With all of the pieces that go into creating a well-designed room (furniture, flooring, wall art, decor, lighting, and the list goes on) drapery can seem like a minor detail. However, purchasing the right drapery for your space can open it up, tie decor together, and add a refined, finished feel like few other elements can.
While it’s always an option to purchase ready-made curtains in a store, investing in custom drapery can make even a room furnished on a budget look expensive and polished. Here’s why.
It’s lined. When it comes to window treatments, the details truly make all the difference. Unlike most curtains bought in stores, custom drapery will come lined with your choice of backing. This adds functionality to your drapery, but just as importantly, it preserves the look of the fabric in two key ways: by preventing the interior side of the fabric from fading, and by making the curtains opaque, which prevents the color from warping in the sunlight (something you know well if you’ve ever seen red drapes look orange in the noon sun).
It will be the right size. There’s a good chance you need a lot more fabric to cover your windows than you think, and a drapery workroom can make sure your curtains are custom-fit to the size of your windows. A prime example: Interior designer will tell you that hanging curtains six to ten inches above the top of the frame and the same distance from each vertical edge will make your windows and room instantly look larger. If your ceilings are the standard eight feet tall, that means that standard 84” curtains available in stores are actually too short, but size up to 96” and your curtains will be too long. Width is also an important factor: Whether or not you plan to use your drapes for function, they should be wide enough to cover the entire window without stretching taut, a look that can be hard to achieve if you’re trying to cover a wide window with store-bought drapery.
You’ll have a designer’s perspective. Last but not least, purchasing custom drapery comes with the guidance of an expert who can point you in the right direction, style-wise, for your home. A professional window treatment company will also have access to a library fabrics and textiles that are available to-the-trade only. They’ll be able to show you a much larger selection fabrics that are complimentary to your space than you’ll find at your local mass market retailer.
The bottom line? Choosing something bespoke to your home will give it a polished, expensive designer look even if you did the rest of the decorating yourself.
