Hang it, pinch it, loop it, gather it, drape it, pleat it……what is it?

There are so many ways to show off your curtains.

One of the most important tips when hanging your curtains is step number 1.

  1. Use A Professional: Please employ a professional to hang your curtains along with curtains poles or curtain rails if your budget allows.
  2. On A Budget? Step 1 will not be possible if your budget is limited so here are some helpful suggestions to do the job yourself.
  3. Measure Twice, Buy Once: Always measure your windows for your curtains and poles before you go shopping! Otherwise you will end up making two trips to the shops or come home with the incorrect size and this is not a good look….trust me!
  4. The Longer The Better: When space allows please have curtains hanging to within 10/20mm of the floor – full length curtains always look great and generally complement the overall space.
  5. The Finished Length: To measure for the length top to bottom of the finished curtains allow 150-200mm above the window reveal. This measurement gives you the finished length of the curtains including the pole or rail.
    Skteches
  6. Side to Side Measurement: To measure for the width side to side of the curtain pole or rail where space is not restricted, measure 200/250mm each side of the window plus the width of the window and this will give you the width you need for the pole/rail.
  7. Gathers and More Gathers: These measurements will give you enough information to purchase your pole or rail and a set of curtains – please double the overall width that you have just measured to give you the size that you need for each curtain. This is to allow for gathers on each curtain, if curtains are not gathered and left like a straight length of fabric they do not look their best.
  8. Quality Control: Go for the best quality curtains within your budget to get the best look!
  9. The Curtain Pole: the key point to hanging curtains successfully on a pole is to have the pole brackets at the optimum distance from the sides of the window – this is 80mm away from the end of the pole before the finials. The reason for this is to allow space for the curtains to come off the window fully when they are open. The curtains may not always be hanging like this but having the space to allow this will give light to the room and width to the window. See sketch above for measurements.
  10. Pinch it, Drape it, Gather it, Fold it, Loop it: there are many finishes for hanging curtains and when the pole or rail are correctly fixed to the wall then this enhances the curtains whichever finish you use.