Draperies 101

One of the best ways to enhance the look of a room is with the perfect set of curtains or drapes. If only you knew all the different types and styles available. Selecting the right curtains or drapes for the rooms in your home can be a daunting task. Here are some guidelines to help you make an informed decision. If you’re after a soft, flowing look for your room, look to Priscilla curtains. Sheer, semi-sheer or opaque, these ruffled side and bottom hem curtains can meet or crisscross in the center of your windows and are often accompanied by a ruffled valance. Many homeowners opt to tie Priscilla curtains back on the sides. Priscilla curtains are ideal in cottage style bedrooms, bed and breakfasts and country themed kitchens. For casual living rooms and bedrooms look to swags. Swags can be doubled with hanging curtains behind them in fabrics of matching or coordinated colors or patterns. Box or rectangular in shape, swags hang from the curtain rod about a foot or less and are an excellent way to accent a room that already has a focal point like a fireplace or built-in bookshelves. If you’re looking to add style and flair to your kitchen, turn to café curtains. These functional curtains generally cover the bottom half of a window and are easy to open or shut with loose fitting rings on decorative curtain rods. Or, if you’re in need of more privacy but still want to achieve an elegant look in your kitchen, opt for traverse and café curtains. With loose fitting café curtains on the bottom half of your windows and a full drape posted along each side, you have the option of opening or shutting the tabs or hardware on the sides to pull your curtains back or shut them whenever you choose. In formal living and dining rooms double-hung draperies add the drama these rooms demand. One way to decorate with double-hung draperies is by hanging a heavy drape as your underlying drapery to shut out the light with formal drapes on either side serving as more decorative features. Another way to decorate with double-hung draperies is to hang a sheer underlying drapery with panels on either side, allowing light to come through while slightly filtering it. The style just mentioned is sometimes defined as a double-hung traverse. For casual family rooms or sliding glass doors, turn to the two-way traverse. With a two-way traverse you can pull your drape set panels from either side to the center of the window. Two-way traverse draperies let you create a foundation for layering or provide your windows with a finished look.   Has a sliding glass door that opens on one side only have you feeling perplexed? Go for a one-way traverse drape that allows you to pull the curtain to one side to let the light in while keeping the other side open for entry and exit. Or, look to sliding panels that hang down straight from an overhead track. How about those triple windows? Consider draw curtains which give you all pull options that allow you to pull from either side or draw the curtains to the center of the windows. Add a valance to tie it all together. If your triple windows are large, add layers of valances that drape or overlap and remain stationary while your other curtains can move about freely. Finally, what about French doors? French door traverse drapes are the answer. Choose the kind that draw to one side or the ones that remain fixed on the door and drawn toward the middle for an hourglass look. For a light and airy look choose sheer fabric or color fabric if you want to carry color from one room into the next.