Here are seven obstacles to hanging drapes that might be standing in the way of you and the best-looking, most grown-up draperies you've ever seen. There are no shortcuts to the correct way to hang drapes, and as it turns out, there really are some rules that you should follow if you want to do it yourself and get the most style and bang out of your budget. It's not just you! Drapes are lined curtain panels. They should be hung in pairs. They are much heavier than curtains, and they can also have thermal and/or room-darkening features. Thermal drapes are great for energy conservation. They keep the weather outside where it belongs until you want to let it Curtains and sheers also come in panels, but they are built from lightweight fabrics, and will not filter out all of the light to darken a room. They can be hung in layers with drapes so that you can pull back the drapes to let in the light, but still have privacy. When you go out shopping you are going to see a lot of 84-inch curtains. As a rule, if the tops of your windows are in the 6'-foot to 7-foot range, you want 84-inch curtains, but everyone else should buy some hem tape or use a sewing machine and hem the 96-inch (or longer) curtains to the desired length. Watch and see if the curtains you want are sold by the panel or by the pair. You need two panels for each window. Don't forget to steam new window treatments or shove them in the dryer a few minutes if the fabric can be put in the dryer in order to de-wrinkle.