How High to Hang Curtains. 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.
Stiff fabrics, such as cotton and linen, or any kind of lined panels, won't flow gracefully onto the floor. If you the puddling effect, buy these drapes from a store or online at the 96-inch length but mount the rod between 84 and 90 inches high to give you extra fabric to play with at the floor level.
The proper position is ½ inch above the floor for free hanging curtains. This distance allows for mopping and cleaning while creating the illusion that the curtain touches the floor.
Either way, curtain panels look best when hanging higher up—making the ceiling appear taller. Keep in mind that for the curtain panels themselves, they should be two to two-and-a-half times the width of the window in larger spaces, and one to one-and-a-half times the width of the window in smaller ones.
No matter what the ceiling height, the minimum distance from the top of the window casing to the curtain rod is two inches. To create the illusion of height, mount the drapery rods close to the ceiling. This is particularly important to do if the room has low ceilings. Use these same rules when the windows are arched.
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.
For a 9 foot ceiling, pick 96-inch curtains. Typically, your curtain rod is hung about a foot from the ceiling. 96 inches covers the distance between the floor up to one foot from the ceiling.
The top of most of our windows are 8ft, and we used 108″ panels almost everywhere. So we hung our curtain rod about 13 inches above the windows. The higher the curtain rod, the taller your window will appear. I recommend to always install a rod closer to the ceiling than the top of the window.
While fashion once dictated a “flood level” bottom line for curtains—one that hung just past the window sill, short enough that it would not get wet in a flood—today, style calls for curtains to either hang down to within ½-inch of the floor or even puddle slightly.
General Installation Recommendations. When installing curtain rods, hang the rod so that it extends at least 3 or 4 inches beyond the window on each side. This allows your curtains to overlap both the window and the wall to prevent light from leaking in around the window's edges.
In this case if you hang a curtain too high it could look a little off, especially if there is a lot of bright light coming through showing where the actual window is. In that case you should hang them about 8 inches or less above the window frame.
Curtains for an 8-foot ceiling are typically 84 inches long. This allows you to hang curtains that begin about one foot below the ceiling and reach the floor.
Use longer screws or nails
The best way to do this is to install the brackets with longer screws or longer nails. The extra length helps distribute the weight of the curtains further into the plasterboard, making it the joint sturdier than the screws used in traditional window installation.
Measure on each side of your window to ensure that the window hardware is straight. Use a pencil to make a small mark on the wall on each side of the window, at the correct height. You will want to hang the drapery high enough so it covers the top of the window by at least a few inches if possible.
The answer to this question is important because it can affect the way we do our decorations. Yes, curtains should be long enough to touch the floor. With a few exceptions, the longer the curtains are the more stylish and elegant it will look. This is why most standard ready-made curtains are lengthy.
Measure the width of the rod from left to right. A common rule for displaying curtains properly says the curtains finished width should be at least 2 times the width of your window (if not more - sheers can be 3 times the window width) to achieve a look of proper fullness.
If you are interested in a curtain with grommet tops, there will usually be an inch and half of fabric above the top of the grommet. Therefore, an 84 inch length curtain with grommet tops will have an actual hanging height of around 82.5 inches.
The height of your home's ceilings often determines the length of your curtain panels, as builders usually install taller windows in homes with higher ceilings. Ready-made curtains generally come in standard lengths: 84 inches for 8-foot ceilings, 96 inches for 9-foot ceilings and 108 inches for 10-foot ceilings.
That means that it really doesn't matter whether you have a ceiling that is 10 feet high or 8 feet high. In most cases, the curtain should be about a foot lower than the ceiling and somewhere between 4 to 6 inches above the window frame unless the window frames are too close to the ceiling.
"Extending your draperies from floor to ceiling and from wall to wall surrounding your window makes them appear bigger," explains Francesco Bilotto.
Hanging your curtains at ceiling level maximizes the light that shines through your window and it makes the room feel larger because the walls look taller. This works well in a small space, but may not be ideal in a room that is already too large.
Each bracket should be placed at the height you previously determined and about four to six inches from the side of the window frame. (This will allow you to open the curtains completely.) Check to make sure your pencil marks are level otherwise the entire window treatment will be crooked.
As you're ordering curtain panels, measure your window. You typically want curtains that are pleated down from fabric that is 2 1/2 times the width of your window.
Heavy Weight Curtains:
Heavy weight curtains tend to be made from heavier fabrics such as velvets, silks, damask or chenilles and tend to cover very wide or tall windows. They will be lined or blackout lined and will often have an interlining.
Well, you do NOT need a stud to hang a curtain rod, but you will need a special type of wall anchor to hold the weight. There are two different types I like to use: a drywall anchor or toggle bolts. Because my exterior walls are plaster (similar to drywall) with brick behind, I am going to use the drywall anchor screw.