Do you decorate your home with draperies or curtains? How do you choose the fabrics for your draperies? Do you follow a set of residential drapery rules or just go with your personal choice of colors and design? In the real world of interior design, there are rules to follow when designing draperies for your home.

Residential Drapery Rules:

1. Hang panels as high to the ceiling as possible.

2. Panels should come to about 1/2″ off the ground to hang properly. They should only “puddle” if there are no children or pets in the house.

3. Draperies should ALWAYS be lined, unless they are sheers.

4. Draperies, when opened to let light in, should stop 3″ from the window trim on the glass side. They should stack 12-24″ on the outside of the window trim.

5. Finished drapery width should be 2.5 times the closed width. Sheers should be 3 times the closed width. For example: A window is 48″ w, trim to trim. The total fabric width needed is 120″w, so that when they are closed, they still show the body and fullness.