Wise Design FAQ: How to Hang Curtains

In addition to our Full Service projects, we offer a variety of additional services including our popular 90 Minute Consult. They are such a fun challenge, providing our team the opportunity to meet and work with people of all different backgrounds in different styles of homes. Even though every consult is unique, we are frequently asked many of the same questions: How do I style a shelf? Where do you put shoes in the entry? What size rug do I use? How/where do I find art?

Welcome to the first of a series of blog posts addressing some of these FAQs! We'll kick this off by writing about a topic that can help you live life more comfortably, privately and luxuriously. Specifically, we'll discuss how to hang curtains!

Curtains can be a purely pretty addition to your living room (nothing wrong with that!) but they also can be quite functional as well. As anyone with an unobstructed west-facing window will tell you, even in Portland, sometimes you need to block out the sun. Or allow the sun in while not sacrificing your privacy. On their own, curtains and other window treatments provide a layer of warmth and texture, helping with sound absorption, insulation and making a room feel like a lived-in space rather than a box. It's silly to say but we're big fans of curtains.

Our huge south-facing windows and long linen curtains at the Wise Design office. Helps protect us from glare on sunny days.

Types of Curtains & Where to Buy

There are a multitude of different styles and types of curtain pleats but we most commonly use a pinch pleat with rings and drapery hooks. It can be scary the first time you hold your newly purchased, freshly ironed curtains in one hand and drapery hooks in the other but it makes a difference. (This video is an excellent how-to plus I'm a sucker for her cute British accent.) Retail offerings may not give you an option for any pleat styles but our advice is to ignore that built-in pocket, ignore the tabs, definitely avoid the grommets and stick with the drapery hooks and rings. They make curtains hang so beautifully.

There are a several professional curtain fabricators in Portland that are worth exploring if your budget allows: Skyline Window Coverings, Cindy's Window Fashions and The Shade Store are a few that our clients have used. For retail curtains, we love Pottery Barn, West Elm, Restoration Hardware, and Everhem. Linen is our most common go-to for fabric choice.

For curtain rods, the finish largely depends on your style. Higher contrast and a more contemporary look? Black is the way for you. Want something a little softer? Look at wood or brass. Just make sure whatever finish you select, you purchase rings to match. Rods for large oversized windows can be hard to find but retailers like Restoration Hardware offer custom options. For bedroom curtains, especially those needing blackout lining, we'll recommend a French return rod so the curtain can wrap all the way around, not allowing any light to penetrate, even on the sides.

Curtain Length & Width

Curtain fabricators have not quite caught up with the interior design industry's recommendations and curtains are sold in very unhelpful lengths of 84". This measurement is based on the idea that you live in a home with 8ft ceilings (which, yes, is common) with a window header height of 80" (also common) and thus will hang your curtain rod 4" above the very top of your window edge (nope!)

This image from West Elm shows exactly that: the curtain rod is basically covering the trim. Cropped in, it doesn't look half bad but zoomed out, it would look short and squatty, entirely missing out on the appeal curtains can bring to making a room feel and look taller and airier.

And no shade on these curtains! I actually have these exact ones in my bedroom but (obvi) hung much higher.

The moral is that even if you have 8ft ceilings as many homes do, avoid the 84" long curtains. This leaves the 96" and 108" lengths to decide between. For next steps, you want to grab your tape measure.

As in the above photo, you want your curtain rod to go halfway between the top of your window trim and your ceiling plane. That distance, whatever that measurement is, will determine the ideal length of curtains for you to purchase. Unfortunately for the majority of us, this will mean that we have to hem as you don't want high waters. We all love Wes Anderson movies but don't replicate his pant hems with your curtain lengths. The bottom of the curtain should just brush the top of the floor.

Bill Murray's pants are fantastic but too short for curtains.

In an ideal world, you also want to avoid 'puddling,' where the curtain is so long that it creates a little pool of its own fabric, a window treatment trend from the late 80s/early 90s that most of us observed at fancy friends' homes. If you are not handy with a sewing machine, hem tape is a great option with lots of tutorials online for beginners.

Curtain width is also a consideration that is answered first by function: will your windows ever be covered entirely or are the curtains always staying open? If they will be closed from time to time, you want to make sure the panel does not look like a flat bed sheet when stretched across your window. This may mean that you are purchasing several panels which then means you have a larger 'stack' (the gathered bunch that a curtain makes to one side of a window when it's open) to contend with. A larger stack will potentially cover more of your window and block more of your view which, in turn, may lead you to want to order a wider curtain rod than initially anticipating.

Annie, showing off the placement of the rod

For the beautiful curtains above, we knew that they would never be closed so we had a nice, not-too-narrow stack but we still mounted the rod wider so the stack would not really cover any of the view.

It gives the illusion that the already wide windows are much wider, increasing that indoor-outdoor connection that we all love.

Layering, Mixing & Matching

There are some windows where curtains, as much as we love them, just won't work. Can you do some windows with curtains and some without, all together in the same room? Short answer: yes! Like all mixing and matching, we recommend being intentional with your selections.

For example, with the home above, our clients had an open concept kitchen, eating nook and family room so all windows were visible to one another. Curtains would not clearly work in the banquette area but were very much wanted for pattern and texture in the family room. Woven roman shades were the common denominator throughout the space. They have enough presence to be on their own in the dining area and then are layered with a plaid curtain in the family room. Everything feels cohesive, connected but still has its own personality and function.

The bedroom above also mixes and matches roman blinds with curtains. This time both the curtains and the blinds are tonally matched to the trim color so the window treatments not only relate to each other but to the entire room. Curtains would have been challenging on the fireplace wall windows since the stack would be squeezed up against the mantel. Roman blinds can bring in the same fabric texture but in a more practical application. Blackout lining on both the blinds and the curtains allow our clients to get a good night's sleep.

Don't be afraid to poke holes in fabric with pins, put up and take down a rod, buy wider and longer than you think you need panels and take chances with pattern and material. Curtains, similar to paint, can quickly change the look and feel of a room and also like paint, can be switched out over time. Need more? We're here to help! Please contact us here and we can look at your curtains together!