As an interior designer, I constantly manipulate objects to deceive the eye and give the impression that a room is larger than a tape measure indicates. Curtains offer great opportunities to do this. In dollhouses too.
There is no law saying you have to keep curtains adjacent to the window, as Brooke Tucker did in the Sitting Room miniature box below. It is simply a custom. Extending the fabric vertically and horizontally is fine. Just make sure the proportions of fabric within the “frame” made by ceiling, walls, and floor looks right to your eye.
Below are three window treatment tricks decorators love to use.
Hang Above the Window Frame
To create the illusion of a taller window, mount the rod above the window frame, about halfway between the frame and the ceiling molding. A track mounted on the ceiling also lengthens windows. Be sure to account for the extra fabric when measuring. Ms. Tucker might have done something of the sort in the vertical picture below. Who knows if the top of the valance is inline with the top of the window or not?
Wider Than the Window Frame
Extending the rod beyond the frame on each side of the window makes it feel grander and allows extra light to stream in. You can also use this plan to reveal attractive molding around the window. Remember to adjust your width measurements for this look.
Cover the Whole Darn Wall
A Good Exercise
Do some research with Google Images, using the keywords “window treatments” and “curtains,” with and without the words “dollhouse” and “miniature.” Look closely at what you are presented with, and keep track of how many times your eyes may have been deceived.
About Brooke Tucker
I love Brooke Tucker’s work and often use pictures of her room boxes for examples for my decorating posts. Click on any picture to see more of her work at Judy Kincaid’s website.
Susan Downing, with Patrick Owens