How to Hang Curtains on Pegs

Over 100 years ago, when there was no such thing as central heating, the Shakers came up with a clever solution for drafty rooms. Shaker room style already decreed that there be a line of pegs along every wall near the ceiling. To help keep the rooms warmer, they devised curtains on tabs or cords that they could easily hang up and remove at will. The temporary insulation cut down on drafts as well as brightening an otherwise dull room interior. Reproduce that look today with bright curtains or quilts and you can decorate an entire wall with changeable wall hangings.

Measuring tape
Level
Shaker peg rails
Hanging hardware
Screwdriver
6-foot tab curtains

Instructions

- 1
  Measure 6 feet off the ground and install the hardware that comes with the Shaker peg rails. Use a level to ensure the rails will run straight across the wall.
- 2
  Hang a set of Shaker peg rails on the hardware to create an unbroken line of pegs that go all the way across the wall from corner to corner. You may not want to hang curtains all the way across the wall, but the extra Shaker peg rail will add an additional design element that brings the room together.
- 3
  Hang the tab curtains by slipping one tab onto each peg. Allow the curtains to hang loosely instead of stretching them taut across the wall. Skip a tab to create excess slack in the fabric if you need to. Hang the curtain across part or all of the wall, or create a nook by hanging the curtain along two walls that meet in a corner.

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