Whether you call it drapes or curtains- it really doesn't matter. It always depends on who you are going to talk to. Most homeowners call the fabric hanging on their windows "curtains" while professionals in the home building industry call it "drapes".
When selecting drapes for your living room, you must first identify the function you would want to have.
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For example, they could be used as the focal point of your window decoration or treatment. Remember that they are more ornate, in comparison to curtains. Thus they naturally have more elaborate designs and different fabric texture that demonstrate their primary purpose - decoration. However, your options of them should not only focus on their capacity to contribute to the decoration in the living room.
They could also provide purposes other than to ornate. Say, they could help manipulate the light that enters the living room, keep the warmth or coldness inside it or increase the room's privacy. Selecting the wrong fabric, however, could affect the over-all appearance of them while failing to provide several necessary functions.
Another criterion for selecting them is the type of fabric you are most comfortable working with. Apart from your personal taste, the fabric selection also depends on whether you want them to stand out from the rest of the living room or to blend with the rest of the room as well as the location of the windows. Fabrics are available in an array of types but not all fabrics could be used as drapes. So be discriminative in choosing.
In the selection of them, it is also crucial that you know the length and the width of the window to which they will be used. As a rule of thumb, you must first obtain the measurements of the windows. Then compare this with the length of them you are planning to install. For example, full length drapes should have the length and width that would cover the entire area of the window, from the top edge of the window and perhaps touching the floor. Apron drapes, however, would only require a modest allowance to the fabric to give it a dramatic flow.
Once you are done with the selection of the type of them, the fabric and the exact functions you want them to achieve, you should be able to hang them properly to the windows. Otherwise, the drape treatment would not be effective and may as well ruin the appearance of the entire living room.
How To Select Living Room Drapes
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