What I’m about to tell you will give you the power to change your room from ordinary to amazing. Yes, your room.
Your room is not too small. Your ceilings are not too low. There’s not much in a space that can’t be fixed with properly hung curtains.
It’s common to hang curtains to only cover the window. Most folks start at the top of the frame, extend to the edge of the frame, and stop just shy of the floor (or, gasp, the sill!) Doing that will make a room will feel small, short, and common. It misses out on so much potential! Almost every curtain advertisement shows them hung this way:
The secret is simple really. Hang your drapes as high and as wide as possible. When they are open, make them wide enough that they don’t cover any of the actual glass, but full enough that it looks like they could cover it all if you wanted. And make sure they touch the floor. No high water drapes. Pooling on the floor is better than too short.
It’s so common to hang curtains low that you can’t buy decent length curtains at Wal-mart or Target. You can, however, order the proper length at Target.com. Ikea’s curtains are sized for maximum impact and are sold in pairs for the price of a single curtain anywhere else. Homegoods also has tall curtain options. You need curtains at least 95 inches long for this to work. If you have high ceilings, even longer would be better.
Curtains are the simplest project to sew. so don’t let the lack of inexpensive ready made options deter you. If sewing isn’t your thing, you can use fusible hem tape to make a rod pocket and hem. (I shop for fabric at fabric.com, Hobby Lobby, or Jo-Ann–and sometimes ebay or etsy.) Tablecloths also make great curtains. If you have ring clips on your rods you can just hang them up without sewing.
Perk #1. My ceilings are just short of 8 feet high. But the floor to ceiling curtains make them feel tall and grand.
See how much shorter the ceiling looks without the curtains? It was just as bad when I had curtains that started at the top of the glass.
Perk #2. Hanging curtains wide makes your windows look much bigger and lets in more yummy light. I never close my curtains, instead I use simple roller shades for night time privacy. First thing in the morning, I open it them up completely for as much natural light as possible.
Perk #3. The wider your curtains are hung, the more wall you cover up. I love this, because choosing art is the hardest part of decorating for me. Wider curtains = less art.
I’m a big fan of layered window treatments. Bamboo blinds warm up the space and fill in any wall gaps above a window, making the big window illusion complete. They are expensive though. I found a great deal on Amazon for bamboo shades for my dining room. When it was time to do my bedroom, that deal was gone and my budget was made of pocket lint. Out of desperation, I purchased 2 placemats and a table runner (less than $10 for all 3) from Ikea and thumbtacked them to the wall. No one can tell at first glance. I hung them just low enough that they completely hide the roller shades when they are pulled all the way up. During the day, you’d never guess the shades were there.
Here’s a before and after bamboo shades from Young House Love.
I wish someone had told me this sooner: While bamboo shades are good for blocking light at the heat of the day, they offer NO after dark privacy. You won’t be able to see out from the inside, giving a false sense of security. If your lights are on, the outside will have a clear view in. I apologize now to our neighbors in our old neighborhood. We didn’t know.
In case you aren’t convinced to hang your curtains high and wide, here is one more example. In both photos, the size and shape of the windows, furniture, rug etc. are identical, the only difference is how tall and wide the curtains are.
And just for fun, a little more cozying up:
In summary, look for curtains longer than 90″. At the time of this writing, neither Wal-mart or Target carry them in store. Target has longer length curtains online, and all of Ikea’s curtains are long enough. I’ve also found proper curtains at Hobby Lobby (yay coupons!) and Home Goods.
Sources:
Please leave a comment. I love to hear from you!
this makes a lot of sense. i still can’t get over the transformation of your master bedroom.
It was the cozy minimalist class! I never would have been able to do it without that guidance. It’s closed now, but I think there’s a waiting list you can sign up for to be notified if they do it again.
I never knew
This has completely changed the game for me.
Yes! Same here.
My eyes are open to the light! Likely because my curtains will be hung better from now on! Thank you so much for this tip. I love your thrifty Ikey bamboo placemat hack too. Pinned and tweeted!
Thank you for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty! Looking forward to seeing you back next week.
Thank you, Jane! I appreciate the encouragement and thank you for sharing 🙂