How To Hang Curtains Without Covering Trim (4 Techniques)
When you have wonderful trims around the window, it can feel like a waste of time and money to cover it up with curtains. If you’re not a fan of window blinds, it can feel like your options are limited with curtains that don’t cover the trim. But, there’s a technique to hanging curtains that do not cover the trim. So, in today’s article, I’m going to share some useful techniques on how to hang curtains without covering trim.
Trim is a composite or wood treatment that covers the window seams where it meets a wall. It works in the same manner as crown molding. Designers can choose to do both interior and exterior window trims, depending on the house and the needs of the owner.
It is a well known fact that interior window trim serves the purpose of insulating and enhancing the room’s visual appeal. In other words, the trim helps keep outside air out of the home by sealing the window in place and providing a border around the window for aesthetic reasons.
Also, some people concentrate on window trims to conceal any unsightly things left during window installations. As such, they will make the trims feature beautiful patterns that are eye-catching.
It defeats the purpose to have these trims installed only to cover them with curtains at all times.
Be that as it may, let’s take a look at some of the options at your disposal on how to hang a curtain without covering trim.
Table of Contents
The Best Ways To Hang Curtains Without Covering The Trim
1. Use inside-mounted shades, blinds, or shutter
If you have a beautiful, ornate wide trim on a window, it is understandable if you do not want to cover it with drapery. You can leave the beautiful molding on display by using inside mounts for your curtain.
Essentially, the curtain will hang within the frame of the window rather than extending throughout the wall.
You can do the inside mounts using brackets placed high inside the window’s frame. Install the mounts in a similar manner that the shower curtain rod mounts. However, you have to ensure that you only use light-filtering curtains or sheers, as heavy drapes will block the light and cover the view.
You can also go for a roll-up light–blocking shade to roll down for light control or occasional privacy.
In the event that you don’t have to use curtains, blinds and shutters are a wonderful option at your disposal.
Mounting shutters will require you to demonstrate a high degree of precision. As such, this is not a DIY project that you can carry out yourself.
You need to get an experienced shutter installer to get you the breathtaking views you want to achieve through shutters.
In my bedroom, I used to have this roll up blind or curtain that would cover the entire window and trim when closed. But, when rolled up, it would not cover the trim at all while allowing the maximum amount of light into my room.
So, if you want something that sits on the wall rather than inside the window frame that still appears like a curtain, then this would be an ideal option for you.
2. Use A Tension Rod
A tension rod is essentially an adjustable curtain rod that pushes against the walls. It can be mounted inside most window frames allowing you to install any custom size curtains while removing them with ease.
The main perk of a tension rod is being able to display the walls and window trim without any obstruction from the curtains.
This is because the tension rod is installed within the window frame and only covers the windows itself and not the trim.
3. Use A Longer Curtain Rod
When the curtains are drawn, you won’t be able to see the window trim. This is simply the case when you prefer to hang curtains high up on the wall.
However, the mistake some people make is that they don’t use a long enough curtain rod.
Why is this a mistake?
Well, when the curtains are drawn open on either side, they conceal and cover the trim on either side of the wall.
To simply fix this, make sure that the curtain rod extends far enough beyond each side of the window frame and trim so that when the curtains are pulled open, they do not cover the trim.
4. Use Two Curtains On One Rod
It may be tempting to use a single curtain and tie it down the centre when you want to let some light in.
But, the problem with this approach is that portions of the window trim will be covered at all times.
Instead, use a pair of curtains and draw them open on either side of the wall. This will provide more light into the room while displaying more of the window trim.
How Close To The Ceiling Should Curtain Rods Be?
There are no set rules on how high your curtain rods should go. However, the eye expects the curtains to be a few inches above the trim. Hanging the curtain too low leaves an awkwardly big space between the window and the ceiling, making the space look empty.
As such, your drapery doesn’t need to touch the ceiling. But they can go 2 to 3 inches below it.
Hanging your curtains on a rod that is mounted close to the ceiling helps stretch the room visually and gives an illusion of height.
The length of the rod should be longer than that of your window, such that once the curtains open, your window treatment can be seen, both at the bottom and top.
Moreover, highly mounted drapes ensure that the trim work does not look too busy or crowded.
Another great idea to use is a highly mounted drapery rod that leaves enough trim visible by covering the side trim pieces.
Higher curtains create the illusion of more space and larger walls whereas shorter curtains draw more attention to the actual size of the wall.
In a lot of settings, curtains hung high are considered more elegant and professional whereas curtains hung low are synonymous with a laid back and casual style.
Then there’s the issue of cleanliness.
When curtains are hung high enough that they don’t touch the floor, it is less likely that they will get dirty, damaged, or discoloured from the ground. So, for hygiene and maintenance, it is much more preferable that curtains should hang higher on the wall.
Final Thoughts
I’m pretty certain that if you follow the advice in this article, you should be able to hang curtains without covering trim.
It’s all about positioning the rod and curtain in a manner that doesn’t conceal the trim when opened.
And if that isn’t good enough for you, there’s a few other options like blinds and shutters that won’t conceal the window trim at all.
That brings us to the end of this article on how to hang curtains without covering trim. If you enjoyed it and found it helpful, then you definitely need to check out some of these other articles below.
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