How to Select Thermal Drapes for a Media Room

Thermal drapes are curtains that are usually made from heavy fabrics and backed with a thermal liner. The liner can be made from foam, vinyl or from a heavy organic fiber. Thermal drapes are usually used to keeping drafts out during the winter months and for keeping cool air inside your home during the hot months. With the growing popularity of home entertainment centers thermal drapes are now also used to create a theater like aesthetic in media rooms by blacking out light. If you are designing a media room then you will want to select the right thermal drapes for your room. Here is how you do it.

Identify Thermal Drape Locations

The first thing that you will want to do before you buy your thermal drapes is to determine where they will need to go. To get the most from your thermal drapes you will need to put them up everywhere that you have a thermal draft and everywhere that light filters into the room. This includes windows, patio doors, sliding glass doors and even archways that lead into other rooms in the house.

Take Measurements

The next step is to take measurements for each thermal drape location that you identified in the last step. You will want to measurement the width of the location and the height of the location. To create a home theater aesthetic you will want to buy thermal drapes that hang from slightly above the window or door frame to the floor.

Select Colors and Patterns

When you go shopping for thermal drapes you will be faced with several color and pattern choices. Since you are creating a home theater room you will want to focus on darker colors and lush textures. Colors that work well for media rooms include black, burgundy, brown and forest green. These colors block out light the best. If you are using your media room as a living room as well, then you can add a lighter colored, translucent curtain behind your thermal drapes which can be used to filter light when the thermal drapes are open.

Purchasing Thermal Drapes

When you are ready to purchase your thermal drapes you need to double check what you are getting in the package. Just because the picture on the thermal drapes shows a three piece set doesn't mean you will get each piece in one package. Look for an inclusion list on the front of the package. If the items are sold separately then the item in the package will have a check mark next to it. Also double check the dimensions of the curtain that is found in the package. Finally, use the information on the package to buy the right hanging hardware for your thermal drapes.