6. Hang the curtains high, wide and long
Rental windows usually come with a short, thin curtain or a vertical blind hung tight to the frame, which makes the window look smaller and the room darker. Rehanging is the last change, and it makes the biggest difference to how large a room feels.
Three rules. Hang high: put the pole 4 to 6 inches above the window frame, or halfway between the frame and the ceiling if the gap is small. Hang wide: extend the pole 6 to 10 inches past each side of the frame so the open curtains sit against the wall rather than over the glass — this alone can add the impression of a foot of window width and lets in noticeably more daylight. Hang long: curtains should reach the floor and just kiss it, or puddle very slightly. Curtains that stop at the sill make a room look like a rented flat, which is exactly what we are avoiding.
The fixing question is the renter’s one. A pole needs two brackets, which means four small screws in plaster. Most landlords accept this, especially if you ask in writing and offer to fill the holes on leaving. If not, tension rods work inside a recessed window, and there are no-drill bracket systems that clamp to the window frame itself for lighter fabrics.
Buy the curtains before the pole and check the drop measurement carefully — the standard drops are 54, 72, 90 and 108 inches, or 137, 183, 229 and 274 cm, and the right drop depends entirely on how high you decide to mount. Measure from the pole position to the floor and subtract an inch.
Line them or add a blackout lining if the room is a bedroom. Thermal-lined curtains also cut heat loss through a single-glazed window measurably, which the next winter’s bill will reflect.
Finally, the exit plan for the whole list. Keep a box labelled with the flat’s address holding every original fitting: shades, bulbs, handles and screws, blind brackets. Photograph each room the day you move in and the day you move out. Fill any screw holes with a small tub of ready-mixed filler, sand flat with fine paper and touch in with matching paint — a tester pot of the landlord’s magnolia costs a few dollars and turns a deposit deduction into nothing. Every one of these six upgrades then packs into the van with you, and the next flat starts from a much better place than this one did.