When it comes to hanging curtains we’re not shy about encouraging people to hang them high and wide to visually enlarge the window and add height and drama to any space. Just as influential as paint on the walls, nothing makes a room look more finished than a few floor to ceiling curtain panels. And we’re here to break down a few fast and easy curtain-hanging steps for your convenience. Of course there’s more than one way to skin a cat (that expression is gross, sorry) so here’s a method that works for us (although there are about a million other approaches out there).
Here’s our favorite eight year old’s window sans curtains. You can see how harsh the rectangular frame of the window is, and how naked the entire wall looks. Nothin’ some Ikea curtains can’t fix.
The first step is to determine how high and wide you can go. In this case (where the ceilings are 9 feet tall) we didn’t go all the way to the ceiling (as we do with our 8 foot ones) but we did decide to place the curtains 12″ higher than the top of the window, and 12″ wider on each side. A good way to check that the curtain rod can extend far enough (which is definitely something to figure out before installing the rod hooks) is to lay it on the floor in front of the window and measure your targeted width (in this case adding 12 inches to either side of the window) to ensure that the rod is long enough.
Once we determined that the rod was long enough, we simply used a level to measure 12″ higher than the window frame and another 12″ to the right of the window (and to the left on the other side). Marking the spot with a small penciled “x” was all it took. Then we predrilled a small hole for a plastic anchor, hammered it into place, and drilled the screw right into the anchor to secure the rod hook. No sweat.
In this case we also hung a hook in the middle of the rod for added support (to counteract the dreaded “sagging rod”) which was easily added by measuring 12″ above the center of the window and again using a plastic anchor and a screw to keep the rod hook securely in place.
Here’s the finished product: billowy floor length curtains that can be easily hemmed to just skim the floor (although Princess Olivia loves the pooled look so much that she prefers them as is). Of course colored and even patterned curtains would add even more punch to this space, but Olivia’s minimalist mommy adores the white on white look. And it’s actually a huge trend to hang curtains that closely match the hue of the wall for a seamless and uninterrupted look that draws your eye right out the window. Mission accomplished.
And while many people fear the space between the top of the rod and the window, you can easily see here that it looks perfectly balanced (in fact, we think the window looks choked and crowded when the rod is mounted right on top of the window frame). And you can always cheat things even more by adding some bamboo shades like we did in our living room to hide the 15″ gap above ours. Oh window treatments: how did people ever live without you?!
We hope our lil’ curtain tutorial has been helpful and empowering. John wasn’t even around when I hung the curtains above (his sister Emily and I grabbed the drill and went to town). So if you have a ruler, a level, and a drill you can get ‘er done in about a half hour for a totally polished result. And of course we’d love any and all curtain hanging tips that you guys have picked up over the years. Dish the curtain hanging dirt…
Whitney says
awesome tutorial. I’m actually hanging curtains this week, so thanks for this.
janet says
I was wondering what your thoughts are on hanging drapes in an old house. Our house is 120 yrs old and has thick (6 inch) moulding around the windows. Also we have a 6 inch crown moulding and 10 inch base moulding. The ceilings are 8ft. We tried hanging the drapes on the outside like you suggested but it looked weird. It was obvious the window was not that big because of the moulding. So we wound up hanging them traditionally. They look fine to us but it seems to break the current decorating rules. What do you suggest. Also installing curtain rods into old plaster is a disaster!
Laura Lynn says
Thanks for the tutorial. I love the look of your bedroom drapes by the way. I saw them featured on the Holly Mathis blog.
My curtains always get snagged where the rod is extended. Right now I have clip on rings. I think a better way is to switch to a drape with large grommets so maybe they wouldn’t catch so much. Do you think that would work?
NEPD says
I want to echo the concerns of hanging curtains in an old house. Our problem is that the windows but up against some oddly placed wall so we can not hang a typical rod. Does anyone have a suggestion about either hanging a rod from the ceiling? or a nicer way of hanging a curtain on the inside of a frame?
