No questions asked, drapery with out a doubt MAKES a space.  It adds warmth, height, drama, texture…I can go on and on.  Of course, this is just my opinion, but I have yet to see a space without it that wouldn’t benefit from it.  Put it over the windows, between door casings, line the walls of a whole room; there are a million applications.

Here are a few do’s and don’ts we try to live by and a few pretties to check out.

The Lining:

Absolutely, always, without a doubt, either line and inner line or black out line drapery unless its a sheer.  A simple lining without the “insides” doesn’t quite cut it.  You do not want to see any light from the window through your drapey unless it is a sheer.  If you are going to pay the money to have drapery, do it right.  (No, Pottery Barn drapery does not come inner lined or with black out lining.  But there is no shame in buying them and taking them to you local seamstress and having her add the inner lining. )

The lining sounds like a minor detail…but it is actually pretty  major.  This is what you will see from the outside of your house when you look at your windows.  Unless you have a bright white exterior, you don’t want your lining to be white.  There are few things worse than seeing a dark painted house and you miss the beauty of the house because the white lining of the drapery in the windows is all you see.  Go with a cream, taupe, grey or even brown lining to keep it from stealing all the attention from your curb appeal.

Drapery hardware:

It makes all the difference in the world…  A major pet peeve of mine are expandable rods.  Not only does the rod sag, but it is virtually impossible to open or close a drapery panel with this type of rod.  Measure correctly and get a solid wooden or iron rod that fits exactly.

Where to hang your drapery:

Please don’t put your rod at the top of your window molding unless the window molding touches your ceiling.  Raise that thing up as high as you can get it. It adds height to your room.  A good rule of thumb if you don’t take the rod to the ceiling is to split the distance between the top of the casing and the crown and put the rod in the center.  Also, mount the brackets at least 6″ wider than your window (where possible) to make your windows look larger and to keep from blocking the daylight.

Pleats, rod pockets, grommets, etc.:

All are acceptable in the right application.  99% of the time we go for the pleated look.  It just looks tailored and finished.  Goblet pleats, euro pleats, pinch pleats…love them all.

Drapery returns:

Majorly important in the installation process.  Unless your husband hangs drapery for a living, hire out the installation to someone who knows how to hang drapery correctly.  Barrett can walk into a room and whisper to me, “uh, Steve obviously didn’t hang their drapery.  They didn’t get the return right.”  I’ve taught him a little too well.  Ha!  A return is the part of the drapery at the end of the rod that attaches to the wall.  It prevents the daylight from coming in through the outside of the drapery.  Generally your last drapery ring goes between the bracket and finial on your rod and then you pin the corner of the drapery to the wall right by the bracket to seal the deal.

To puddle or not to puddle:

I actually am okay with both looks.  In the right setting, a puddled drapery adds a little drama.  If you don’t sweep often or don’t have a gem of a housekeeper, you aren’t going to want to puddle your drapery.  Talk about a dust trap.  I prefer the drapery barely kissing the floor.

One last trick of the trade I all learned from our fabulous installer:

On the lead ring of the drape, twist the pin so you are pinning the drape to the ring almost backwards.  This keeps you from seeing the lining on the lead panel.

Hope this helped you out a little when designing drapery.  If you have any questions or want a little help, feel free to give us a call.  Hope y’all had a great Valentine’s Day!