Measuring Windows & Window Treatments

Video Transcript

"I'm William Perkinson, and we're here to talk about measuring windows and window treatments. First window treatment I want to talk about measuring for are curtains. There's a couple different ways to measure for curtains. One would be, typically, just covering the window from the top of the window to the window sill. Standard is 6 inches above the window, and 2 to 3 inches below the window sill. So it just covers, really, the opening. And the other way to do that would be to hang it all the way to the floor. Now, if you're going to hang it from 6 inches above to the floor, we have, let me measure, and I'll show you that total here, that would make about 88 inches to the floor. Now, you don't want it to puddle too much on the floor unless you're going for a very dramatic effect, but you want it just to rub the top of the carpet with a little bit of extra. You don't want it to look too short off the carpet, because then it looks like you sent 'em to the cleaners and they shrunk 'em. But, basically, 6 inches above the top of the window to the floor. Now, a general rule is you make each panel twice the width of the window. So it looks good and full, you didn't look like you were skimping on materials. How far away from the side of the window, here, to place the upper bracket to hold the rod? I'll just tell you that if you stay within 4 inches from the edge of the window, you'll be in solid wood, because of construction. There's two 2X4s, plus a half inch of sheet rock. So you'll be in solid wood. You can anchor it, it won't fall down, it'll be sturdy on both sides. So, solid wood on...here and here. And the rod will be sturdy. Another window treatment are blinds. This window has plantation blinds in it. It's called an 'inside mount', where it's mounted inside the cut-out for the window. This is a very precise measurement. You'll take this, you'll measure it exactly. For this window it's exactly 35 inches. So you'd take that to your hardware store or your online window treatment site, give them that exact measurement. They will do the math and take off how much they need for the hardware at the top, which is a little less. But let somebody who knows how to order those for you help you. And then you'll get this blind, which is a good fit all the way around. And that's for an inside mount. An outside mount, you'd do the exact same thing, except we're going to mount 'em on top. So, we'd take our measuring stick, and we'd take it about 2 inches over on both sides. So instead of 35 inches, we're going to end up with more like, 38 or 38 and 1/2. We'll take our brackets, mount 'em on the outside. This sits out in front of the window. It's a different look. You may or may not like it. It's just a style preference. But, those are some basics on measuring windows and window treatments. I'm William Perkinson."