I wish I could show you the first house we ever lived in.
I didn’t write a blog back then so the only pictures I have of the house involve family. I didn’t really take pictures of the decorating.
But suffice it to say it looked NOTHING like this. I had a yellow couch with red roses and blue flowers and tomato red walls and a pink rug with an overall geometric design and blue and white plates on the wall.
It was such a tiny house and I didn’t really have a lot of money to decorate with so I shopped yard sales and painted everything in sight and became an expert at making things look like they were so much more than they ever intended to be.
Like my windows.
We had eight foot ceilings and tiny windows and I tried everything to make them look like pictures in all the decorating magazines I read and nothing really worked.
Until I discovered this tip.
It’s so simple really.
I’ve never really even talked about it here because I thought everyone hung their curtains like this until recently I was in the middle of a design consult and I suggested it and the client loved it and told me I was brilliant.
Which of course some days I am.
To make your windows appear larger, all you need to do is take advantage of the space over the window and hang them between six to eight inches above the space.
Here’s a close-up.
I didn’t hang the rod directly over the molding.
I let it breathe.
And just be elevating those curtains a simple six or eight inches can make all the difference in the look of your windows.
It makes them look fancy and all about themselves and a little like they are ready for the Academy Awards.
Here’s another angle.
Now what to do about the curtain rods?
The curtain rods can either be shortened like when you have a tricky situation like a bay window.
Here they just extend over the one window.
Or in this picture (and the first picture of the dining room) you can see I’ve added a long curtain rod across the top of the window.
I did this because the sun that comes in from the window can be a little overwhelming in the afternoon.
If you choose to hang a curtain rod like this, make sure you have a center bracket for support so your curtain rod doesn’t go all lame in the middle.
In the bedroom I used the same tip to hang the curtains, but a used a shortened stationary rod instead.
Here’s my DIY tutorial on how I made the curtain rods.
Total disclaimer: it says $5.00 curtain rods but that was several years ago, so I need to adjust the post to allow for a cost of living increase.
And I used the same curtain treatment in the living room, too.
See how hanging the curtains just a little bit higher makes such a difference.
It draws your eye upward and makes every window look just a little bit brighter.
The better to let all that sunshine in. 🙂
PS You can see how I added the molding above the windows here.
And now for some fun tips from some of my friends!
I’m so excited!!!!!!
You have to check out this ADORABLE no-sew table runner that my friend Yvonne made from my fabric line.
I love it and the fabric looks so pretty on her table.
And it’s no sew!
You can see the whole DIY here.
My friend Anita has some fun ideas on how to store utensils in your kitchen.
You can read all about it here.
And my friend Ann has posted fun tips and ideas on how to add a little farmhouse to your life.
You can read all about it here.
