Window Treatment Design Tips
I’ve gotten a lot of questions from you guys about our curtains, so now that everything is installed in both bedrooms, I thought I’d share a window treatment tour of each room with some tips we learned along the way.
Design Tips That Helped Us
Create an inspiration board.
Gathering images of window treatments you love will help hone in on the look and feel you want to capture in each room of the house. Pinterest is great for this.
Consider the function of each room.
Do you need to minimize glare or block light for sleeping? What about sound? Do you have hard-to-reach windows? Knowing your goals for each space will help guide a conversation with a vendor.
Have an expert take measurements.
This is my number one stress-reducing tip. Measuring for window treatments is not easy, especially when you don’t know the difference between product lines, inside mount or outside mount—it can be overwhelming! Luckily Lin is an expert at this so he was able to take and understand the right measurements based on the products we liked . If you do not have someone you know, I recommend hiring an expert for this part so that you are truly happy with the end result and order the correct rod and curtain panels! I often see windows where they simply do not have enough curtain panels making it look not so great!
Basic design rules suggest that curtain widths should be at least two to three times the length of the curtain rod. This is where multiplication skills (or a trusty calculator) come in handy. For example, for an 18-foot (or 216-inch) long rod, purchase four 54-inch-wide panels. It’s crucial to know how to measure for curtains to achieve a beautiful drape, and a stylish result. Curtains create an attractive window dressing with a look that can be as opulent or simple as you prefer. Curtains that aren’t wide enough won’t show the fabric to its best advantage, and those that aren’t long enough can look old-fashioned.
Key to the process of how to measure for curtains is accuracy, and it’s essential to have a steel tape measure because fabric versions can stretch resulting in incorrect measurements. You might also need a step ladder, as well as somewhere to record the measurements.
Generally curtains should be floor length or longer for best effect. That’s even the case if they hang behind furniture as they should never look less than generous. Floor-length curtains are often preferred for living rooms, while those that puddle on the floor can be a good complement to a formal dining room, for example, and you might want to choose them for a bedroom, too. If you do want curtains that puddle on the floor, you can add between 1 and up to as much as 12 inches for a truly lavish look.
Do: Allocate Budget to the Most Important Windows in the House
For us, this was our primary bedroom. The sun rises right over our bedroom at 5:30 a.m and for anyone who does not know how intense the sun can be in New Mexico… HA! It can be brutal. So we wanted the ability to totally block the light out! And since we live right by a highway, we wanted to create some sound buffer as well. I wanted the space to feel luxurious and reminiscent of sleeping in a luxury hotel room. I also wanted this space here in Santa Fe to feel and look very different from our home in Tulsa.
We decided to layer two different window treatments here which add interest and dimension to a window. We started with the Emery Linen Sheer Curtain. (from the Emery Curtain Collection from Pottery Barn and color is white) With a translucent drape, it brings both casual warmth and refined style to the room, while the natural yarn-dyed fibers create dimensional highs and lows for added depth. They are made of 73% linen and 27% cotton and these curtain’s 3-in-1 construction offers three hanging options: rod pocket, back tabs, ring top. When measuring it is very important you remember that the length includes the height of rod pocket. These come in 3 colors too and you can order color swatches if you are really visual and need to see them. We also went with the Velvet Twill Blackout Curtain (from Pottery Barn as well and the color is Ivory)
Beautiful from floor to ceiling.
With an elegant construction and subtle sheen, these curtains makes a room feel cozy and complete while turning day into night. They are made of 100% cotton velvet. And the blackout liner is crafted from 100% polyester and it prevents most light from entering windows to help darken the room. These curtain’s 3-in-1 construction also offer three hanging options: rod pocket, back tabs, ring top.
Whether you go with wood blinds, natural shades, statement-making drapes, or light-blocking rollers, layering two types of treatments together can make it more functional and make any room feel more “designed.”
Don’t: Skimp on Curtain Measurements. and Do: Hang Curtains Higher and Wider Than You Might Think
Practical Considerations: We love having lots of natural light and having a clear view to the beautiful desert that is our backyard during the day and at sunset time. In order to make the room look more expansive and full of light, we installed our rod to take both the Emery Linen Sheer Curtains and the Velvet Twill Blackout Curtains a few inches higher and wider than the window frame itself, and ordered a curtain length that would slightly pool on the floor for a more luxurious look. By using a wider rod it allows drapery to fully pull back from the window for maximum light.
For a more tailored look, your drapes could just “kiss” the floor. Those little details make a major difference!!!
Speaking of rods, we went with the Curtain Rod & Wall Bracket in Pewter from Pottery Barn. This will really take your window treatments up a notch with this timeless collection crafted of steel. The perfect accessories really dress up a room. They come in so many finishes too from antique bronze to a matte black or even brass and a gorgeous polished nickel.
Don’t: Go With a One-Size Fits All Approach
The Space: Guest Bedroom
This room faces the front of the house and has one big picture window (sliding doors to the patio) as the focal point of the room, and is also on the second story of our house, it has incredible mountain views and gets the most amazing cool breezes all night long! The challenge was to keep the open airy feel created by the window while providing light blocking for nighttime. The room is also so so so small so trying to make it look bigger than it really is was a challenge too!
We went with the same Emery Linen Sheer Curtain in white and the Velvet Twill Blackout Curtain in a beautiful dark green! We also went with the Curtain Rod & Wall Bracket in Pewter from Pottery Barn. However we did not install the rod higher and wider than the window. It would have taken up the whole wall making the room feel like a cave. So play around with this and see what works best for you in the space.
We could not be happier with how these spaces came together, and major thanks to the Pottery Barn team for guiding us through the process. It’s been a hot minute since I have even considered Pottery Barn for contemporary home furnishings but they have really updated their look and I am here for it!!
I’d love to hear in the comments if you guys have any hard-won window treatment design tips from creating your own spaces! Let me know—and feel free to drop a comment with any questions about my window treatments, too. I love hearing from you!!!!
