Your Guide to Choosing Drapery Hardware
Once you have decided to invest in custom draperies, it’s time to look at all the options available today for drapery hardware. Choosing the right curtain hardware is like finding the perfect jewelry for that little black dress. It can be simply subtle, or it can be very decorative.
Hardware options used to be fairly limited, but now, there are endless materials, finishes, and designs. You can even have curtain rods in a custom color or finish to match your draperies.
Many people overlook hardware or think of it later in the process, but it’s an essential part of your design! It is where the fine details come together to tell a story about your space and invoke powerful emotions and memories.
The first step to determining the types of hardware you want depends on your overall style preferences.
Will your hardware be traditional, contemporary, or somewhere in between?
Your favored interior design and window covering style informs your hardware selection. We could examine many different styles, but here are three of the most common today. You’ll begin to see how “style” defines the hardware palette while leaving plenty of room for creativity and customization.
Traditional homes often point us back to old-world opulence. A traditional home is formal and elegant and deserves delicate touches that give it a sense of history and story.
For draperies, pleats are often the go-to choice in a traditional home. Pleated draperies hang from rings on a round traverse rod with decorative finials that remind us of a grander time.
Wood and metal are the most common material since a traditional home refers to a romantic time before synthetic options. Warm metallics can add the perfect hint of glamour.
However, “Rules are meant to be Broken.” Therefore, we often mix traditional draperies with more modern hardware in acrylic or use a clean-looking Ripplefold track system. Many clients like the contrast between traditional and contemporary styles. Ultimately, you create the proper “fusion” of styles that suits you best!
Contemporary Design
Contemporary homes celebrate clean, modern lines and simplicity. They invite you into calming, open spaces and carry an air of sophistication and strength.
Contemporary draperies can hang from modern slim profile traverse systems that accommodate pleated or Ripplefold drapery styles. The draperies are attached to glides hidden inside a sleek track system, allowing the draperies to hang directly under the track without rings for a cleaner, more simplistic look.
Glamorous square Lucite (acrylic) hardware mixed with modern metal accessories make a statement with translucent poles and choices of metal brackets, rings, and end cap finishes from cooler Brushed Nickel to warmer Rose Gold.
In addition, Fascia panels that cover traversing tracks are available in a resin material, creating clean lines in the design while offering a burst of color and textures.
Modern Farmhouse styles send us back into a cozy, handcrafted past, where rustic warmth and artisan touches remind us of a time when the home was truly a much-needed refuge from a hard day’s work.
Hardware finishes in the modern farmhouse style are most popular in rustic and weathered finishes, adding warmth and coziness to a room.
Wrought iron hardware is prevalent in this style. It’s available in round and, for a unique look, square rods with rectangular rings. Finishes range from Chalk to Rusty, and metal is always a classic for a casual, inviting look.
What is the difference between buying rods off the shelf versus custom-made hardware?
It’s tempting to go to your local big box store and buy a “Ringed Pole Set” of hardware for your window and try to install it yourself. That set usually has an expandable rod that will fit various window sizes. It may also come with brackets and rings.
But be aware…
That expandable rod will drive you crazy once you start to pull rings over that joint where the two parts of the rod meet.
The rings will catch and not allow you to draw your draperies smoothly. The brackets are usually made of lighter-weight materials, and if you hang draperies with any substantial weight, they will soon start bending. They won’t hold the draperies off the floor and will drag unevenly in an unsightly mess.
Also, you will be installing them yourself. It may look easy until you find out that there is no stud to drill into, and placing a supporting anchor bolt into your drywall must be in the right place the first time, or you will end up patching many holes in your wall.
It’s also difficult to gauge the proper height for your curtain rod. Your draperies may end up as “Highwater length” and hang way too high. Conversely, they may end up too long, dragging on the floor.
“Longevity is sustainability”. Invest in quality hardware the first time and have a professional install it with your new custom drapes. That way, you can avoid constant frustration and protect the beautiful image you want to create!
We can order seamless tracks up to 16’ wide in one piece, which allows for an easy, smooth draw across a large span, even if it is a one-way draw. A professional window covering installer knows what proper anchors to use and will get it right the first time. They are also licensed, bonded, and insured when they come to work in your home.
Explore the latest drapery hardware trends!
Traditional styles now come in more fun finishes and finial choices.
Don’t be afraid to mix wood and metal! Wood poles with metal rings allow for a unique look and can keep the stack back minimal, as metal rings can be narrower while still being strong enough to hold the weight of the drapes. Wood plus metal is an aesthetic and practical win!
Tied-back draperies are making a big comeback!
Draperies can be tied back in many ways:
With tie-backs made from the same fabric as the draperies.
In metal or wood, either a post-style or metal horseshoe style in a finish to match or complement the rod.
Italian stringing is another method of tying back draperies without a visible tie-back. Instead, cords are placed strategically and attached to hidden hardware behind the drapery panels.
Motorization brings elegance and convenience into your home.
Drapery hardware has gotten smarter and integrates well with the latest home automation technology. For example, you can control your window coverings with a handheld remote, a smart device, or even a simple voice command.
Motorized Drapery hardware options can be as simple as a small, white track mounted to the ceiling, which blends into the background as the draperies hang from glides underneath the track.
Decorative motorized rods with fascia panels in many great finishes come with rings or without for a cleaner look. We can even make them curved to fit into a bay or bow window!
Today’s smaller motors hide behind drapery panels for a seamless look. Hiding them this way makes the effect of automated drapery seem even more magical and impressive to guests.
New finish options are always coming out, creating exciting new possibilities for your design. Some of the latest, most popular options include chalk, heirloom copper and graphite, rose gold, charcoal zinc, matte black, and gold tones from shiny to matte.
Find the Perfect Hardware for Your Dream Custom Window Treatment Design
Finding the perfect hardware is like when a bride finds her wedding dress. It just works. It is perfect for the moment and the people involved; most importantly, the completed design brings joy to your home.
Your options are endless. Hardware options are as robust as they’ve ever been, and while that’s a blessing, it’s also a curse for many homeowners, leaving them overwhelmed by the options.
Meanwhile, finding a design to emulate on Pinterest or Instagram is only a starting place. It’s a great way to find inspiration, but in the end, you deserve a design that speaks your language and truly speaks from your heart, not someone else’s.
That’s the magic of working with a custom window fashion designer. Someone helps you define your style and make confident, joyful decisions for your design. Together, you have the wedding dress moment and the ah-ha revelations which say, “THIS is exactly what I was looking for.”
Beyond that, a custom designer takes on all the painstaking, time-consuming, detailed work of bringing a design to life. You enjoy the fun parts and then live in a home transformed by beautiful colors and elegant hardware.
Click here to get an estimate for your next project. There’s nothing we love more than helping you find the perfect window treatment hardware that makes you feel more at home than ever before.