For those who are looking for the perfect curtains that they can use for their homes, it takes more than just the design of the curtains to choose the right ones.
In fact, you also have to look at the height of your ceiling to know whether or not you are getting the right curtains for your home. The reason is that the height of the ceiling determines the length of your curtains.
That said, if you have a ceiling that is 8 feet high, how long should curtains be?
A ceiling that is 8 feet high should have curtains that are 84 inches long or 7 feet long. The general rule to follow is that your curtains should be about a foot shorter than the height of the ceiling so that your curtains won’t end up touching the floor when hung, except for certain exceptions.
It might sound like it’s hard work to choose the right curtains for your home, but it really isn’t.
The key here is to make sure that you are familiarizing yourself with the rules that you need to follow whenever you are choosing the right curtains for your home.
One rule you need to follow is in relation to how long the curtains should be, depending on the height of your ceiling.
That said, let’s look at what you need to know about curtains if you have a ceiling that is 8 feet high.
How do you determine the size of a curtain?
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When you are shopping for curtains for your home, you are making an excellent choice because of how curtains are so useful for a lot of different things.
They keep your home protected from peering eyes while also keeping sunlight out of your home. Curtains are also great for keeping the house warm during the colder seasons.
Of course, curtains add a bit of beauty to your home’s interior when you choose the right curtains that fit the entire motif of your house.
This all means that you have to choose the perfect curtains for your home. However, the design of the curtain isn’t the only factor that matters when you are shopping for curtains.
That’s because you have to look at the most important determinant for the size of the curtains you are choosing.
Knowing the right size of the curtains you should buy is very important because curtains are sold in standard sizes depending on certain standard measurements.
That means that curtains are not sold and then cut depending on how long you want them to be. Instead, go to the curtain store and then tell them the size you want, based on the standard sizes available.
Of course, you need to make sure that you know the right size of the curtains that actually fit your home. It is essential that you know the determinant that actually dictates how long your curtains should be.
And what you should know is that the height of your ceiling ultimately dictates the length of your curtains.
The reason the height of the ceiling dictates the length of your curtains, even though curtains are usually measured from the floor up, is that you don’t want your curtains to be all over the floor (except for puddled curtains) or too close to the ceiling when you install them.
That means that you have to get the right size so that your curtains are neither all over the floor nor too close to the ceiling.
When you are choosing your next curtains, it is best that you actually know how high your ceiling is because you are supposed to base the length of the curtains on the height of your ceiling.
This will allow you to purchase curtains that fit the exact dimensions of the room where you want your curtains to be installed.
How long should curtains be for an 8-foot ceiling?
Since you already know that curtain lengths are determined by the height of your ceiling and not by any other factor, you might wonder how long your curtains should be if your ceiling is 8 feet high.
After all, plenty of houses that are made to be compact actually have ceilings that are 8 feet high only.
So, when you are looking for curtains that fit your 8-foot high ceiling, the key here is to base the length of the curtains on the height of the ceiling itself. In most cases, the general rule is to make sure that the curtains are about a foot shorter than the height of the ceiling.
That means that you should get curtains that are 7 feet long or about 84 inches long so that you will have a foot between your curtains and the ceiling once the curtains have been installed.
This will also ensure that you will have enough space between your curtains and the window frame.
We have mentioned that when you are installing curtains, you start from the floor and not from the ceiling. That means that you make sure that you install them from the floor to where the curtains should be about a foot away from the ceiling.
For those who have ceilings that are 8 feet high, make sure that you keep a 7-footer curtain about a foot away from the ceiling once installed from the floor all the way up.
Make sure that there is about half a foot between the curtains and the window frame unless the window frame is too close to the ceiling.
However, an exception to this rule can be found in different curtains, such as puddled curtains or hanging curtains. When you want to use puddled curtains, your curtains should be draped all over the floor.
That means that you can use curtains that are quite long and are at least as long as the height of your ceiling, which is 96 inches.
Meanwhile, for those who want hanging curtains, you can also use curtains that are longer than 84 inches because hanging curtains usually stay closer to the ceiling than usual types of curtains.
How far from the ceiling should your curtain be hung?
When you are hanging your curtains, you are not basing them on the ceiling but on the floor. This is a general rule that you need to follow regardless of how high your ceiling is and how long your curtains are.
And, regardless of how high your ceiling is, the general rule holds up such that it applies to ceilings that are 10 or 9 feet high.
When you are hanging your curtains, normally, they should be about 6 inches above the window frame. You can go lower such that the difference between the curtains and the window frame is only 4 inches, but you shouldn’t go any lower than that.
Meanwhile, the curtain should be about a foot away from the ceiling.
Going any lower than four inches will give your room a shrinking effect. That means that it will make your room and your windows a lot smaller than they actually are.
It is essential that you give enough space between your curtains and the window frame so that your room won’t look smaller than it is.
You can also use hanging curtains, which are usually placed higher up the window frame to make the windows look bigger than they actually are.
How tall should windows be for an 8-foot ceiling?
In most cases today, ceilings that are 8 feet high are usually the standard. That means that the window sizes that come with ceilings that are 8 feet high are usually the standard as well. But how tall should these windows be?
There is no such thing as standard window size, regardless of how high your ceiling may be.
However, the general rule that should be followed is that there should be at least 10 inches of space between the ceiling and the window frame.
If you have anything less than that, it’s going to make the entire room look awkward because of how the windows look big compared to the entire room itself.
However, in most cases, make sure that you put at least more than a foot between the ceiling and the windows so that there will be enough room for the curtains.
If your windows are only 10 inches away from your ceiling, you are going to have to install curtains that are located too close to both the windows and the ceiling. This will make the entire room look smaller than it actually is.
Is it fine if you have really short curtains?
So, now that you know the standards that are usually followed for curtains regarding a ceiling that is 8 feet high, you might wonder if you could still use short curtains that are too far away from the floor and are actually not as long as the 7-foot curtains that 8-feet ceilings should have.
That said, there really is nothing wrong with curtains that are shorter so long as they are not too short.
The 7-foot limit is regarding how long the curtains should be at their maximum except in certain circumstances where the curtains should be longer.
Meanwhile, you can go under 7 feet if you don’t want the curtains to touch the floor.
That’s because there is a hygiene issue for curtains that are too close to the floor, such as when you want the curtains to be installed in the kitchen or in the bathroom.
It is perfectly fine to have curtains that are shorter than 7 feet if you want them to hang far from the floor.
