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You can call it drape or curtain, its doesn't matter what ever you call it. When selecting drapes for your living room- or curtains, if you like- you must first identify the function you would want to have.
For example, living room drapes could be used as the focal point of your window decoration or treatment. Remember that drapes are more ornate, in comparison to curtains. Thus they naturally have more elaborate designs and different fabric texture that demonstrate their primary purpose- decoration. However, your options of living room drapes should not only focus on their capacity to contribute to the decoration in the living room.
Living room drapes could also provide purposes other than to ornate. Say, drapes could help manipulate the light that enters the living room, keep the warmth or coldness inside it or increase the room’s privacy. Selecting the wrong fabric, however, could affect the over-all appearance of the drapes while failing to provide several necessary functions.
Another criterion for selecting the living room drapes is the type of fabric you are most comfortable working with. Apart from your personal taste, the fabric selection also depends on whether you want the drapes to stand out from the rest of the living room or to blend with the rest of the room as well as the location of the windows. Fabrics are available in an array of types but not all fabrics could be used as drapes. So be discriminative in choosing.
First with the fabric. Common types of fabrics used as drapes are cotton, silk, velvet, rayon and brocade. Each of these types has their own advantages and disadvantages. In relation to the practicability of use, silk drapes do not do well when hung in a particular window in the living room that receives direct sunlight as this could reduce the lifespan of the silk drapes due to sun damage. Cotton drapes, for example, tend to shrink a lot and could wrinkle easily. And as for brocade drapes which are perfect for formal and dressy living rooms, they tend to darken the room by decreasing the intensity of natural light from entering. Also, take note of the weight of the fabric. Most fabrics used as living room drapes are made from heavy materials that would make the draping more effective.
In the selection of the living room drapes, it is also crucial that you know the length and the width of the window to which the drapes will be used. As a rule of thumb, you must first obtain the measurements of the windows. Then compare this with the length of the drapes you are planning to install. For example, full length drapes should have the length and width that would cover the entire area of the window, from the top edge of the window and perhaps touching the floor. Apron drapes, however, would only require a modest allowance to the fabric to give it a dramatic flow.
Once you are done with the selection of the type of drapes, the fabric and the exact functions you want the drapes to achieve, you should be able to hang the drapes properly to the windows. Otherwise, the living room drape treatment would not be effective and may as well ruin the appearance of the entire living room.
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