Read more on PRF CA, East Palo Alto/us/en/catalog/products/30284200/Morepin 4heart 1PinIKEA catalogus 2017Morepin 15heart 3PinCombining plantation shutters with curtains privacy cosiness warmthMorepin 2PinThis farmhouse style TV console is perfect for storing your electronics, or us it in the dining room as a sideboard to hold serving dishes and decor. Designed by The Gritty Porch with building plans by Remodelaholic.Morepin 20.7kheart 1.5kspeech 2PinThe 100% linen curtains are from Ikea. They are Aina - "unbleached."MorePinPlant hooks as curtain holdersMorepin 20.7kheart 2kspeech 3PinGREAT article on using IKEA linen curtains! Rosa Beltran Design: CUSTOMIZING INEXPENSIVE LINEN CURTAINS: DIY TUTORIALMorepin 1In my own Silverlake home (which was featured on Domaine Home before I sold it and moved a little ways down Sunset Blvd to Hollywood) I trimmed my Aina curtains with basic black cotton twill tape ... I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a long time, but can you share your thoughts on curtain rods?

Where should they go, and how far out? I’m pretty sure I’m doing it wrong, because my windows look nothing like yours. You’ve probably heard me mention hanging curtain rods and panels higher and wider than the actual window frame in some of the mood boards I’ve posted.  ivory 3d flower hidden tab lined curtainsBut ‘high and wide’ is pretty vague. viceroy blackout curtainsAlexis’s question came at a good time – just as I was revamping the window treatments in our master bedroom.  net curtains yateLuckily, I remembered to take some pictures of the process.  glacier blue velvet drapes pottery barn

So, that pic above is from a post of yore.  {Don’t mind the green arrow.  It makes sense in the original post.  Oh, and never mind the half-naked boys either.} But I wanted to show you what our bedroom curtains looked like before.  the mentalist behind the red curtain cast listSee how the rods are only a few inches wider than the actual windows?  roc lon blackout drapery liner saleSee how the rods are hung just a few inches above the window?  bella luna faux silk blackout curtains reviewsSee how the curtain panels cover several inches of the windows?  All of those things make for so-so window treatments.  These were our bedroom window treatments for nearly 3 years until I took ’em down last week and patched the drywall holes in preparation for new curtain rods and panels.

If you don’t have any window treatments in place, good for you.  If you already have window treatments but they aren’t hung at an optimal height/width, no biggie.  You may have some unhanging, spackling, sanding and painting to do.  {That’s what I did.}  With a bare window begging to be dressed up, choose a rod that extends well beyond the frame of the window.  For example, my windows are 35″ wide.  I chose a new 79″ rod for each.  {It’s IKEA’s LUMMIG curtain rod set.}  That’s nearly 40″ of extra rod to play with!  {Sorry, that sounded a little X-rated.} Not only is the new curtain hardware much wider than the previous rod, I also positioned it several inches higher on the wall above the window.  Remember to leave enough wiggle room between the hangers and ceiling to slip the rod into place! …doesn’t that look better already?  If you’re wanting exact numbers, the rod is hung 12″ above the window and extends 21″ beyond either side of the window.

Onto choosing curtain panels. Measure the distance from the top of your hung curtain rod to the floor.  This will give you an estimate as to how long you need your drapes to be.  I like my curtains to touch my floors, so I add 2″ to that to get the final curtain length I’ll need.  For a pooling effect, add several inches to the length.  It’s always a good idea to buy panels longer than what you think you’ll need to account for shrinking. {Look for shrinkage estimates on the packaging.} We don’t want any high-water window treatments!  Which brings me to my next point…Always pre-wash curtains prior to hanging! It’s amazing how much they can shrink…up to half a foot sometimes in width/length.  I chose IKEA’s unbleached AINA panels.  They were originally 57″ wide and 98″ long.  After washing and line drying {I just hung them from the curtain rods to dry}, they measured 55″ wide and 94″ long.  When in doubt, buy longer.  You can always hem the panels.  

I lucked out and didn’t have to shorten mine at all. Once you’ve got your panels bought, washed and measured to the proper length, iron them.  I hate ironing as much as the next frat boy, but, believe me, wrinkled and/or disheveled curtains will only bring a room down.  Iron curtains for a clean, crisp look. Then, you can finally hang them.  I had the option of hanging mine from either a single rod pocket… I used the loops for a looser cascade. The edge of the curtain closer to the window should barely skim along the window frame to allow lots of natural light in.  An overlap of just a few inches is ideal for making the window feel as large as possible. Here’s one more up-close and personal shot demonstrating how high and wide the new curtains hang. Hanging curtains high and wide can give any room a lift.  Just remember these key points: *Install curtain hardware well beyond the window frame while still allowing enough room to place/remove the curtain rod.