Basics: You want your curtains to look like a professional put them up; thus get the right tools and techniques for the job. Get a tape measure and a drill for the holes to put the curtain hardware. Make sure you have enough curtain hooks. Plastic hooks will work well only with light curtains. Have a simple ladder so that your hands don’t tire as you hang the curtains. Domestic ladders are sold in most of our supermarkets. Iron the curtains before you hang them up — press or steam them so that no wrinkles are visible.
Gathers: Before hanging the curtains lay them down on a table or on the floor to ensure the gathers are right. You can adjust the gathers by tightening or loosening the curtain tape. In the process of adjusting the gathers, you may be left with some surplus cords at the edges of the curtains, Do not cut them; instead tie them into a knot as this will allow for future adjustments in case you use the curtains on a different window.
Visual illusions: To create the illusion of a taller window, hang your curtains 12 inches above the top. If the window is narrow, visually widen it by extending the curtains beyond the actual width of the window. This way, the curtains will look professional and expensive. If you have a curtain rod, extend it beyond the width of the window, at least three inches beyond each side. Many people err by installing the rod the exact width of the window. Apart from giving the illusion of a larger window, it also lets in more light since most of the glass is left open.
Underneath room: Always leave room underneath the curtains so that it is easy to mop the floor. A curtain should be at least half an inch above the floor; this way, it offers the illusion that the curtains touch the floor while leaving room for cleaning the floor.
Short curtains: You can always add a width of fabric to short curtains. Pick a solid colour of fabric for your patterned curtains; ensure however that it blends with the colours. You could also use a velvet or suede fabric to add interest to your cotton curtains.
Start from the middle: A lot of people say you should always start hanging curtains from the ends of the track or rod towards the middle. It is, however, convenient to start from the middle and work outwards towards the ends so that in case there are many curtain runners left pending, you can easily remove them. If you started from the ends, you may be forced to unhang the curtains to remove the runners.