Therefore, hang your curtain rod as close to the ceiling as possible – preferably 2 inches below the ceiling molding – and opt for ceiling-to-floor length curtains. This will make your windows appear taller, as long curtains that extend the window frame will make it look like a unified whole.
Making Your Room Look Larger or Smaller with Curtains
High-hanging curtains with long vertical stripes create the illusion of height, which is excellent for low ceilings. However, short curtains and horizontal stripes shorten your wall height and make the room appear smaller.
Picture your bedroom, and give your window wine-colored curtains. Think about how little light makes it through the deep red and notice the way your eye is distracted by the window. Now picture white curtains for your room. The space opens up immediately because it's getting more light.
Hang Them High
Sleek, floor-length panels draw the eye upward along the entire length of the curtains, creating an illusion of height. Hang curtains about 4 inches above a window frame in rooms with ceiling moldings and up to 6 inches in rooms without moldings.
How wide should curtains be? To ensure that curtain panels look ample when closed, they should have a combined width that is 2 to 2.5 times the width of the window/rod. That means if you are ordering Grommet style or Rod-pocket style, the total drapery width should be at least 2 times the window/rod widths.
Big floral patterns make a room appear larger. Install wallpaper with horizontal stripes to make a room seem wider, or commit to vertical stripes to stretch the room visually and raise the ceiling. A busy pattern featuring chevrons, simple geometric designs, or a texture that mimics marble can make a room seem bigger.
To do it, you cut the toilet paper rolls to about three inches in length. Next, remove your curtains from the rod. As you rethread them on the rod, insert a toilet paper roll between every other opening. Rehang your curtains, and they'll look both pleated and fuller.
If you want to make your living room look bigger, stick to lighter colors that reflect more light and make the space feel more open. Neutrals, like off-white, beige, or light grays, are a great way to add a level of sophistication and calm.
A rule of thumb (from Architectural Digest) is that curtains should be hung between four to six inches above the window frame, so install your curtain rod accordingly. When you hang the curtain rod high, it will make the window appear taller.
Your best move is to hang curtains within 8 inches of the top of the window frame. For very tall windows, which are popular in many modern homes, that means placing the rod as close to the ceiling as possible—in fact, you might want to install rods designed to actually hang from the ceiling.
"Extending your draperies from floor to ceiling and from wall to wall surrounding your window makes them appear bigger," explains Francesco Bilotto.
As a general rule, drapes will be open during the day, so make sure the curtain rod extends at least four inches on each side of the window's inside frame. To create the illusion of a wider window, extend the rod up to 10 inches beyond the window's frame.
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.
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You can use empty toilet rolls as curtain spacers, so the pleats hang evenly at regular intervals instead of some being bunched up and others spread out. And it turns out this trick is easy to do without having to take your curtains down. So don't just chuck out the cardboard tubes.
Soto follows what she calls the cantaloupe rule: "Decorative accents that are smaller than a cantaloupe cramp a room." Opt for a single, statement-making piece instead. Photo by iStockphoto. Media Platforms Design Team.
Murals are a great way to make a wall appear larger and make it appear as if there is more 'going on' in a space than there really is. The best types of murals to use in this instance are 3D wall murals as they are great for creating depth.
Patterns often feel more special than solid colors in a small space. SC: That it usually makes the space look bigger, especially a large repeat wallpaper.
Example: If your window measures 36" wide (window width x 2 = 72"), you need curtains that will give a minimum width of 72" or 2 panels for that window. In this case 2 panels will give about 100" to 120" of width which will look nice and full. Always round up to the next full number.
You can close a troublesome gap between curtains and walls by installing a wrap around curtain rod and hanging curtains that are longer and wider than the window they cover. You can attach the sides of your curtains to the walls adjacent to a window using tape, pins, or Velcro strips.
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.