"Place smaller or low-profile furniture pieces near or under the window so the eye is tricked by scale," says Bilotto. Use fabric with patterns. "Fabrics with vertical patterns will add height to your windows and draw your eye upward," says Stewart.
You may have heard this designer trick: Hang draperies a foot or two above the window to instantly make them look taller. Did you know that you can get the same effect with shutters? Add decorative trim around shutters and your ceilings and windows will instantly look taller.
Window Trim: Add additional window trim around the outside of the window. There are different varieties from large and ornate to more simple and square. This is an easy fix that will give the appearance of larger windows.
If your window is both short and wide, a medium-weight fabric is a better choice. It's also a good idea to choose pleated curtain styles for dressing up these windows. They'll help create a frame on both sides of the window and make it appear narrower.
Hanging long drapes on a short window is one of the easiest ways to increase the importance of the window and bring it into proportion to the room. Short drapes on a short window call attention to the size of the window and reduce the significance of the room, window and drapery style.
Small windows above larger windows or doors are called transom windows. In some older homes, the windows will be operational. These windows were used to help air flow through rooms in hot climates. Today, most transom windows are used to bring in additional light and to add to the visual height of a room.
Since dark colors tend to make spaces look smaller, light-colored curtains will help make windows look larger. You can also look for curtains with patterns to either make windows look taller or wider. Use curtains with horizontal patterns to widen a window and ones with horizontal patterns to make them look longer.
Available in several sizes and able to be cut and finished like other wood products, preservative-treated wood trim is the ideal choice to help complete any exterior application.
Windows Will Make a Small Room Look Bigger
Letting in natural light is great when creating the illusion of a bigger room. Using big, beautiful picture windows, bow windows, bay windows or architectural windows are perfect for creating that spacious feeling.
Extend a Windowsill
Select plywood the same thickness as sill; cut it as wide as sill and 12 inches deep. Attach bottom of shelf to bottom of sill with 3 hinges: 1 at the center, the others near the sides. Cut 2 right triangles from wood thin enough to lie flat beneath folded shelf; trim tips.
Hang the Curtains as High as Possible
In order to make your window and the whole wall seem higher, put the curtain rod as high above the window as possible. Attaching the rail close to the ceiling tricks the eye into believing the wall is bigger. Thus, it visually expands the whole room.
Minimum Window Sill Heights
The 2018 IRC continues to require the bottom of openings created by operable windows to be a minimum height of 24 inches above the adjacent interior floor when they are more than 6 feet above the grade outside the window.
By hanging curtains from the highest point of the wall that fall all the way down to the floor, you create a soft and subtle guide for the eye to follow, encouraging you to take in all of the space you have therefore giving the illusion of a larger room.
A bay window is the combination of three or more windows that angle out beyond the exterior wall. Our Certified Master Installers can expertly install bay windows in four projection angles up to a 90 degree box bay.
Whether your home is traditional or modern, both casement and double-hung windows can fit together in your home's style. Many homeowners put double-hung windows in the front for curb appeal and casement windows in the back to maximize natural light and control air flow.
Short Curtains
Visually speaking, high-water style is not the most appealing way to hang curtains. The shorter length can appear dated. Also, it can cut the visual height of your room in half. From a purely practical standpoint, however, short curtains are sometimes the best option.
The material should barely touch the floor or hover half an inch above. Use this approach for café curtains, too, short panels covering only the lower portion of a window, hitting the sill, which works well in kitchens and bathrooms, where long drapes or curtains aren't practical.
Tiebacks slightly shorten curtains. This is why they don't work well with short bedroom curtains. Since shorter curtains form a small bundle when compacted, they look less appealing with the use of tiebacks. So, if you want to pull off short bedroom curtains, push them to the side instead of tying them.