Why You Should Hang Curtains Higher

There’s no question that I stand firmly in the “Team Curtains” camp when it comes to dressing a room. I feel like a space is never truly complete until there are soft panels hung on either side of the windows (or above them if you choose to go with a Roman shade or something similar, of course). I think I’ve been pretty consistent with my use of curtains over the past couple of decades of owning and renting homes, but one thing I haven’t been consistent with is the height at which I hang them.

Today’s blog post is going to be all about how I’ve finally come around to the concept of hanging curtains as high as you can (sort of like how I’ve come to realize that you should always get the biggest rug possible for your room). In the past in order to save money, I tended to reach for shorter curtain panel options at the store. Now, though, I’m all for true “floor to ceiling” curtains, which generally clock in at 95 inches long if you have standard 8-foot ceilings.

Let’s take a look at our current living room as a first example (keep scrolling if you want more examples—I’ve got lots in today’s post!). When we first moved in, I tried to save time by buying curtains that fit the existing installed curtain rods left behind by the previous homeowners, which were hung at the lower 84-inch height. But I eventually decided that I could give the room a much more spacious look and feeling by taking the time to raise the rods and investing in longer 95-inch curtain panels. That before/after graphic above gives you a pretty good sense of just how much of a difference this swap made. The higher curtains make the room look many feet taller, and they give the space a sense of grandeur, too, in my opinion.

The curtains I ended up hanging last summer in the kitchen also go all the way up to the ceiling, and I love the effect. Our sunroom, which is just off the kitchen, was actually a late addition to our home—the previous homeowners closed in what used to be an exterior porch. This left the kitchen with a sort of awkward once-exterior window that now peers into the enclosed sunroom.

I hesitated to hang curtains on the window for quite a while since it’s sort of “fake” and I didn’t want to draw attention to it, but I finally bit the bullet and got curtains for the window, and it actually made the faux window look so much more intentional. Installing the curtain panels all the way up at crown moulding height also made the kitchen itself look taller and more elegant. I’m ultimately sorry that I waited so long to try curtains in our kitchen—they were a visual game-changer!

Here’s another before/after transformation if you need more convincing. Our primary bedroom in the new house also had existing installed curtain rods left behind by the previous homeowners that were hung 84 inches off the floor. Rather than taking the time to rehang the rods up higher, I went the easy route and bought new 84-inch curtains and called it done. Six months later, I realized my mistake. I ordered new rods to replace the dated ones, and bought longer curtain panels to go with them. Again, the longer, higher curtains make our bedroom look so much more luxurious. I love the hotel vibe we were able to achieve.

Of course, finally taking down the old wallpaper also hugely helped the space. That detailed post is coming soon, I promise!

Our guest room was the same situation. I tried to make do with the old low-hung curtains and rods we inherited from the previous homeowners, but ultimately replaced them with longer crisp white curtains to modernize the space. This change instantly updated the room and made it feel less squat.

I think it may be worth mentioning that photos don’t really do this concept justice. It’s really an “in person” feeling that you get when being in a room where you’ve raised the rods and hung taller curtains. I can’t really explain it other than to say that it feels like a breath of fresh air. Rooms that have true floor-to-ceiling curtains just feel so much more expansive. You may not be able to get that sense in photos, but trust me that it’s transformative in person.

The room above, our sunroom, is one of the last rooms to have the 84-inch curtains that I hung when we first moved in. Since the room is so big and required so many curtains, I just don’t have the budget right now to splurge on all new curtain panels. Someday I hope to revamp the room with floor-to-ceiling panels, but for now it remains looking a tiny bit truncated. Happily, the huge number of windows in this room make it look bigger than it is anyway, so it’s not really a rush type of situation.

I can’t deny that replacing your curtains is quite an investment. I am kicking myself for buying so many short curtain panels when we first moved in, but it’s just one of those lessons learned that I will take with me to each and every home that we own from now on (although I hope we don’t move again for a longgggg, long time). I was able to sell all of the old curtain panels and sheers through Facebook Marketplace, so they didn’t go completely to waste. Let me know in the comments how you hang your curtains. Have you tried installing them all the way up at the ceiling? I clearly couldn’t recommend this method more if you want to make your rooms look and feel nearly twice as tall.

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