Measuring

Style

Café Length Tiers


  • Cafés or tiers cover the lower half of a window.

  • All or part of the upper half may be covered by an additional tier or by a swag, valance, or shade.

  • Tiers work for casual areas such as kitchens, breakfast rooms or laundry rooms or for any room in a cottage style house or modern home with horizontal windows. They are a perfect solution for any recessed window.

  • They usually fall to just above the bottom sill.

Apron Length Tiers or Panels


  • Apron length curtains fall 2 to 3 inches below the bottom casing or apron of the or panels window.

  • Apron length curtains are slightly more formal than cafe curtains but less formal than longer lengths.

Floor Length


  • Floor curtains fall from just above the upper casing of the window to panelswithin 1 inch of the floor.

  • They work in both formal and informal areas.

Ceiling to Floor Length


  • Ceiling to floor length curtains fall from as close to the ceiling as possible to within one inch of the floor.

  • They can be very formal or quite dramatic.

  • They can also be used to disguise awkward window placements or to unify an area.
Tools
  • A retractable steel tape measure or folding ruler is preferable.

  • Avoid using a cloth measuring tape since a cloth tape may sag and produce an inaccurate measurement.

  • Be sure to have pencil and paper handy to jot down measurements; it's surprisingly easy to forget measurements.
Measuring Fullness
  • Measure inside the window casing.

  • Add 6" to the width to account for most window casings.

  • Multiply this number by 2 or 2.5 to obtain fullness.

  • Divide the fullness by the width of the curtain tier or panel that you've selected.

  • The answer will give you the number of tiers or panels needed for the window.

  • It's usually better to have a little extra fullness than not enough. Extra fullness usually produces a more elegant window; too little fullness may seem skimpy.
Measuring Length

Café Length


  • Measure the height of the window inside the window casing.

  • Most cafe curtains are 1/3 to 1/2 this measurement.

Apron Length


  • Measure the height of the window including the window casing

  • . Add 8" or more to this measurement.

Floor Length


  • Measure from 4" above the casing to 1" above the floor.

Ceiling to Floor Length


  • Measure from the ceiling to 1" above the floor.