Stacy says
I would love to see more tutorials on other window sizes and trim widths. We recently replaced our house’s trim with wide trim and now I’m arguing with hubby about not mounting our old drapery rods onto the new trim but instead putting them above. I can’t find any justification for not mounting onto the trim though!
YoungHouseLove says
Stacy,
We love hanging rods high and wide to create the illusion of a bigger window while letting in more light (and keeping your window trim hole-free). These days most designers agree that hanging curtains at least 6″ above the top of a window lets them breathe a bit. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Sophia says
Hi Sherry,
I recently discovered your blog/website and let me just say, I’ve been inspired to revamp our apartment! Since we do not own our place, there’s limitations as to what we can do (install cabinets, paint, etc.). . . however a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do! This week my husband and I will be hanging up curtains in our living room and I just snagged a console from craigslist for an unbeatable price. Thanks for the curtain-hanging advice. Gotta love those low prices at Target & Ikea! :]
Sophia
Valerie says
What is your take on double rods? I’ve never hung curtains before, but the idea of having 2 white panels (like Ikea’s Vivian) accented by 2 darker panels in front (like Ikea’s Merete in brown) seems appealing to me. But it’s hard to visualize. We have 10ft ceilings and the window is about 7ft wide. What do you think?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Valerie,
That sounds lovely and we think a double rod is the perfect answer! Hope it helps.
xo,
s
Jessica says
Hi Sherry,
Congrats on your new little one! I have a 10 month old boy at home and it is SO MUCH FUN to be a parent and to watch your baby grow and develop. I really like babycenter.com. You can put in your due date and it will send you weekly updates on what is growing and developing in your baby. I still get them in regards to how my baby should be developing. It’s fun.
I have a question for you. We are putting up new blinds in our house and we are trying to decide on the right ones. I noticed that in a lot of your house you have either roman shades or the bamboo style shades. Do you think this provides enough privacy for you? Is there a reason you did not use plantation blinds?
Thanks so much!
Jessica
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jessica,
Hmm, for the blinds question I think it’s just personal preference. We love the texture that bamboo blinds bring to a space when they’re paired with breezy white curtains and we especially love that they’re super cheap from stores like Walmart and Target (compared to plantation blinds, etc). We’re lucky enough to live far enough away from the street and our neighbors that we don’t actually have to close them for privacy so they’re usually just for looks (we hung them super high and wide so they make our windows look twice as big). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Carla says
Hi Sherry,
Just wanted to say that I went high and wide today and could not be happier! I never would have thought to do that myself. It looks amazing in the room. My son’s teensie little bedroom suddenly looks grand. Thanks so much for the suggestion.
:)
YoungHouseLove says
Woo hoo! So happy you’re happy Carla. Welcome to the high and wide club.
Congrats!
xo,
s
Anna says
Hi,
Thanks for all of your wonderful advice. i love your home! I have a question about hanging curtains. We have a slight bay window(three walls, with a window on each) The window are all relatively closer to each other. Would you recommend hanging three sets of curtains, or just one side on the outer 2 windows? Also, typically, do curtains go on the outside of the moldings? In my case there is hardly any room from the molding to the end of the wall.
thanks again!
Anna
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Anna,
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to those things, so you can try hanging just two curtains on the outside of your windows to see if you like that look (you’ll add even more softness if you hang more panels between the windows as well- but it’s really your call). Just see what tickles your fancy. And as for where to hang curtains in relation to window moldings, we looove hanging them much higher and wider so they entire window area feels taller and more airy (it won’t block as much light while making your windows appear even larger) so we would go ceiling-height with the rod if you can (well above window moldings) but again it’s your call. Just have someone hold the rod up and take a step back to see how you like it at different heights. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Sarah R. says
Great post! I’ve been having the hardest time installing the drapery hardware as our walls are WEAK SAUCE! First I started with plastic drywall anchors, but they don’t support the weight of a large, heavy rod like I need them to. Then I went to Molly bolts, but these have only pushed into the wall (like I said, the sheet rock is crappy crappy). I don’t have studs where I need them and wonder if I dare hang curtains from the stud at the ceiling. Wouldn’t this be too high? On the other hand, do I dare go 18 inches out from the window box to find another stud to mount the hardware to? Would that be too wide? Surely I cannot be the only one who is having this problem. My poor house is only 10 years old but as ‘starter’ home it was apparently made with very poor quality material.
