For some strange reason, I had lots of questions about window treatments Friday night. I normally wouldn’t think this was unusual for a Friday night, but it WAS the 4th of July. Don’t you think that is a little weird? Aren’t most people at parks, picnics, the beach or the lake? Well, actually I wasn’t either.

I was part of the weird crew. No one home at my house but me.  The Engineer drove to Illinois to see his parents.  I had to take my son Sam to the airport to fly off to India to help with a documentary for Rice Bowl.  Did I mention he’s only seventeen?  Yes, I’m a little stressed for the next 10 days while he is “following his dream” in Bangalore.  And my daughter, Hannah, is working in Hilton Head this summer.  In retrospect, I should have driven there.

So, anyway, as I’m sitting here lonely and feeling sorry for myself, suddenly everyone is interested in window treatments and had lots of questions:  how to measure, what looks best for different window types, what fabrics to use? Well its now Sunday, and since I still am alone today, I decided to write a post answering some of these pressing questions that were so critical and in demand, they had to be asked on a day usually reserved for sparklers.

So here goes…….I decided to address the 3 most popular treatments I am currently doing and tips for measuring and installing each one.

1.  Drapery Panels

This is probably the most popular treatment I do.  They can enhance a room dramatically as they  involve lots of fabric to create instant impact.  There are some key points and tips to consider when measuring, etc.

So for measuring:

1.  Measure  width from about an inch beyond one side of frame to other side.

2.  Measure at least 5″ or more above the top of the frame to the floor.

3.  Check out below several panels I’ve hung in my own home.  We have 10 foot ceilings.

Place drapery rods up as high as possible

Hanging drapery panels up to the crown molding elongates my keeping room

Roman Shades and Cafe Style curtains:

Roman Shade Measurement Worksheet

1.  If you are unsure if you want an inside or outside mount, please check out our post on roman shades to help you make that decision.

2.  For inside mounted roman shades, measure width from inside the window frame.  Then measure the length from of the inside frame to the apron(or sill).

3.  For outside mounted roman shades, measure width from outside(or edge) of the window frame.  The measure from the above the window where you will hang them, to the bottom sill.  Again, if it works, I try to hang outside mounts above the window to create an illusion of a longer window.  At a minimum you must hang high enough to clear the mechanism as you can see below:

Mount brackets high enough to clear any hardware.
The Engineer was awfully close here!

4.  For cafe style curtains, measure width  1 ”  from outside edge to outside edge of frame, then measure length from middle of panel to the bottom.

Here are some more examples from our homes and clients’ homes:

Jeanne’s cafe curtains in her laundry room

Proper measure for inside mounted roman shades provides seamless installations

Osborne and Little outside mounted shades were used for a client’s office.

Well, hopefully I addressed some of your questions!  If you are suddenly inspired and have no more picnics or barbecues to attend, check out more ideas at our Etsy Shop.

As for me, I’m heading to the pool:)

hogs and kisses,

recreateyour