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Curtains are the most underestimated element in a room. Most people treat them as an afterthought — a functional necessity hung at the window frame, too short, too narrow, in a fabric that hangs like a flag. Designers, on the other hand, treat them as architecture. Hung correctly, drapery makes ceilings look higher, windows look grander, and a whole room look more expensive without touching a single piece of furniture. It is, as designers will tell you, the single most impactful change you can make to a space for the money.
We evaluated drapery and curtains on fabric quality and drape, construction and lining, length and fullness options, and the heading style that determines how the panel falls. Eight earned a place — anchored by custom, made-to-measure linen and velvet, the two fabrics that read as luxury at almost any price. The biggest difference-maker we found this year: made-to-measure panels cut to your exact window, which solve the length-and-fullness problem that sinks most off-the-shelf curtains before they're even hung.
Our Top Picks at a Glance
- Best overall: Pottery Barn Belgian Flax Linen Curtains — Best Overall, the designer standard
- Best velvet: West Elm velvet drape — heavyweight pile, weight, warmth, and light control
- Best for light control: LuxDrape Florence blackout-lined linen-blend panel — looks soft, effectively offers light control
- Best sheer: LuxDrape Auriel sheer — soft daylight, privacy, airiness
- Best patterned: LuxDrape Sienna striped & Chevron textured linen — quiet pattern, same custom drape
How We Chose
Fabric and drape came first, because a curtain lives or dies on how it falls. We favored real linen, linen blends, and heavyweight velvet, which hang with weight and graceful folds rather than the stiff, shiny flatness of cheap polyester. Lining was the next filter: a lined or interlined panel hangs better, lasts longer, filters or blocks light properly, and instantly reads more custom than an unlined sheet.
We weighed length and fullness — panels need to be long enough to reach the floor and wide enough to look generous when closed — and judged the heading (pinch pleat, pencil pleat, grommet, or soft top), since it dictates how the fabric folds at the top. This is where made-to-measure pulled ahead of off-the-shelf: when a panel is cut to your exact rod width and drop, with the fullness and lining built in, you skip the compromise that makes most store-bought curtains look thin or short. The picks below all deliver a soft, full, intentional drape rather than a thin curtain stretched across a window.
The Best Luxury Drapery & Curtains
1. Pottery Barn Belgian Flax Linen Curtains — Best Overall
Pottery Barn's Belgian flax linen panels are, for good reason, the most recommended drapery in the design world. The 100% linen drapes with soft, organic weight, comes in lined and unlined options and a deep range of neutrals, and is offered in extended lengths so you can reach today's higher ceilings. They read as custom for a fraction of true custom cost. If you buy one thing on this list, make it these.
2. West Elm Velvet Drape — Best Velvet
For drama, warmth, and serious light control, West Elm's cotton-velvet drapes bring a heavy, luxurious fall and a light-catching pile that makes a room feel enveloping and considered. Velvet suits formal living rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms where you want softness and a bit of theatre. Hang them high and full and they puddle or break at the floor like couture.
3. LuxDrape Florence Blackout-Lined Linen-Blend Panel — Best for Light Control & Glare Reduction
Living rooms and media rooms need glare control without sacrificing softness, and a blackout-lined linen panel solves exactly that: it looks like relaxed natural linen from the room side while a hidden blackout lining dims light and adds insulating weight. LuxDrape builds the blackout lining into the Florence linen-blend drape in a pinch-pleat heading, so you get true room-darkening performance without the heavier look of velvet. It's the style-conscious alternative to the rubbery, hotel-style blackout curtain.
4. LuxDrape Auriel Sheer — Best Sheer
Where privacy and daylight both matter — a living room, a sunny kitchen — LuxDrape's Auriel sheer filters light into a soft, diffused glow while keeping the room feeling open and airy. Made to measure in see-through and semi-sheer weaves, it layers beautifully in front of a heavier drape for full control of light through the day, or hangs on its own as the lightest way to soften hard window lines. The custom cut means it falls in even, graceful folds rather than bunching.
We think these subtly-textured beige sheer drapes add class to a minimalist look.
5. Wayfair Linen-Look Panel — Best Value
For the linen look at a fraction of the price, Wayfair's linen-blend and linen-look panels come in the widest range of colors, lengths, and headings here. The trade-off is a slightly less refined drape than pure linen, but choosing a lined option and the correct length closes most of the gap. It's the smart pick for rooms where you need many windows dressed on a budget.
How to Hang Curtains Like a Designer
This is where most rooms go wrong, and where the biggest improvement hides. Hang the rod high and wide: mount it four to six inches above the window frame (or higher, toward the ceiling, to exaggerate height), and extend it six to eight inches beyond the frame on each side so the open panels clear the glass and let in full light. This single move makes windows look larger and ceilings taller than anything else you can do. Go for fullness — order panels totaling two to two-and-a-half times the window width so they look generous, not stretched, when closed. (With made-to-measure panels, you give the workroom your rod width and they build the fullness in for you.) And get the length right: panels should just kiss the floor, or break slightly, or puddle for a formal look — but never float above it. Floor-length, full, and hung high is the entire secret.
Frequently Asked Questions
How high should I hang curtains?
Mount the rod four to six inches above the window frame, and higher — toward the ceiling — if you want to exaggerate the height of the room. Hanging curtains at the frame is the most common mistake and makes windows and ceilings look smaller.
How wide should curtains be?
Extend the rod six to eight inches beyond the window frame on each side, and order panels totaling about two to two-and-a-half times the window width. This lets the open panels clear the glass for full light and look generously full when closed. With made-to-measure drapery, you provide the rod width and the workroom builds in the correct fullness.
What length should curtains be?
Panels should reach the floor — just kissing it, breaking slightly, or puddling for a formal look. Curtains that float above the floor are the fastest way to make a room look unfinished. Measure from your intended rod height to the floor before ordering, or order custom panels cut to your exact drop.
Is linen or velvet better for curtains?
It depends on the room. Linen is light, organic, and versatile, suiting most spaces and styles; velvet is heavy and dramatic with excellent light control, suiting formal rooms and bedrooms. Both read as luxury when hung correctly.
Drapery frames the window; the rest of the room fills in around it. Explore the decor hub and the living room hub, or get the measurements exactly right with our guide to how to choose curtain length.