Nashville Decorator Reveals Design Secret for Hanging Window Treatments

If you’ve ever had a Decorating Intervention with The Decorologist, you have probably heard my spiel about hanging curtain panels.  I spotted this great example of my window panel philosophy in Better Homes and Gardens the other day. 

Better Homes and Gardens

Hang ’em high, girls!  Close to the ceiling and 8-12 inches out either of the window frame, if possible.  This will not only allow you to let in more light into your room, but also makes your windows appear larger and grander.  Makes your ceilings appear higher, too.   One thing I would have done differently in this room would be to wrap that neutral wall color onto the ceiling to make the ceiling appear even higher – a great tip if you have no crown moulding in a room.

16 Comments

  1. Dee

    Hang ‘ em high and wide! Too cute!

    Reply
  2. Heidi Nyline

    Hi Kristie, Thanks for the great advice. Funny, the first thing I thought when I saw your photo was the ceiling colour was wrong.

    Reply
  3. Ann

    I am liking that roman shade hanging high too! OK, now I need to find some fabric to add to the hem of my panels ;^)

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      That’s a great way to make your existing panels work- adding a contrasting fabric to the hem.

      Reply
      • lisa a

        I love your site and info. I also agree with hang em high and wide. My question is: How do you determine how much contrast to add to the bottom? Some areas give a natural line ie: a bed skirt. In a bedroom your contrasting curtain panel fabric can mimic the height of the bed skirt. but in an open area what should the proportions be?

        Reply
  4. Jacqueline

    What a stunning window treatment. This photo arrived just in time, for another reason.

    I have a double pair of sheer curtains with double valances that I’ve dragged everywhere with me (they have French words on them, which I love – Waverly’s Pen Pal fabric). They do not work in my current residence (first time), since I have two small, short windows on two separate walls in the room where I’d like to use them, and no way to stretch the panels to make them look right. I had decided just to use the long 84″ panels on the one window, and use the valances on the other, pretending I had planned it. But I wasn’t sure. Now that I’ve seen this photo – with the smaller shade on the window closest to the bed – you’ve given me courage to try this!

    Now I can grab the same fabric to recover an existing straight chair in the room. Good times!

    Reply
  5. Barbara Bussey

    I just love beautiful draperies! They add so much to another room, besides just texture and layers. P.S.: I have seen your bedroom on two other blogs and goodness knows how many it’s on that I haven’t seen. Both gave you great credits!
    Cheers!,
    Barbara

    Reply
  6. Sheila Zeller

    Love this inspiration photo… everything about it! Those panels are fab!!! 🙂

    Reply
  7. Margaret

    Love your website!

     

    what would you recommend for a window with a Palladian window?   

     

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      oooh, that’s a great topic for a blogpost!  i’ll work on that, margaret!

      Reply
  8. Marilyn

    Hi! Can you still hang your curtains like this when you have blinds beneath that are hung on the window frame?

    Reply
  9. Laura P.

    Hi Kristie,
    I am searching your blog today to find tips on hanging curtains, and also validation that I’ve been doing it right, lol! I do hang my drapes high and wide, but have a question regarding sheers. We get very strong and at times too much light at certain times of the day, so I do like to hang sheers under the drapes. Most are very open weaves but they still help! Should I hand the sheers as high as the drapes, or just hang them at the window frame? I am putting the finishing touches on my new home and would be grateful for your advice! Thank you!

    Reply

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