Help!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Sarah,
We actually don’t think hanging the curtains from the ceiling would be too high or too strange at all. If you flip through the after photos on our House Tour page (check out that tab under the header) you’ll see that in many rooms we hang the curtains about an inch from the ceiling or right under the crown molding so an inch or two higher definitely wouldn’t hurt! You have to work with what you’ve got! Hope it helps.
xo,
s
CeCe says
If you had to choose to hang curtains an inch above the window and a few inches off the floor or the rod a little below the top of the window and the curtains barely touching the floor, which would you choose? I can only afford pre-made curtains right now and my windows seem to be a little higher than normal. I chose to have the curtain touch the floor and the rod is slightly below the top of the window. Now it’s bugging me, but I know if I had the curtians a few inches above the floor that would bug me too.
YoungHouseLove says
We’re with you! We honestly think both options would bug us. But the good news is that many retailers like Target, Ikea, Bed Bath & Beyond, and JC Penney sell stock curtains on a budget that are extra long (95+ inches!). We think just returning the standard ones you have and snatching up some longer ones will make you so much happier in the long run… and Ikea’s 95 inch extra long curtains are $15 for two panels! Hope it helps.
xo,
s
Lanita says
I need a solution for a wide window that goes all the way up to the ceiling. Is there an extra long type of curtain rod I can use that won’t sag in the middle with the weight of the curtains? There is no way to put an extra support mount in the middle unless I hang the curtains from the ceiling. I would actually prefer to do that but I can’t find any mounts with a short drop. In other words, the 3″ mounts I’ve found (measuring from the ceiling downwards) would create a gap between the top of the window and the curtain if I used them. Any suggestions? Thanks
YoungHouseLove says
JC Penney sells extra long rods (as does Lowe’s) and we have even heard of people using metal hardware store pipes to create long strong rods that don’t sag. As for ceiling mounted curtains without a big drop, Ikea might be the answer. They have great “rods” that can be mounted close to the ceiling but they’re actually wire, so your curtains zip along them and can be quite close to the ceiling. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Vea says
Hello! I’ve read your blog for the past two years, every day religiously and its my first time to ask a question (not my last I can promise you that:)). We are moving into a new house and the big living room window has a half circle (like loop) window above it, and its much smaller. Where would I place the rod? There are two more windows in the room on the adjecent wall, but these windows are not as wide as the big window. All three windows are same height.
Thank you in advance,
V
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Vea,
Good question! We’d put the rod right below the demi window (the half-circle one) and mount it extra wide on either side of the window below it so it softens the rectangular window below and allows light to shine in the upper window (since a rod above the semi-circle window would look a bit off). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Debbie says
I was wondering if someone could give me some advice on hanging drapes on windows that have very wide crown moulding. Would I hang the drapes above the crown moulding or below it. The type of crown moulding is basically like a shelf at the top it.
Any help would be appreciated.
YoungHouseLove says
We hate marring gorgeous moldings with rods so we never suggesting hanging them on or below ’em. We like curtain rods high and wide as many of the photos in this post show, so just hang yours a few inches below the ceiling to let that lovely molding (and your window) breathe a little and add height to the whole room.
xo,
s
Lindsley says
Love your blog! Very Inspiring! We have a situation in our guest room which has three arched doors that open to an outside patio. The crown molding coming down from the ceiling touches our door trim molding. This doesn’t leave us any room above the door to mount curtain rods. We don’t really like the look of the ceiling hung curtain rods. Is there a bracket that lifts the rod above the door trim, or is there another option we’re missing? Thanks so much!
