How To Hang Curtain Rods
If you’ve struggled in the past on how to hang curtains, hopefully this post will help answer all your questions, as well as some tips on hanging your curtains perfectly every time
Heaven help me.
After agonizing over our shared girls’ room and finally making decisions on design choices for said shared girls’ room, it seems we have hit a snag at every single step of the way.
First, we had to change the crib we wanted because although the price hadn’t increased on it in 2 years, 3 days before I went to order it, it went up $80.
Then these curtains.
Oh these curtains.
Before I get too deep into the curtains, let me just actually help you with how to hang the rod. (That’s what she said?)
Easiest way to hang curtain rods step by step
- Wall anchors
- Hammer
- Screwdriver
- Curtain panels (These are the ones we got and LOVE)
- Curtain rod (This the curtain rod we chose)
Although we have DIY craftsman style trim in every room of our home, oddly enough, this room was the ONLY room we had plantation shutters and old trim left. So, for us first step was to remove that and add the proper trim.
Since studs are only on either side of the window, most curtains will be hung in drywall so if you’re wondering how to hang curtains in drywall, this post is for you!
What is the proper height to hang curtain rods?
Curtain length is going to depend on a couple things. Namely ceiling height and the look you’re going for.
In the photos above, on the left, you have these super cute floral blackout curtains from Pottery Barn Kids which, in this photo, look completely tailored. They barely kiss the ground which makes them look like they were made exactly for this window.
The middle photo of blush linen curtains from West Elm are the original ones I wanted. I just couldn’t force myself to pay that price. This photo showcases more of a chic, elegant look. Having the curtains drape a bit more on the floor doesn’t feel messy, but feels instead a bit more feminine.
The photo to the right shows what it looks like when your curtains are puddled. This creates drama and if you have tall ceilings, this can make them feel even taller.
Since the design plans for our shared girls’ room had bold, yet feminine accents, I wanted to go for the chic, feminine look which meant just kissing the floor a bit.
Where should curtain rods be placed?
Once you have determined the height at which you want your curtains to hang, you’ll need to measure the width of the window frame.
Find the center of your window. This will help you know where the center of your curtain rod should be.
Using your happy helper, hold the curtains up to the wall so you can see if the bottom of the curtains will have your desired look of tailored, chic, or dramatic.
Using a speed square, measure however many inches above your window you need to hang your curtain rod brackets.
The reason you want to use a speed square is so that it will be an exact right angle from the edge of your window trim.
How To Hang Curtain Rod Brackets
Use a pencil to mark the inside circles of your curtain rod where you will need to install your wall anchors.
I like my curtains to be hung as high as possible because we only have 8′ ceilings and so having the curtains go all the way to the top creates the illusion that you have higher ceilings because it draws your eyes up.
It’s weird how it works, but I promise it makes your room feel taller!
I forgot to mention the biggest tip of them all: When you first open your curtain rod and its hardware, do yourself a favor and throw away whatever anchors they give you.
Seriously.
They’re always garbage and the ones we use have never given us any problems and all of our curtains, including our super popular West Elm inspired curtain rods are hung with these specific wall anchors that we keep on hand.
They are great for smaller projects like this like curtain rods, but if you need wall anchors for more hefty projects like hanging a heavy mirror or shelves, we really like these more heavy duty wall anchors.
Using the screws that came with your curtain rod, attach your curtain rod brackets to the wall.
Based on the size of your curtain rod and how wide you want your window treatments will determine how far out you hang your brackets on the side of the window.
Another curtain hanging tip that we love – If you have curtains with tabs on the back or you’re using curtain rings, put one of your tabs or rings on the outside of your curtain rod bracket. This makes less of the rod show and allows the curtains to stay on the outside of the window when you close them.
You can see we did this exact same thing with the DIY blackout curtains in Josiah’s nursery.
We didn’t do this in our living room where we made our DIY West Elm inspired curtain rods because of the nature of said rods. The brackets didn’t allow for it in that instance, but it hasn’t been an issue.
The curtain rod we purchased extends up to 66″ so I wanted our curtains to be way wider than the window. This allows them to sit outside of the window frame so when you open them, they’ll open fully and when you close them, you won’t have to worry about them coming in too far and not covering your window.
Ta da! We are finally, finally making headway in this nursery. If only we could figure out a closet solution since Ikea is screwing the pooch hard on that one with allllll the things we need being out of stock.
33 weeks pregnant yesterday. Charlotte was born at 35 weeks and if history is trying to repeat itself at all, we have a lot to do in a couple of weeks. EEK!
