Curtains and blinds can bring so much to a room. They can add colour, pattern, texture, and warmth as well as softening the hard edges of a window. But did you know they can also make your ceilings appear taller and your windows appear larger? Yes! Hung the right way curtains and blinds can visually trick the eye to really make the most of your space.
And hung the wrong way, your curtains can make your room look short and sad.
HERE’S HOW TO GET IT RIGHT
HANG YOUR CURTAINS AS HIGH AS YOU CAN
Hanging the pole or track as high as you can will help elongate the space. So your ceilings will appear higher and your walls taller. This is because you are drawing the eye up the wall so the brain sees the high pole and acknowledges that is the height of the room.
Hang your curtains just above the window and the brain will perceive that height to be the height of the room, so it’s being tricked into thinking the ceiling is lower than it is, not good.
Let’s have a look. Everything is identical in these images other than the curtain height. See how the pic on the right makes the room look taller and more elegant.
HANG YOUR CURTAINS AS WIDE AS YOU CAN
The same goes for the width. The wider the fabric sitting on either side of the window the wider it will look. Now, you may not always have much choice about the matter as things like furniture can get in the way, but if you do have a choice then go as wide as you can. The minimum overhang you want is a 15cm over each side of the window, but after that go as wide as you like!
HANG YOUR BLINDS OUTSIDE THE RECESS
So, when it comes to blinds the same rules apply (in most scenarios). You want the blind to be wider and higher than your window to make it feel as large as possible and to also allow as much light through the window. So hanging your blind outside the recess is often a good choice.
These images below are identical other than the blind, but how much bigger does the window look on the right? The blind sitting outside the recess makes such a (positive) difference. 
WHEN TO HANG YOUR BLINDS INSIDE THE RECESS
So there are some occasions where it can be the right choice to hang your blinds inside the recess. If you have really beautiful decorative moulding for example then you probably won’t want to cover this up, so hanging the blind inside the recess will make sure none of it’s covered up.
That’s it, short and sweet today. Because it’s as simple as that. If you’ve got the space go high and go wide.
And if you’re still not sure then you can always hire me! I offer my interior design and paint colour services across Southampton, Hampshire and Bournemouth so if you’re local get in touch here and let me know how I can help you.
Sarah x
