Lend Me A Hand

Most people prefer to have their curtains tied back during the day to allow plenty of sunshine and light into the room.  Often tie backs are sold along with curtains, and they are frequently made from the same material.  They are functional, in that they do a very good job of holding the curtains back in a very decorative way that enhances the overall look of the window.

You do not have to limit yourself to tie backs made from the same material however. In fact, it can often look great if you use a contrasting color for the tie back, or one that is the same shade as the curtain yet a different pattern.

It is also very simple to make your own tie backs and you do not have to limit yourself to using material only. For example, you can buy tassels and use those to tie back your curtains. You can also use other material such as leather, chains, or even woven rattan as tie backs.

Normally tie backs are placed approximately two thirds from the top level of the curtain. This allows the curtain to billow more at the top half of the window and takes away the straight lines or edges that occur if they are placed too high up. However, in reality there is no set location for the tie backs, but it is usually left more up to individual preference and the overall look that you are trying to achieve. If you have many windows in a room you will want the tie backs to be placed so that the appearance of the tied back curtain looks the same as otherwise it can look quite odd to have so much variance in a room.

If you are not sure where to place your curtain tie backs the simplest thing to do is to experiment and see where they look best to you. Have someone hold back the curtain on one side as if it were tied back, while you stand back a distance.  You can have the person try different positions along the length of the curtain until you are satisfied with the outcome.