This Is The Biggest Decor Mistake Everyone Makes (But It’s Easy To Fix!)

It took me a while to get around to watching the new Queer Eye series on Netflix when it first came out a couple of years ago. But several members of the OGT Team kept pestering me to watch it, and now I’m very glad they did, because I ended up loving it! Not only is it uplifting and full of positive messages, but you can also pick up some great tips and tricks from the Fab Five throughout!

And speaking of which, the Fab Five’s resident design guru Bobby Berk shared a great decor tip in one episode that addresses one of the most common decor mistakes that people make! And when I say “decor mistakes,” I’m not talking about questionable color schemes or peculiar wall art—I’m talking about small decor choices that can end up having a negative effect on the overall look of a room.

These sorts of mistakes are so easy to make, because you may not even know what the issue is in the first place! And the decor mistake I want to talk about today fits that description perfectly.

The Problem

So what is this common decor faux pas? It’s when people hang their curtains right at the top of a window frame. As Bobby says, “Putting the curtains right at the top of your window makes your window look smaller and your ceiling look shorter.”

It’s all about the visual effect your curtains are creating, and no one wants their room to scream small windows and short ceilings, right? Of course not! So what’s the right way to hang your curtains?

The Solution

The good news is that this “mistake” is very easy to fix! In terms of your curtain rod placement, you just need to think up and out. Bobby says, “If you hang your curtain rod six inches to a foot above your window, it actually makes your ceiling seem taller and your windows feel bigger.”

Aren’t these Before & After photos AMAZING?! Simply raising the curtain rod and extending it out to the sides a little bit completely transforms the space! Say goodbye to dark and cramped, and hello to light and airy!

Troubleshooting Tips

It’s relatively easy to change the placement of your curtain rod, but you may run into an issue with curtain length. If your curtains are the perfect length now, they may end up being too short once you raise your curtain rod. But there are a few easy ways to get around that issue.

The first solution would be to buy a longer set of curtains. Curtains typically come in a few different lengths, so choose the next longer length than your current curtains.

You can either let the extra length “pool” on the floor (like the curtains in photo at the beginning of this section), or you can hem them to the correct length. (Don’t have a sewing machine? Use a fusible bonding material to “hem” the curtains using just your clothes iron!)

If your curtains are just one or two inches too short after repositioning your curtain rod, try adding curtain clips to the tops of your curtains! The clips will give your curtains the couple extra inches they need, and they’ll hang at just the right length without any other alterations.

I hope you find these curtain tips as useful as I did! It’s amazing how much of a difference such a small detail can make. 🙂

What’s your best home decor tip?