Drapes vs Curtains: Find Out How Much Is Their Difference

Sunshine Drapery sliding glass doors window treatment

Custom Drapery Beautifies Your Home

When you choose custom drapery panels for your windows in your home, you are making a choice that gives you the most options in window treatments from which to choose. You can have the draperies of your dreams in your own home.

Drapes vs Curtains

Some people may use the words drapes and curtains interchangeably, although the two items are seen as very different things from each other. Curtains are window treatments that you would find in a big box store in a specific size, but custom drapery panels are items that you can choose every little detail in how they are made and what they will look like. Read on to find out how much difference there really is between drapes and curtains.

Fabulous Fabric Choices

When you choose pre-made curtains from a store or order them online to be shipped to you, you usually only have a very few types of fabric to choose from in any type of curtains. You should also note that if you aren't sure how to measure your windows properly, then your curtains won't look very good when you get them and hang them. Depending on how full you want your window treatments to look, you should usually opt for about double the width of your window for the fabric. When you choose custom drapery, a designer will take all of the measurements for you, and all of your window treatments are guaranteed to fit perfectly in every window of your home--they are even professionally installed for you to make certain they look their best. Customized draperies allow you to choose from literally thousands of fabrics in different weights, types, colors, patterns and more!! You don't have to just settle for whatever you may find that may look okay to you--you can choose anything you like from a flowing and lacy look in a sheer panel or you can choose luxurious heavier weight fabrics to add some drama to a room too. It's all up to you when you choose to have custom draperies and your designer can help you make all of these decisions to allow your unique style to show through in every room of your home. As an added value, custom drapery fabrics are much more durable to stand the test of time so you won't need to replace your draperies for quite a long time.

Classy Custom Headings and Drapery Rods

Most curtains will give you one or two choices of a heading, which is the manner in which they hang from the curtain rod. The most common is the pocket style where the curtain rod slides into a pocket at the top or a few inches below the top of the curtain. This style hides your curtain rod entirely, so most people use the most inexpensive type they can find to go with curtains. Every so often you may run across some ready-made curtains with tab tops or grommets. This type of heading allows the curtain rod to be seen at the top and an inexpensive type rod doesn't look very good in these cases. Custom drapery panels allow you to choose exactly how formal or informal you wish a space to be. You should always add window treatments to complement your decor style in each room. The pinch pleat and goblet headings in custom draperies are very formal and look grand in a formal dining room or living room. You also have several other choices in pleat styles for headings such as pencil pleats, box pleats and flat panels with pleated tops. You may instead decide you want tab top draperies for a more informal setting but add a highly decorative drapery rod with beautiful finals on the ends to add a bit of elegance.

Tons of Top Treatments

Choosing custom draperies allows you to customize all of your top treatments as well. Most curtains are just a curtain panel, but you may find a few that are available with a valance that is a short panel to hang at the top of the curtain. Custom draperies allow you every option imaginable in top treatments including all the styles such as ascot, blouson, butterfly, empire, fan, flounce, layered, petticoat, regent swag, scarf, tailored and more!! You may instead decide you want a beautiful scalloped cornice covered in a coordinating fabric at the top of your windows to hide the drapery rods and add a lovely classic feel to any space.

The Addition of Liners

If you absolutely love the look of a particular lacy fabric, but it would allow too much light and heat in your home in the summer, you can choose custom draperies and add a liner to the back of the fabric to control these items. You will still have the same appearance that you love, but you are choosing to add energy efficiency to your windows. Pre-made curtains that you order from a store or online don't give you this option; they simply are what they are.

Interior Designer Expertise

Custom draperies give you all the expertise of an interior designer that can make a HUGE difference in how your custom draperies appear in any space. If your windows are narrow, you can extend the drapery rods on each side of the window to make them appear wider. You can also hang drapery panels from above the window near the ceiling to make your windows appear much taller too. In doing this an interior designer will know how much wider or taller to hang the window treatments and how much more fabric is needed to achieve the look you want. Interior designers are also experts at layering your draperies for a beautiful design solution with the types of fabrics that meet all of your needs for controlling light and heat while looking the best in your space. When comparing drapes and curtains, you can definitely see that you have so many more options with custom draperies, from designer fabrics to create your own unique custom window treatments and the expertise of an interior designer to make certain that every detail is taken care of for you so you can have peace of mind and fabulous, long-lasting window treatments.