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.
It depends on factors such as window length, but more often than not, curtains look best when touching the floor. However, how low you want your curtains to hang will determine what you want to achieve. In reality, different decorating styles employ varying curtain lengths.
Standard curtains typically hang from about a half-inch from the floor to halfway between the window trim and average-height ceiling. But to maximize visual height, let the walls determine your curtain's length; in a living room, library, den or bedroom, the longer the panels, the better.
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.
If you have the space between the top of your window frame and the ceiling or crown molding, though, you should hang the rod over the window. I like to go 3 to 5 inches down from the ceiling. Doing this visually extends the length of your wall, making your ceiling look higher.
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.
When hanging curtains, it is important that the curtains are the right length. Curtains that are too short make the room look short, stubby and awkward. The cut the length of the wall, making both the window and the room look smaller. An example of curtains that are way too short!
Interior designers note the bottom of your curtains should fall to the floor, and you can even let them “puddle” a bit. However, if you don't want your curtains to drag on the floor when you open and close them, let them stop about an inch from the floor, but no more.
Above the sill
As the sill is always visible, it's important that the gap between the curtain and the sill remains uniform at every point, so if you've an older property with an uneven window sill, this curtain drop would not be suitable.
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.
The two are related; generally, longer curtains require more fullness to look balanced. For floor curtain lengths, a good rule of thumb is to take the width of your window and double it, or multiply for 1.5 for a more tailored look.
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.
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.
As a general rule of thumb, curtain width should be two to two-and-a-half times the width of the window. Curtains are typically sold as pairs, but you may need to double up depending on the size of your window.
Wall-mounted rods are usually installed four inches above the window. To find your ideal placement, measure down from the ceiling to the top of the trim at the left corner of your window; mark the midway point.
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.
Place the curtain panels on top of one another, right sides together. Then pin the vertical edges you unpicked together. If your fabric is quite thick you may opt to clip the two panels together instead. If you're working with patterned panels check that the pattern matches before and after pinning.
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.
Short curtains are typically only used when long curtains are unrealistic (such as when a radiator, the bed headboard, or some other object would interfere with the curtains). In addition, long curtains provide a better aesthetic and can make the room appear bigger, especially when hung higher than the window frame.
One idea is to use a floor-length curtain to make short windows look taller. Hang them on stylish curtain rods installed at least 5 inches above the window frame. If your window is both short and wide, a medium-weight fabric is a better choice.