The Top Drapery Hardware Mistakes to Avoid

Drapery hardware can make or break a successful window treatment. It’s essential to understand their limitations and the pros and cons when it comes to choosing the best hardware for the window treatment.  Don’t make the following drapery hardware mistakes in your custom window treatment projects.

Choosing the Wrong Hardware

The window treatment might be the star, but the hardware is important, too. Think about the style and how it marries with the design; consider functionality and use specialty applications to solve challenges. Understand the differences between ready-made and custom hardware or basic goods and decorative hardware and sell their benefits as an investment. Give the client all the reasons why they must choose your recommendation to avoid disasters (sometimes that is giving them the worst-case scenario Usually, bad hardware choices are made because you or the client is trying to save money. Don’t do it!  Never sell telescoping rods or clip rings for custom treatments; light weight traverse rods for multiple widths instead of traversing systems and never let the customer buy their own hardware. At Orion, custom is our normal. We’ll produce your drapery hardware to exacting standards marrying hand- crafted tradition with modern manufacturing

Measuring Incorrectly

We often jump in too soon when it comes to measuring. Before you pull out your tape measure, you must know what to measure before you measure.  First, determine the area you want to cover. What is your desired WT footprint? The space to be covered sets the parameters that you have to work with. Ask yourself: What’s the treatment’s footprint? How far past the opening do you want, or can you go - Is there enough space to make it work? Next, will this treatment function or not?  If so, do you want to clear the glass for view or need to stack onto the wall? Third, determine where you want to mount it and how many layers there are. THEN measure. The answers to these questions will lead you to your best hardware choice.

Not Figuring Drapery Weights

Designers should know if the treatment they designed works on the hardware they specified.  Figuring drapery weights is essential and should be done before choosing your hardware.  The drapery weight exercise is a function of how much the drapery weighs compared to how much weight a linear foot of rod can hold. A quick formula is to calculate how much the treatment weighs by multiplying the total yardage used for the treatment by 1.0 lb. if treatment is lined; 1.5 lbs. if treatment is blackout lined and 2.0 lbs. if lined and interlined. Then determine how much weight the rod/pole will hold per linear foot, that number is usually found in the vendor’s design guide. Multiply it by the number of feet of rod used for treatment. Finally, compare the 2 results.  For example, a popular designer smooth metal rod will only hold .9 lbs. per linear foot. This means that drapery for an 8‘ wide window cannot weigh more than 7.2 lbs. If you do the math, a 96” B to B equals 5 widths of drapery that totals approximately 15 yards of fabric. Using the formula, 15 yards of fabric lined = 15 lbs. of drapery. That’s more than double what the rod can hold. So, either you must make another choice or add brackets.

Not Specifying Solutions

Designers are problem solvers offering multiple answers to our client wants/ needs. Ordering the wrong drapery hardware components and overthinking your design leads to clunky outcomes.  Avoid customer nightmares by specifying specialty applications and accessories meant to blend seamlessly.  Think C rings for functioning treatments to bypass brackets or overlap master carrier kts for hand drawn treatments. An important part of specifying solutions is ordering the correct number of the right parts. Understand the details – projection, layering, clearances, ring size and number- to ensure you have all the correct pieces to complete the install.  Orion custom drapery hardware isn’t just made to order. It is made for you. The difference is that the first one gives you options; the second offers bespoke solutions for any challenge. Our incredible artisans ensure that every element of your order matches your vision.