Window Treatments: How To Layer Sheers and Drapes

For awhile now we have avoided overly dressed windows (reminiscent of the 80’s and 90’s) in favor of clean, tailored window treatments. A simple pair of drapery panels in simple or luxury fabric looks good in any room – but let’s take our windows a step further, shall we? I have been incorporating more dramatic, layered window treatments into my designs and own home. I am thinking more and more about how I want a room to feel rather than how it will look in a photo. And the romantic, flowing fabric from sheers moved by the breeze from an open window is a feeling that you can’t quite capture in a photo. Or, the height and drama of ceiling to floor drapes wrapped with a cornice gives you the feeling of being just a small part of experiencing a transformative space.

There isn’t an exact science to choosing the perfect window treatments for a room. But – they are an investment! So it is best to do a little research and thinking before deciding what will suit your space best. How do you want your space to feel? What kind of experience do you want others to have when spending time in your home? I fell in love with the layered look of lined drapery paired with light, airy sheers behind them. I really liked the softness they add to a space and the way they have a more broad application compared to working lined drapery (I rarely want all light blocked out of a room). Here’s how I am using them in our home.

our dining room

Our dining room is often anything but formal. It functions as a homework station, LEGO table, art table…you name it. But I really enjoy cooking good meals and sharing them with friends and family. I know more modern home designs have done away with the formal dining room – but I actually love a dedicated space just for eating and conversation. I don’t know that I will ever not want a space like this! Because I can’t have anything in here that is too precious, it was a perfect opportunity to install sheers and drapes to add some formality to the room. This room is east facing, so in the mornings we get a lot of direct sunlight. The sheers are perfect for pulling over the windows to diffuse the light while still allowing it to illuminate the room.

The window treatments I used in here are from TWOPAGES. I have the Liz linen drapery panels in ivory white paired with the Scandina sheer curtains. Both have pinch pleat headers. For headers, there is no hard fast rule about what is right or wrong; my only advice is that you do the same header pleat on both your sheers and drapes. Pinch pleat are the most common but I also really love a tailor pleat. The Liz linen panels have a privacy liner to give them a little extra body and weight.

For window treatment hardware, I found these double French return curtain rods on Amazon that I was really happy with. They are good quality and were easy to install. I paired them with these curtain rings. When it comes to window treatment hardware my go-to is usually iron or a black finish. I think it is hard to find brass hardware that looks true to the real thing without spending a lot for the real thing. Iron is timeless and works within all interior styles.

shop our dining room

our bedroom

In our bedroom I paired the drapes with more affordable sheers from H&M. I actually like the fabric of these H&M panels a little better – they are cotton and not polyester. The one downside is that they do not come with the option of pinch pleats. But these panels have tape on the headers for you to use pleat hooks so you can sew in the pinch pleats yourself!

H&M, Zara Home and IKEA are all great resources for affordable window treatments that can be tailored to look high-end. They come in extra long lengths that can be hemmed to exactly what you need, include pleating tape at the top, and can be easily stacked together for a fuller look (you can read my tutorial for DIY’ing IKEA pinch peat curtains here).