With thousands of fabric patterns, intricate trim, layering, pooling, hardware, and more, custom drapery design is a complex art and science. But at Strickland’s Home, we have your windows covered. Our designers have decades of experience and will happily help you discover the perfect fabric window treatments for your personal aesthetic and style. Here, we share a round-up of some of the best-kept secrets from the industry’s leading interior designers and decorators to help inspire your next draperies project.

Designers Share Their Best-Kept Secrets for Drapery Design

1. Lengthen your windows with expertly-hung custom curtains.
For draperies like those you see in shelter magazines, knowing exactly how and where to hang them is essential. A piece of advice from Gideon Mendelson, the founder of New York-based interior design firm Mendelson Group, Inc.: “Try to hang curtain rods as close to the ceiling as possible. This draws the eye up and helps emphasize verticality.” Not only does this create an illusion of taller windows, but it also allows the maximum amount of natural light into your space, he tells Dering Hall.

2. Carefully consider curtain length.
While well-placed curtain rods can make all the difference, too-short curtains (like many off-the-rack options) “do exactly what pants that are too short do”: they cut off your window treatment design, making the room feel short, stubby, and awkward, says interior designer Emily Henderson. The fix? Consider these three classic lengths: The slight float, with curtains less than an inch above the floor, allows them to hang entirely straight for a crisp and clean look. Another option? The kiss: Curtains just barely touch the floor. “This is my favorite as it looks the most custom and intentional, but it is the hardest to accomplish,” notes Henderson. And lastly, there’s the puddle: “This is the best for you romantics out there, or for those looking for a more feminine, old world, European feel,” she says. If you’re splurging on high-quality fabrics, like washed linen or velvet, puddling can be used to further emphasize your draperies’ beautiful texture, she notes.

drapery design puddle

3. Choose colors inspired by nature.
Designer Sash Bikoff tells Elle Decor nature-inspired, soft palettes can complete a room and its drapery design: “If you revert back to nature and see how all those colors work together organically, you can easily apply them to a space as well,” she says. Consider allowing a painting to inspire your entire room’s color scheme and design, from Monet’s impressionist-style gardens to local painters’ seascapes.

drapery design

4. Don’t forget about function.
While drapery design often starts with your vision for the room, considerations like light and heat control as well as layering with other window treatments will help you choose draperies that best suit your lifestyle and needs. “Think about how often you plan to open and close your drapes,” suggest the Novogratz family, a husband-wife interior design team. “Are you someone who does it daily? Do you want sheers so that you always have sunlight but also have privacy?” At Strickland’s Home, our designers will ask all of the right questions to make sure your drapes cover all of the bases for function and style.

Discovering Your Custom Drapery Design
Whether you turn to classic interiors by Dorothy Draper or posts on Instagram for inspiration, our designers will help you channel your style into beautiful custom drapery designs. To get started, contact us for a free on-site consultation or visit our draperies fabric showroom to learn more about our design process.