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When it comes to picking curtain rods, designer Amber Lewis doesn’t like to overcomplicate things. In almost all of her projects, you can find the drapery hanging from the same “classic, simple hardware that can work in so many spaces,” she reveals. Her favorite rod style? A curved French return.
Luckily for Lewis, one of her go-to window treatment brands, Everhem, happens to make a matte black curved French return, and it’s one of the very few purveyors that lets you customize your order down to the inch (no telescopic extenders here). The bespoke quality helps justify the steep price tag (they start at $820).
Turns out, one of top searches on Lewis’s e-commerce site is in fact hardware. So when Everhem’s L.A.-based founder, Haley Weidenbaum, and Lewis, officially met in person, they decided to partner up and offer Shoppe Amber Interiors customers the ability to buy the brand’s Black Curved Curtain Rod in both the 40”-77” or 78”-150” range. The rods just hit Lewis’s virtual shelves this week.
Ahead, we asked the pros for their hot takes on all things curtains, plus the window treatment trend we can expect to see more of in 2025.
The Dream Diameter
When Lewis and Weidenbaum started discussing a partnership, there was one thing the interior designer was adamant about offering customers: the 3/4” rod. “A one-inch [diameter] is pretty standard, but for the past two to three years, I’ve been seeing designers trend toward this thinner look,” says Weidenbaum. “Amber was like, ‘There’s no question: three-quarters.’”
The Common Oversight
Invite Lewis over to your house and the first thing she’ll notice about your curtains is the length. “If curtains are too short, there’s no hiding it,” she says. “And of course, a good steam!” On its website, Everhem suggests the ideal length is to have them just kiss the floor.
The No-Fail Hanging Rule
While Lewis points out “there’s no one size fits all” for the measurements and placement of your curtain rod, Weidenbaum does have a helpful trick for anyone stuck on where to even start. Let’s call it the “eight-inch rule:” Basically, in most cases, you’ll want the rod to go past your window eight to 10 inches on the left and right side, and you want to mount it above your windows at least eight inches. “If you mount it too close, you’re minimizing your window and it can actually make your space feel smaller,” she shares. When the rod is wider and higher than the frame, you can create the illusion of a larger space with higher ceilings.
The Next It Fabrics
When it comes to Everhem’s fabric choices, white drapery has long been the best-seller, but lately, Weidenbaum has clocked a shift amongst designers. Lately, they are craving darker hues, especially shades of brown, like Cognac and Umber. Her prediction? The trend will start to trickle down to the average consumer. “I think people are going to lean toward color and drama and pattern,” she says.
The latter is something Lewis knows plenty about, having recently incorporated floral cafe curtains in a kitchen and plaid drapes in a bedroom. As for when she decides to use patterned window treatments, the designer says it all comes down to what the space is being used for and how the fabric will anchor the design. “I have used patterns and solid for my projects, and personal home, but I ultimately suggest just go with what makes you happy!” shares Lewis.
And if you do decide to go for length, don’t sleep on the curved French return.