YoungHouseLove says
We like your idea of a bracket that lifts the rod above the door trim so we would suggest googling around or visiting a window treatment store (like JC Penney or even a specialty store) to see what they recommend. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Rebecca says
I certainly can use your advice. I have a wall of windows – 25 ft long. Essentially it is 7 door size windows, actually 2 of them are the french doors to the deck. On top of the french doors is a half loop window. Not only are all the windows surrounded by molding, the ceilings has it as well. I would like some advice on where to hang a rod as I would like the ability to pull the curtain panels off the window as completely as possible. It is a beautiful view but heating and cooling is tricky. I am making my own curtains so height is not an issue. Should I hang across the molding between the loop window and the doors? Or go floor to ceiling in the gap between the crown molding and the top of the loop window?
Thank you for your help!
YoungHouseLove says
Definitely hang them across the molding between the loop window and the doors. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hope says
Your blog is wonderful! So glad to have found it! I’m trying to work with the existing hardware that the previous owners of our apartment left behind. (Our walls are incredibly hard to drill into–something about them being cement/plaster because they’re an exterior fireproof wall…) The current hardware is mounted rather narrowly, with no extra width on either side of the windows (the height is OK though). So I’d like to ‘fudge’ the width by extending the curtain rod beyond the hardware… is this a terrible idea? I’m thinking I can hide the evidence if I use some of the Ikea curtains that have the tabs on the back side (like the Vivan style). Then the hardware won’t show, right? Eventually I’ll get it together and find a better solution, but for now I’m just so tired of looking at bare windows, so this is a first step… any advice is much appreciated!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s absolutely a great idea, Hope. We use those curtain tabs to fudge the width / cover the hardware on our windows all the time. Just be sure the rod doesn’t extend so far past the hardware that it starts to sag or bow. But definitely go for it – and good luck with those hard-to-drill-into walls!
xo,
s
Hope says
Thanks so much for the feedback– and CONGRATULATIONS on your new baby!!! I just saw the photos on your home page and she’s beautiful! (And I can’t believe you’re finding time to write me back… I’m very appreciative). How exciting :-)
Robin says
I just found your blog and it’s my new favorite!! I fell in love with your drapery treatment in your living room and am going to copy it.
I have a question about rod height. My ceilings are 10′ (I live in a newer house.) My window is 86″ wide and I am planning to use two 4′ bamboo shades like you did. The top of the window is about 16″ from the ceiling. Should I hang the drapes at the ceiling or a little lower? The Ikea drapes actually come long enough for me to hang floor to ceiling.
Thanks so much!!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Robin!
We’d suggest giving them a little bit of breathing room (with such high ceilings), so try hanging the drapes about 4 to 6 inches from the ceiling. Good luck!
xo,
s
Rebecca says
S,
I have a 16 foot wall with three windows. They all have varying spaces between them (9″, 25″ and 29″) but the problem is that the trim on my right window butts up against the wall. Any idea on how to hang a curtain rod on this window? My only other thought is to hang a giant rod across the whole room that attaches to the adjacent walls.
Any thoughts?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, that’s exactly what we would recommend. Then you can hang a number of panels on that same rod and just flank each window with them so it feels almost like a wall of glass- lovely!
xo,
s
cheryl says
Hoping you can help…we just had new window and door mouldings installed in our home. they are beautiful, but have a “shelf like” top as the header. How do I install curtain rods…I believe the piece holding the rod will not come out far enough to give clearance to these new headers..can I still put my curtains up somehow? thanks for any help with this…
YoungHouseLove says
An easy fix would be to visit your local home improvement store and check out the wood aisles. You should be able to find simple 3″ x 3″ x 3″ cubes of wood (or get a 3″ x 3″ plank cut down into cubes) which can then be mounted on your wall above the molding (we’d go as close to the ceiling as possible) and painted the wall color to blend them in. Then mount rods to those cubes so they have the right overhang.
