A guide for mounting curtains and blinds

After thousands of completed jobs for clients, I can give you a few things to think about before you order your blinds and curtains and have them installed. For starters, what is the overall mission that you want to accomplish? is it for minimal light control or a complete black out? is it for room aesthetic’s? If so, are you hoping to enlarge your room through height, cover up ugly window frames or a faux accent wall? Will they be open majority of the time or closed? Are they going to be used as insulation or a sound barrier? Or are they strictly for privacy. These are some common reasons that clients what to install curtains and i’ll go over some considerations to these questions so you can be in the know before you make that big purchase.

Light control: If you are aiming to primarily control sunlight, consider a double curtain rod mounting set up. These allow you to have a lighter sheer curtain in the back and a thicker curtain in the front; by utilizing the two, you can achieve much greater light control especially when paired with vertical blinds.

Complete Black Out: Some clients are hoping to completely darken their space, either due to a sleep disorder, just to sleep better, or sometimes it’s just for the look. When ordering your curtains or blinds you’ll want to specify blackout in the search term. Blackout blinds usually come with add on hardware to ensure the sides top and bottom are adequately covered to block out all light. When ordering a curtain rod, be sure to look for a curved blackout curtain rod that allows the curtains to return to the wall. Additionally, as it relates to curtains, you’ll want to seek a variety long enough to cover from floor to ceiling to prevent any residual light from escaping. You may also find additional hardware to purchase to keep the curtains tight together as well as to the wall.

Using curtains for the aesthetics: When using curtains for aesthetics, think about what it is you are trying to achieve. Are you going for minimalist or something traditional, are you looking for elegance or just home decor to make your home feel complete? Here’s some tips: If you are looking for a minimalist/modern design think of clean lines, very little visible hardware and generally as tall as possible. Consider going with a ceiling mounted track with curtains that extend the entire distance, if you want to add a little flare try the electric remote controlled versions. If you are going for something more traditional, try something like a neutral color rod with decorative finials on the end and curtains extend roughly 16-24” from the windows bottom. For a more elegant look, i’d suggest going with a double rod, sheer in the back, thicker pinch/pleated material in the front extending from just above the windows top to 1” above the floor, with 4-6” additional width on the sides to facilitate the curtains being tied and stacked on the sides to allow light to fully penetrate through the entire opening.

Using curtains to enlarge a room: one way to make small spaces feel larger, is to take advantage of whatever wall height real estate you have available by using larger artwork and sculptures as well as large doors and curtains. To utilize this method, go with a floor to ceiling curtain and the rod of your choice but try keeping the area as narrow as possible, this will help to accentuate the height thus making the space feel wide and expansive; neutral tone curtains work best for this.

Faux accent wall/insulation/sound barrier: To create a faux accent wall, go for a ceiling mounted curtain track or atleast a rod capable of being mounted close to the ceiling that also extends from wall to wall. Aim to use curtain rings to make the curtains easier to move if using a rod (if regular movement is desired), and go for a decorative print on the curtains like a geometric pattern with colors that stand out in your room and extend from floor to ceiling.  Now for insulation and sound barrier, I suggest only going with a ceiling mounted track and floor to ceiling curtains since this will allow the least amount of uncovered space for air or sound to penetrate. Aim for a thick heavy curtain, and if you can splurge for a double track, add a second layer as well. These are my recommendations for the latter questions, they are a barometer to get you started on the right path. It’s is important to note that your home speaks to you and of you, it is your sanctuary, and it is incumbent upon you to extract the value from it so feel free to tweak my ideas where necessary to personalize your space for you. Only at MBS