The Right Way To Hang Curtains

If you want to add a little dramatic interest to your space, add some height to it!  No construction is actually required, a simple trick of the eye can make all the difference.  Whether your ceilings are of standard height, or if you are blessed to have cathedral ceilings, it’s easy to draw the eye up and provide the illusion of height by extending the length of your window treatments.

Even though I know better, I did not follow my own advice and had my curtains hung exactly at window height for years. Not good.

Again, this is not because I didn’t know any better, this is a result of sheer laziness. Straight up, I just didn’t feel like going through the trouble of updating my curtains (lame, I know). I bought these khaki black out curtains for the master bedroom in our old home, because my husband must sleep in complete darkness (he’s very annoying about that, but I digress). I liked the fabric so I just brought them with us to the new place. 5 years ago. I don’t even need this room to be dark, it’s part of the living room for goodness’ sake! But they were exactly as long as the top of my windows so I hung them up, and then, just left them there. In the back of my mind I have been meaning to get some new drapes for those windows, but I just never got around to it. I simply forgot! Again, not good.

This summer we took the leap and replaced all the windows in the house. It dawned on me that I never bothered to update the window treatments, but there is no time like the present, new windows and all. So after the new windows were in, I put the old curtains back up, this time temporarily (for reals) while I searched for new ones!

I found a great set of linen drapes at Budget Blinds. I chose panels from their Essential Linens collection in ivory. Because my goal was to add height, I selected 96″ grommet panels.  In contrast, the old pair of drapes were 84″ long.

Obviously, I had to raise the curtain rod to accommodate the extra 12″ in fabric, so that meant having to use the drill, fill holes in the wall, and repaint the spot where the rod was. I allowed for some give at the bottom. I like that it drags a bit, it really adds vertical interest to the room. As I said earlier, it draws the eye up to show off the height of the ceilings in my otherwise smallish house.

Tip: When purchasing paint for your walls, always have them mix an extra quart, for touch ups!

Are you in the market for new curtains? Check out Budget Blinds, they carry a huge variety of products including blinds, shutters, shades, drapes, and specialty products. If you could use a little assistance from a design expert, Budget Blinds offers FREE in-home style consultations. The quality is excellent. My linens curtains aren’t stiff, there is a soft flow to the panels, and the grommets glide really nicely along the curtain rod. 

If the name sounds familiar it’s cause Budget Blinds has been featured on HGTV’s Buying and Selling, with the Property Brothers, and DIY Network’s Blog Cabin.

It was so easy to add a little dramatic interest to my space by simply lengthening the curtain panels. My space feels larger, and new ivory linens drapes brighten up the room. All in all, a great and very easy update that will make an impact in any room.

A special thank you to my friends at Budget Blinds for providing the drapes featured in this post!