Or you can simply mount a rod high enough to the ceiling and let the curtains hang down. They might bump out slightly over the molding but it shouldn’t look too bad. Good luck either way!
xo,
s
Gina says
I love your blog! You have such wonderful suggestions and tutorials. I’m hoping you can help with my current dilemma. My house is about 150 years old with 12′ ceilings and plaster walls. In the living room, I have four windows that are 95″ long (from the top of the molding to the bottom below the sill) and 44″ wide (measurement outside the molding). The crown molding is 21″ below the ceiling and the top of the window molding is 4″ below the crown molding. From the top of the window molding to the floor is 117″. With plaster walls, I cannot put up curtain rods in the wall. Right now I have sheers on tension rods (inside the window) at the top and bottom for a temporary fix. I need curtains, but I am lost! Any help will be greatly appreciated!!
YoungHouseLove says
Just use anchors in your plaster walls! We have them too and we hang rods all the time! Just visit your local home improvement and ask which anchors work best to hold rods up in plaster. Good luck!
xo,
s
Gina says
Great – haven’t tried the anchors, so I’ll make a trip this afternoon and see what I can find. So should I hang the rods in the 4″ space between the crown molding and the top of the window? And thanks SO much for the info about the Vivan curtains – I’m going to get the long ones for my bedroom today. Yea…bedroom problem solved too!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, that sounds perfect. Good luck!
xo,
s
Lisa says
You helped out again. Thanks guys!
Lou says
In the house we bought we have a bay window 102″ wide. This window consists of 5 panel windows that each measure 13 1/2″ wide with the actual window pane measuring 12 1/2″ wide. This is on the west side of the house and the problem is the glaring, hot, hot sun in the summer. If not for that problem I wouldn’t put anything on the window as it is high up and in the country and needs nothing. The panel measurements are an odd size. The three center panels do not open. The outer two windows are the crank open kind. We’d like to have the option of covering part of the windows at times when the sun is only pouring in one section because we love to look out at the woods. Have you any easy suggestion for covering this? Thanks so much.
Lou
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Lou,
There are tons of options (faux wood blinds, bamboo blinds, roman shades, curtains, etc) so just do what appeals to you. Since the windows might not be standard sizes you can just “outside mount” the blinds or hang the curtain rod high & wide for a nice lofty look. Good luck!
xo,
s
Stephanie says
Thanks for all the information you continually provide. I love that you answer questions on old posts… Anyways, my query is:
I have 2 windows in my son’s soon-to-be big boy room: one is 62″ wide and one is 74″ wide (sliding door). I’d like to hang short valances above each one, but I’d like each valance to be one piece across the entire window (not two pieces, like standard curtains). However, most curtain rods that are that wide have a 3rd bracket that mounts in the middle.
Do you think I could get away without the 3rd bracket and have no curtain sag considering the valance won’t be more than 14-18″ long? Or would it be safer to mount the 3rd bracket and go with two-piece valances for each window? Thanks for your thoughts.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah, we bet you can get away with it. Our advice would be to give it a try!
xo,
s
kristin says
Is there a certain kind of drywall anchor you use? My husband was hanging rods for me today and the plastic ones that came with the rod kept breaking when he would drill the screws in. So, I bought a different brand (3 sizes in the pack) and the middle anchor went into the drywall too far so I had to take it out and went up to the next size and it did the same thing also. Not sure how we managed to screw it up but I’m thinking now we just need to find a wall stud and not try anymore anchors!
YoungHouseLove says
We use basic plastic anchors that come in a box with the right sized screws from Home Depot or Lowe’s usually. Don’t know if that helps but good luck!
xo,
s
Paula says
Just found your site, we have a question about the diameter of the rod we sould use on a wall that is 12′ high with a vaulted ceiling that goes 1 1/2 stories high. Our debate is do we use 2″ diameter or 3″ diameter.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my goodness, either one will do! Seriously, both can work just as well so it’s all about what you like best!
xo,
s
shari says
I have several groupings of windows in my house and am wondering if i should use one long rod over the two or if I should use single rods over each. The windows measure 46″ wide by 76″ tall (trim included) and the windows are spaced 29″ apart (trim to trim). Is there a rule of thumb regarding when you should use one rod versus two? thanks so much!
