How to Hang Theater Curtains

Leave space for the curtains to open. When you choose your curtain rod, don't just measure the width of the two curtains side-by-side and buy a curtain rod that size. When you open the curtains, they will take up some room on the rod at each side. It's especially important to know how much space your curtains will take up if they will be in front of your movie screen. When curtains are pushed open, they still take up about 1/3 of their total width. So, if each of your curtains is 4 feet wide, they will each be about a foot and a half wide when pushed open. If your movie screen is 4 feet across, you will need at least a seven foot curtain rod to allow the curtains to open wide enough to see the entire screen.

Go for blackout curtains if it's mostly about light. If you are covering a window or another distracting light source, you will want the best curtains for the job. Lined blackout curtains not only keep out more light, but they actually reduce noise that comes in as well. They are perfect for a home theater.

Get acoustic curtains if you are having problems with your sound. Sometimes the set up in a home theater leads to poor sound quality and echo in the room. Acoustic curtains can hang on the wall directly, cutting outside noise down substantially and absorbing room noise for better sound quality.

Place your brackets. Once you have decided on the location of your curtain, you will install brackets for your curtain rod. Curtain rod brackets come in numerous shapes and types. Any of them will work for a window. You will just attach the brackets to the wall above the window using screws and a drill. As for a curtain that opens in front of your screen, if your screen protrudes from the wall, you will have to choose brackets that allow you to attach them to the ceiling. There are many "closed brackets" made for hanging curtains. They are solid circles that the curtain rod just slides right into. These will allow the curtain to hang from the ceiling.

Place your curtains. In your home theater, curtains will be the most beneficial if they hang from just below the ceiling to the floor. This total coverage blocks out more light and noise than placing a smaller curtain over the area. To hang the curtains, just slide them onto the curtain rod and slide the curtain rod into the brackets.