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Curtain Panels

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Good Curtain Panels are an investment in your home. Curtains should serve to enhance the physical proportion of your window and blend with the decor of the room. Despite changes to curtain design over the years, two points continue to hold true that curtain panels be appropriate to the room and curtain panels should be well made.

Curtain Panels serve three basic functions:

- Privacy - if people can look into your window from the outside then the curtains should be functional

- Light filtering - different rooms require differing degrees of light control. Blackout lining may be desirable in children's bedrooms while a more layered approach may be wanted for the living area.

- Decor - curtain can provide warmth to a decor, enhance or hide architectural details like making odd windows match.

Considerations for the room:

These days the architectural style of the house does not necessarily dictate the style of curtains for example traditional homes can have modern styles. Focus instead on the physical features of the room and each room's individual decor.

Tall, narrow window treatments that stretch floor to ceiling can lend a room height.

Deep set windows, bay windows may be better served with window shades and decorative, side curtain panels.

Patio Doors may require wider curtains that need space for a one way draw with a tight stack back.

Features of the Curtain Panel

Lining - Lining protects your curtains from sun damage and provides extra room darkening. Back in the 1970's all curtains were lined. Today many curtains are available with or without lining. If you do not have lining, consider adding extra fabric to your panels so your curtains still have a full look and are no

Header Style depends on the function of the curtain panel, the fabric and the pattern. The rule of thumb is to use the simplest headers wherever possible. For example: Gathered rod pocket headings are definitely the simplest header and lend a casual styles but may not be appropriate for large repeat patterns.

Fabric - today's fabric choices are overwhelming with natural fabrics to high quality manufafactured materials in solids or any pattern under the sun. The best advice on fabrics is to purchase a sample and view it along side your current decor. It is amazing how the "perfect" color in the store changes dramatically on the wall under direct sun from your picture window. In general, modern manufactured fabrics like polyester and rayon will be less expensive than linen or silks. Plain or solid fabrics while more versatile may not pack the visual wallop of a good embroidery or fancy jacquard weave. Take care with bold large patterns as they may look fantastic but can be visually overwhelming.

Remember at the end of the day, your family will have to look at your curtains every day so be sure that your curtain panels fit your style! If you have a question, give us a call and at the very least we can get you started in the right direction!