YoungHouseLove says
We’d use one long one but you probably can’t go wrong either way!
xo,
s
Diana says
Hi Sherry & John,
I love your idea about hanging curtains & bamboo shades together. I am about do to so in our living/dining area. But I’d like your feedback about something.
The space is an open floor plan with the living & dining rooms open to the kitchen. There are 3 windows – 1 in the dining space & 2 in the living area. One of the windows in the living room is about 16 inches higher than both the other windows. Should I increase the height of the placement of the bamboo shades on the 2 lower windows – giving the appearance that all windows are the same height? Or would you recommend that I hang everything relative to each window height – allowing it to show the different window heights?
Thanks for any suggestions! & thanks for your inspiration… We bought our first house last June & I’m loving turning it into our home w/our touch! Your blog provides lots of ideas & lots & lots of inspiration!
Best,
Diana
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, we’d definitely cheat them all that high so they all appear to be balanced! Good luck!
xo,
s
Meredith says
Hi there, I’m loving your website and the wealth of useful info! I could use your opinion. In my living room, I have a window with an arch (a mild arch) at the top, where I want to hang curtains. If I were to hang them at the ceiling height (I have 8 ft ceilings), there would be over a foot of bare wall visible between the rod and top of window arch. I don’t think the bamboo shades is suitable here because I don’t want to totally mask the arch.
My other option is to hang the curtains about 5-6 inches above the top of the arch (breathing room), which would still be about 8 inches below the ceiling. Will this make my room feel small with them being below ceiling height? What do you think would be a better option? Thanks for your help!
YoungHouseLove says
I would definitely go with the second option. It should look nice and balanced thanks to the arch! Good luck.
xo,
s
sandra apostoles says
I only have a few inches above the window of wall.How do I make curtains look right?I’d like the window to look taller and wider. Thanks in advance Sandra
Cynthia says
I have an apartment that has the original horsehair insulated walls with plaster. The curtains
have the valance attached. I just can’t drill any holes into it the walls to put up the curtain rod. Original plaster from a house built in the mid 1800’s. I have a large room with a huge bay window and would like to bring more light into it.
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, our house is old and has original plaster walls but we just predrill a hole, sink an anchor into the plaster, and drill into that. So that’s how we hang stuff. Not sure if that helps but I can’t think of a way to hang a curtain rod without making holes in the wall or ceiling!
xo,
s
Cleo Jones says
I live in an old house and cannot make wholes in the wall. I hae molding around the ceiling and I have found molding hooks which I have used to hag pictures.
How can I hang curtains from the molding hooks? I thought I found a cool way with a long Bamboo stick that rests on the hooks but the cats walked behind the curtains and it all came down :(
Any suggestion for a more sturdy installation without whole in the wall? I want the curtains starting high. The curtains are very very lightweight.
Thanks!
Cleo
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, maybe check out 3M products (they have heavy duty velcro and other fasteners that might hold things more firmly)? Good luck!
xo,
s
anne says
I have sheer swiss tamboor curtains and I want to hang the rods above the window but I can see the paint color between the rod and the window through the curtains. Is it still proper to hang the rod higher than the window in this case?
YoungHouseLove says
I would just eye it and see what looks best. If you step back while someone holds the rod high and wide and the color showing thorough is super distracting and looks wrong I’d hang the rod a bit lower. But if it just looks sort of subtle and layers in with the rest of the room I’d go for it!
xo,
s
van says
what do you do if one side of the wall is 21″ and the other side is 15.5 inches? I want to hang the curtains so it appears the same…would i hang the rod on the 21″ side the same as the 15.5 wall? Thank you
YoungHouseLove says
I would hang both rods at the highest possible height that allows for them both to be the same height for balance. Good luck!
xo,
s
Alan says
I’m working on a project in a large dining room with one bay window. I like the look of the curtains overhanging the normal windows but do you think it would look odd to have curtains on the bay window that don’t overhang while the other windows have curtains that do overhang?
