When you’re choosing your new curtains or having a professional make and fit them, there are a few things to consider before deciding on the length of your curtains.
Full length or sill length curtains?
I’m a firm believer that curtains should be hung as high as possible and always reach the floor, even if your window doesn’t. The higher the curtains are, the more luxurious your space feels and it can make the ceiling feel higher than it actually is.
Of course, if you have a window with a radiator below, or a piece of furniture blocking the area, you may have to compromise on this by having curtains that fall below the sill and just above the radiator. Often, I’ll suggest to a client that perhaps having a roman blind inside the window recess with a pair of full length dress curtains to frame the window is a better option.
Skimming the floor or puddling?
If you’re not familiar with the term ‘puddling’ or ‘pooling’, this just means that the curtains are overlong, usually by between around 5-10cm and fall in a ‘puddle’ on the floor. This works well if you have curtains that are dress curtains that don’t move or are a lightweight sheer fabric to give a very fluid, soft look to the room.
My general rule unless someone specifically requests otherwise is to have the curtains skim the floor by around 1cm. This keeps them long and generous but not collecting dust. Obviously a 1cm allowance is a small margin to work with and it pays to know how different fabrics react to atmospheric conditions. For example, natural fibres like cotton, linen or silk may stretch or shrink over time and if they are exposed to a lot of heat or damp.
