Dos and Don’ts for Curtain Positioning

Do not place the curtain rod directly on the window frame. This makes your ceiling appear lower because it draws the eye downwards.

Curtains are one of the most useful ways to complete a room. They can soften the look of a room, make it look like the ceiling is higher, create a focal point, and make a wall look wider. But if they aren’t put in correctly, they can do the opposite. We’ll always tell you to do what you want, but there are a few curtain rules we think you should follow.

Don’t use a narrow rod because when your curtains are pulled back, they will cover the entire window.

Put the rod 8–12 inches wider than the window frame so that when the curtains are open, they cover just the edge of the window frame. This lets more light into the room, makes the window look bigger, and keeps your curtains from squishing to the side.

Get long curtains instead of short ones.

Use curtains that go all the way to the ground. Your curtains should be about 1/2 inch above the floor, touch the floor, or hang down low enough to make a puddle. For 8-foot ceilings, we recommend standard 96-inch curtains, which you can then adjust up and down or hem up at the bottom if you need to.

Don’t put a panel on one side of the window and not the other.

Use panels on both sides of the window if there is room (even on narrow windows). This gives the room symmetry and a sense of balance.

Optional: Don’t have just two panels per window.

For a fuller look, put four panels in each window. This also makes the window and wall look bigger.