YoungHouseLove says
I would definitely give it a try! A lot of window stuff is trial and error, so just judge it once it’s in the space and make adjustments as you see fit! Good luck!
xo,
s
Rachael says
I have nine foot ceilings in my living room. I though I had seen a show that said to hang drapes all the way to the ceiling with a shade lowered to the top of the window to give the illusion of floor-ceiling windows. Why did you choose to only go 12 inches above in a 9 ft room but all the way to the ceiling in an 8 foot? I’ve been debating drapes for months now and can’t commit I want to showcase the windows and the height just not sure what the best way to accomplish this is.
YoungHouseLove says
It can get tricky when you’re trying to really trick the eye over 12″ (ex: you have to have the shade lowered a lot lower than might look natural and balanced to hide 25″ of wall). But it can definitely work sometimes too, so maybe just eye it and see if you like it and course correct as you go? Hope it helps!
xo,
s
jacque says
With 10 foot ceilings, 10 inch crown molding, and a 12 inch space between the crown molding and top of windows, where do I place the curtain rod?
YoungHouseLove says
I would split the difference and hang the rods 6″ above. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Chris says
Small bedroom, 8 ft. ceilings, one window. Want to do sheer curtains with valance between panels. Valance and bottom 1/2 of panels have design. When holding the valance up high, seem to lose the design with the sheer fabric.
Suggestions….is this still a high and wide approach, or more traditional to frame the window and have the light go through the valance material?
YoungHouseLove says
I’d say it’s more traditional to have the valance hung at window height (not so much high, although it can be hung wide with the curtain panels coming out from under it on each side even if it’s wide). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Brie says
Thank you, thank you for all these posts on hanging curtains! I have two questions that I’m hoping you would be so kind as to help me with:
1)First of all, our kitchen and family/sitting area is pretty much all one big room (kitchen on right, sitting area on left). In the family room – there is a fireplace with a window on each side. The windows are only 5 inches from the corner of the adjoining walls and only 3 inches away from the mantel. In my opinion, there is not enough room to hang two panels per window as it would be crowded and they would cover the window as there is no room on the sides to work with. I really like the bamboo romans with the white curtains look. Would you suggest I use just one panel on each window with the roman shade, or just use curtains and keep them pushed to the outside of the window (which wouldnt be far)??
2) In the kitchen, we have a large patio door (which runs on the same side of the house as the two windows framing the fireplace) which does require privacy (feel like we are in a fish bowl as we back on to a walking trail). I was just going to hang the curtains from ikea but we would have them closed quite a bit, but also use this door for the dog to go out. Should I use two roman shades as well, like you guys did in your large picture window? Would you only use two curtain panels or a third in the middle? Also, right angle to this patio door we have another window (only 28″ wide) – should we keep continuity and do roman shade with only one curtain panel? I’m worried two panels would be over kill, or maybe it’s two many roman shades for the two rooms together?? Should we just stick to curtains to keep it uncluttered? These new homes with open floor plans are so tough to decorate….!
I’m so sorry this is so long. I’ve been racking my brain on this for days now and I can’t find anything that sort of resembles my floor plan. If you are able to get to this, I sooooo appreciate it!!
YoungHouseLove says
1. Either solution that you’ve listed could work, but I tink I’d lean towards going with just curtains fist (pushed to the outside of the window) and see if you want to add any blinds after you hang those).
2. Have you thought about frosting the sliders. That would give you privacy but light would pass through (we have many posts about applying frosting film from Home Depot). If not you could use curtains again, and add shades/blinds if you’d like- as you mention it could be too much of one thing, so I’d go slow (just adding rods and curtains and slowly adding blinds or shades if you think you need them! Good luck!
xo,
s
Brie says
Thank you so much, Sherry! It’s so amazing that you two take the time to respond to your comments! I really appreciate it :) Your response calms me – I think I was thinking too far ahead, I just gotta take it slowly like you said, start with one step at a time :)
Thank you!
