“Now I know the difference between curtains and drapes!”
TCE customer
A rose by any other name...
There’s something of a long-running debate about what to call fabrics that hang over doors and windows to control indoor temperatures, cut light and maintain privacy. Is it a curtain? Is it a drape?
The broad answer to that question may depend on where you’re from geographically. For example, in old England the curtain maker and upholsterer was the man allowed “upstairs” to furbish curtains and upholstery in the home. He draped fabric at the windows, but his occupation was as a Curtain Maker. A Draper was someone who sold fabrics for the Curtain Maker to sew. Drapers and Haberdashers were retail stores where fabric and sewing materials could be purchased.
The word “curtain” comes from the Latin “cortina,” which is also the Spanish word for curtain. While the terms curtain and drape today have interchangeable usage in most of America — that is to say, drape is merely another word for curtain — we at The Curtain Exchange take a more historical view.
At The Curtain Exchange, we say “curtain.” Given our name, our decision to use the term curtain is less than surprising. But here, the curtains we make hail from a long, old-world tradition and a proud, rich history of high-quality curtain making. We truly believe the term curtain represents a higher quality product than something that simply “drapes” a window.
In our own estimate, we are crafts people creating the freshest styles and highest quality curtains that live up to timeless traditions. Each of our curtains is comprised of three different fabric textures and weights: 1) face fabric, 2) interlining, and 3) lining. In the end, our curtains are much more than an unlined, mass-marketed panel of fabric.
Stop by and see for yourself what years of history and tradition can mean to a window covering. Then, whether you say “curtain” or “drape,” you’ll quickly understand the difference between our product and others: Quality.
