Should Window Curtains Touch The Floor

Curtains that just come down to touch the sill are appropriate for informal country style interiors.

Should window curtains touch the floor.

The short and easy answer is that your curtains your be floor length. But to maximize visual height let the walls determine your curtain s length. The answer isn t necessarily intuitive especially since most windows in a home don t extend all the way to the ground but more often than not curtains and drapes look best when they reach the floor. They should be long enough to just barely touch the floor but not so long that they drag on the floor or bunch up in a pile.

It is a common mistake to make your curtains so long that they make piles of curtain when opened fully. If the wall where the curtain is there is no obstacle for her to go to the floor she should go to the floor. In a living room library den or bedroom the longer the panels the better. How long should bedroom curtains be.

In formal or dressy rooms curtains should just touch the floor. They may be the only option if there s a window seat or banquette see above or in a kitchen where longer curtains would be a hazard next to a stove or get splashed near a sink. As a general decorating rule drapes should be long enough to touch the floor. The curtain too long impairs circulation and accumulates dust.

This option is similar in style to floor length but will require more care dust bunnies like to live in the folds of the billowing curtains. However there are certain situations in which you may want to use short curtains. Ideally the curtain should be on the sides and at the top at least 15cm. Although your final choice definitely depends on the particular style you d like to achieve floor length curtains provide the most classy modern look.

Never hang curtains of any length near a stove. Check twice to make sure you will not go wrong. A simple kiss to the ground like the curtains pictured above via amber interiors adds a touch of flair to this otherwise simple window treatment. Curtains to the sill or to the bottom of the window trim called the apron look great and are practical in a kitchen.

The amount of drapery material reaching the floor depends on the desired look of the curtains once they are hanging. The fabric should just touch the floor or hover half an inch above. Standard curtains typically hang from about a half inch from the floor to halfway between the window trim and average height ceiling. However just how low drapes should hang actually depends on a few factors and sometimes you may even want them to exceed floor length.

This is also a great approach for café curtains short panels that cover only the lower portion of a window and hit the sill which work well in spots like the kitchen and bathroom where long drapes aren t practical.