Brie
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, you’re welcome Brie! Good luck with everything. I bet it’ll look awesome!
xo,
s
Linda Weeks says
I particularly like the 2 smaller windows where a meal tray can be accepted and returned with no bloodshed.
Crystal says
Hi! I just got a new house and need advice on curtains for double windows in my living room. I have black leather funiture with a zebra rug. I don’t want to over do the zebra so thought of maybe just doing black curtains. Should I do 3 panels? One on each side and one in the middle of the 2 windows? (It is probably only about 2 inches between the windows) Please help :) thanks
YoungHouseLove says
I would do three panels! And although black sounds like it would work, if you find it blocks too much light you could also go with white or cream, since zebra rugs have that color too, and with the black furniture it might be nice to break it up and do something lighter. Good luck!
xo,
s
Crystal says
Awesome thanks!
dorri says
Help, we are having problems deciding what to put on our LR window which is 8ft across and a couple of feet each side of the window. We wanted to extend the look, but don’t know how to go about it? The window height with frame is already sitting almost at ceiling height and from ceiling to floor is higher than standard of 84″ to 86″. To boot we have a built in wall valance the entire feet of the window and couple ft on each side. Also I would like something that can be drawn like a drape or blind at one side, because I hate to be tugging on a drape to close them each night? Any suggestions would be helpful.
YoungHouseLove says
I would get a curtain rod as long as the valance and hang it right under it at the highest point you can so the floor length curtains that can be slid open or closed. I think if you don’t want to tug on a drape your options would just be vertical blinds (sometimes those can look dated though) or you can go for something like a long bamboo blind (or a series of them hung next to each other that look like one long blind) but you’d need to remove the valance, since you typically only pair a valance with floor length curtains, not blinds or shades. Of course all rules are meant to be broken, so you could just play around with different options and see what you like. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
dorri says
Thank you so much, that is what we did, we got drapery panels and because there was very little space above the window we hung the brackets off the ceiling behind the built in valance. They slide okay, but what a job I’ve got. The drapery panels or curtains came in 95″ length so they are sitting on the floor with an excess of 4 inches. Personally I don’t care for the puddling look so will be shortening them but not looking forward to the job. Will the length just touching the floor still look in? Will a deep hem make them look too chunky? They have an insulating backing but a light one. I hate to have to cut them, but may have to before rehemming. I hate to make them look dated after all that work.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I’d have them just touch the floor – that’s a great length. And it’s very common for curtains to have a deep hem, but if you’re worried about things looking chunky you can go for a 2″ hem instead of something like a 4″ one. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Clare from Ireland says
Have 4 bedroom windows all 70″ across x 46″ down with 19″ to ceiling and all have radiator starting10″ below window. What length above and below window should I hang curtains and how much at either side. What length curtain rail should I get? What measurement should the finished curtains ideally be? Please help
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, it’s hard with a radiator because I don’t think your curtains should touch that, so maybe have them end an inch or two above the radiator and hang them 8″ below the ceiling so they can breathe a little?
xo
s
Clarissa says
Hi
Thanks for all the great advice!
You’re the best place to search for solutions to drape dilemmas. In our master bedroom, we have bay type windows and another window near the main master area. Its kind of like 4 windows in a row. The ceiling heights are slightly different and slightly sloped in the “bay type” windows. We are putting up 4 sets of drapes for the 4 windows. For them to look uniform, how do we mount the rods so they are all the same height? Do we mount them by measuring down from the crown to where the rods should be or measure up and out from the window edges?
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
I would measure down from the crown so they’re the same distance from the ceiling for the most seamless and uniform look. Good luck!
xo
s
Lori says
Just found your site in a search and I am so glad I did! Great info, love the high water analogy. I am looking for advice on curtain lenght. I have two seperate windows that I am trying to cover in my master. The windows are on seperate walls and the walls are different heights. One is 8 foot, the other 9 foot. After reading through this post and the comments you left for others, I think I should get the 95″ panel and hang one at ceiling height and the other just below to create uniformity. Is this correct?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes that’s perfect! It’ll balance the room.
.
xo,
s