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Here you find a large selection of Drapes, Curtains & Window Accessories.
Types of curtains and drapes
Putting up new drapes or curtains in your home is a great way to give a room a new feel, new mood or simply spice things up a little bit. They have the ability to make the room feel completely renovated, without the high cost of new construction.
You will of course need to still stay within your budget, but you will also need to evaluate your particular situation and decide which curtains will be the best for you. For example, if you don't like to wake up with sun, you may want to consider dark colored drapes for your bedroom. Or if you want to save a little energy without allowing everyone to see inside your living room, you should try a sheer or light colored drape. These will allow light through, but will be very difficult to see through.
Rich or dark colors along with a higher end fabric tend to make a room feel prestigious or elegant. These types of drapes often come with built increases or folds to give them an even classier look. You will want to make sure you adequate lighting in a room that will be using this type however, only because very little sunlight will be making it through the window. Lighter fabrics and colors will make a room feel much more relaxed and calm.
You can always go with several different types of drapes on one window as well. Layering drapes is a great way to give your window a little bit more depth or a more eye-catching look. Placing dark and light colors together will give the room a little added texture, while hanging similar colors will offer a blending and toning effect among the colors in the room. You can even buy drapes that are really long and allow them to pool naturally on the ground. This look is more modern, but still offers a classic and elegant feel to a room.
Drapes: Drapes don't have to replace blinds by any stretch. In fact you can create a very good look by placing drapes over shades or shutters.
If you want a basic or standard look you will want to turn to pleated drapes. These are the types that everyone knows. They have many small hooks gripping the curtain and use a pull cord on one end to open and close the drapes.
Another type of drape you can consider when trying to keep things simple is a rod pocket drape. These drapes will merely have a sleeve at the top that you can slide the hanging rod into. It allows for a very basic look for your room, but normally needs an extra hook or attachment if you want the curtains open.
Tab-top drapes are going to be pretty similar to the rod pocket drapes, the only difference is, rather then a long sleeve along the top, they will simply have several flat loops. These will work the same way but tend to have a more elegant and modern look and feel to them.
If you want a softer feel for your room, but like the idea of the tab-top drapes, you should consider tie-top drapes. These will work almost exactly like tab-top, but the loops are actually tied around the loops, rings or directly to the rod. Again they will offer the same type of drape as the tab-top, but will be a soft feel since the loops are broken up by the knots, rather than all of the harsh, straight edges of the tab-top.
A more classy type of drape, and a way to show of the entire drape, is the ring-top drapes. These will have rings the drape will either be clipped to or hung on in some other way and will open and close without a pull string. This allows the drape to hang lower to the ground and offer a wide variety of rings to fit your style and taste.
A fairly new type of drape around today is the grommet drape. This type of drape also passes the rod through rings, but these rings are generally mounted straight onto the drape itself. The rod will also alternate coming from the back and the front of the drape through the ring, causing natural and permanent pleats in the drape.
Insulated thermal drapes will give your drapes a dual purpose. They will not only be improving the look of your room, but they will also be holding more heat or cool air in the room. They also tend to block out more sunlight, so can be used in places you want to stay dark when the sun comes up.
Sheer curtains: These types of curtains will keep light coming into the room, but keep outsiders from seeing in. Sheer curtains are normally hung with several folds and pleats in them, giving them a very elegant look. They also come in several different colors, but remember when you are buying them, because light will be coming through if you get a color other than white or tan, the entire room will be that color when the sun is shining through. You will also want to buy sheer curtains two or three times wider than your window to give it enough pleats to look appealing.
Normally the sheer curtains are going to have the rod pocket style of hanging, but will have two sleeves. You will want to use the lower one, the upper one will fall over the rod giving it a more elegant look. This look can be accentuated, especially in small girls' rooms, by buying curtains with lace or embroidery on that top sleeve. Sheer curtains can also be found in tab-top versions for a more adult and modern look. You can normally find each type in several different sizes and colors.
Window scarves: This little accent piece can be used to frame your window, especially if you already have a sheer curtains hung. They give the window a little bit more color and generally a more bold color. They will simply be hung over the rod and allowed to fall on either side of the window. And they can be the same material as your curtain, or a completely different texture.
Valances: Valances are generally used to hide you curtain rod. They can be found in style similar to a window scarf, but normally are a more boxy shape and are mounted over the curtain rod. Often times they will be covered in a material similar to the curtains themselves. You can even use a valance when you have no drapes or curtains on the window. This will provide a splash of color, while maintaining a very simple look in your room.
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