtains and drapes.
In This Post
Choosing the Perfect Curtain Length for Your Living Space
Do not just assume that you can just place your curtain rod right above your window frame. If you have a window that is situated in the middle of the wall vertically, hanging curtains near the top of your ceiling can make your space look bigger and more grand.
Below, I've made my rodes to hang as high on the wall as I can to ensure that our living room can appear bigger.
If you are trying to figure out how long curtains should be, check out this guide. I used to think curtains should just cover the window and potentially hang a little past the sill, but I was completely wrong.
If you find that your curtains are short by less than 2 inches, check out my secret hack on how to lengthen your curtains. It is definitely not the professional way, but it is hardly noticeable to an untrained eye.
These are the wood rods I got, and they are really sturdy and amazing.
Drapery Returns and Side Hooks
A "drapery return" is the measurement from the wall is to where the curtain hangs off of the rod. Imagine yourself standing looking to the side of the curtain. The measurement I'm referring to is of the side piece of it. See the left image below:
Most people will hang their curtains like the image on the left. However, a small little hack will take your drapery installation to a professional level.
All you need is a hook and eye installed on the wall underneath your curtain rod. It should be place where the last pleat hook is!
This little dandy hook and eye will not only give you a more professional look, but the side of your curtains will now block out light!
As a mom, I find this super awesome because my kids still take naps during the day and it blocks out a ton of light! And if you have invested in blackout curtains, make the most of it by installing hook and eye (which is also known as a screw eye bolt).
There are places where you really don't need to do add returns and wall hooks. For example, an area like my living room where a return really isn't necessary because the goal for the curtains is to frame the room to create height rather than to block out light.
More About Traverse Rods and the Need for Return Hooks
I've found that traverse rods may already have the eye hooks installed - so make sure you use it if you have it! Traverse rods are AWESOME, but they require creating additional holes for the pulley.
How to Easily Train Drapes and Curtains
Here's another tip on how to hang curtains and drapery like a professional: Train your drapes and curtains right after you hang them!
When you first order curtains, they may come packaged up with creases. Obviously, do the best you can to iron. Once you hang them, you'll notice that sometimes they do not "fold" where they should.
What you can do is just hand fold them and loosely tie a piece of fabric or yarn around the folds. Keep it folded for a week. After that, you should find that your curtains will sit perfectly!
Curtains: Easy Classic Pleat Panels in Gent Smoke | Rod: White Curtain Rod | Tie Backs: Wood Post Tiebacks
DIY Curtain Tips
If you are not a seamstress, do not try sewing your own curtains if you want to have your room look professionally designed. If you can't afford curtains made by a seamstress or window treatment companies in town, check out this marketplace where you can ask people to sew curtains to your specifications and you can send them directly the fabric you want them to use.
There are just certain things you shouldn't DIY without experience, and in my case, this would be curtains. This was the only image I could find of my DIY curtains. Notice how short the curtains were! Not only that, the pleats looked terrible!
Premade Curtain Options
Please choose the right size for your curtains when buying premade curtains. Plan on at least having your rod near the ceiling of your room if you can't decide on height.
Final Thoughts
There you have it - three tips on how to hang curtain and drapery like a professional designer installed it!
If you have two story windows, here is a blog post all about how I chose curtains for my floor to ceiling windows. And if you made a mistake, here's an awesome quick hack on how to lengthen your drapes.
More Window Treatment Inspiration
If you want more ideas for window treatments, below is a round up of some of the posts I have for helping you design your space with window covering options like roman shades, shutters, curtains, and drapes for your living area.
- Two Story Living Room Curtain Tips, Considerations, and Where to Buy
- Hack to Lengthen Curtain and Drape Panels
- How to Hang Curtains Like a Professional
- Choosing the Right Fabric Color for Your Farmhouse Style Curtains and Drapes
- Affordable Whitewash Bamboo Roman Shades Farmhouse Style
- Faux Composite Wood Shutters Honest Review
BestCurtainsDecor
Good day. Thanks for the good idea, I was just thinking about how to make a closed corner in the living room with curtains. Now I know for sure)))
Jackie
Another tip is to try to hang your drapes as high to the crown molding or ceiling height as you can but always have them almost touch the carpet or wood floor or have th puddle on the floor. Don’t hang them the same height as the window or the window trim. I’ve never been a fan of or use a valance because it brings the ceiling height down and it also looks dated.
Sergio
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Cheers!
Deedee Lewis
This is such a great article for tips on how to hang drapes. I recently bought some gorgeous drapes for my living room but have been too scared to put them up for fear of doing it wrong. I love your tips on "training your drapes" because that is something I never even thought of. This article also made me realize that I bought the wrong hardware to hang my drapes and will have to go and consult a professional to make sure I get the right tools for my project.
Caden Dahl
It's great that you elaborated on how to train your curtains to get the folds in the right places. I'm going to be redecorating my living room, and I want to make sure the curtains I choose look right. If they're creased from the packaging, I'll make sure to iron them out, and then I'll yarn around the folds to keep them in the right place for a week before opening them up fully.
Lillian Schaeffer
These are some great tips, and I appreciate your advice to hang your curtains so they continue to the side to block out light. I'm redecorating my living room, and I'd like to put curtains in instead of blinds. I'll definitely make sure to hang them so they block out the light on the sides as well. Thanks for the great post!
Kendall Ryder
I like your idea of "training" the curtains. That seems like such a smart idea. I would hate to get curtains, and not have them look like they should. I would much rather have them look nice and neat, and how they should. That way I don't have to worry about finding new curtains to look better.
Loni Lichfield
P.s. what style/type of drapery rings are those that you used? I tried putting drapery rings on some curtains in my bedroom, but they look hideous- they drop too much and show too much of the clip.
Loni Lichfield
How does the eye hook work? How do you install it and how do you use it? What does it hook to?
Seng
Thanks so much Ethel for the comments!
Ethel
Thank you for the tips on hanging drapes! I really appreciate the insight! It is a great idea to train your drapes. Ironing out the folds was something I always did but I will make sure to let them be so they will fall the right way. Great tips!