You don’t have to take a Formal Course to Learn Curtain Design
Before you read any further, basics in learning curtain design. Many department stores and specialty stores have professionals who are very willing to share their knowledge with you. If you are planning to go into interior design it would be very beneficial to take a structured course, but for the person just wanting to decorate their own home or special room, basic knowledge goes a long way (and it’s free!).
For the novice learning about window treatment ideas and curtain design, getting to know the terminology helps a great deal. One type of design can be used in bedrooms as well as living rooms and dining rooms. This is the style of window treatment that has one panel on either side of the window and they are joined across the top by a valance. A valance can be made out of the same fabric as the panels or it can be a heavier material in a coordinating color and pattern. It is rare to see a valance made from a lighter weight fabric than the panels. If this is the style you want, you are much safer going with a heavier fabric that compliments the side panels.
If you do go with this style, the curtains can be installed where they pull together in the middle for privacy, or if you have blinds in place, they can remain open and to the side.
Another simple addition for the novice learning curtain design is the pole top curtain. This is a curtain that has a placket for threading a rod through several inches below the actual top of the curtain. The placket can be as thin as an inch or a deep as several inches. Whichever width you use, once the entire curtain is gathered, you will have a decorative ripple effect on the top of the rod. A professional decorator will get up on a stool or small ladder and make sure that all the gathers are spread evenly so there are no gaps and the look is esthetically pleasing. When you use this style, it is decorative enough that you do not need a valence or swag.
One of the more popular styles in learning curtain design are the pre-pleated curtains. Big tucks have been taken at the top of the curtain and it looks like three pleats have been stitched together. You can attach pleated curtains to traverse rods or on stationary rods by using loops and/or clips. If you use the traverse rod, a cord will open and close the curtain. If you hang them by clips or loops, you will manually open and close them. One of the benefits of the pre-pleated curtains is that they generally look fuller than one plain panel.
If you are learning curtain design, one of the new-comers in the market place is the tab-top curtain and it is just as described. Envision one large window panel in a natural linen fabric (although they come in every fabric, texture and color under the sun). You have a flat panel and at the top are tabs made in the same material. You will thread your curtain rod through the tabs and there is no need for pins, hooks, clips or loops. This is a more casual style of curtain. Where you can get fancy and creative is the type of rod you choose to use because the rod shows through the area where there are no tabs.
Similar to the tab top there are the grommet top curtains. Although you may have seen them first in shower curtains, in learning curtain design you will discover that decorators are now using this style for every room in the house. This type of curtain does not have open areas between tabs but has grommets spaced evenly at the top of the curtain. You weave the curtain rod in an out of the grommets. Again, you can add style and pizazz by the type of rod and finials you choose.
For kitchens you have café curtains, tiered café curtains, half-window café curtains with a valence across the top plus many more choices. There are ruffled crisscross curtains for little girl’s rooms calls “Priscillas.” Then you have more choices in pleated curtains such as the French pleat.
You do not have to know all the names when you are learning curtain design. You just need to know the look you like and the colors you want. Because there are so many styles, fabrics, patterns, textures and colors, there are no right or wrong choices. It is all a matter of personal taste.
Interested in taking your love of fabrics and curtains further? Only watch if you are ready for change!
