• Decide Which Window Treatments You Need

• Measure Your Windows

• Get Hardware to Hang Your Curtains

• Find Window Treatments on eBay

• Buy Window Treatments With Confidence

Decide Which Window Treatments You Need

Decide Which Window Treatments You Need

Window treatments can either blend into the background quietly, or make a powerful statement that reflects your personal style. You'll find an excellent selection from Croscill, Martha Stewart, Waverly, and others on eBay.

Soft window treatments

Choose curtains, drapes, and sheer window panels in fabrics, colors, and patterns that complement your window, art, and furniture.

• Drapes and curtains: Hang opaque curtains and drapery window panels to complement your décor, block out light during the day, and prevent people from looking into your house. Some even have special “blackout” liners that block out sunlight entirely. Curtains and gathered drapes come in a variety of lengths, fabrics (for example, silk and velvet), patterns, including floral prints and gingham, and solid colors.

• Sheers: Sheer window panels typically hang beneath curtains and drapes, allowing natural light to softly filter into your room during the day. At night they'll become transparent if you turn on your lights.

Hard window treatments

You can open blinds, shades, and shutters to allow a large amount of light into your room or close them for complete privacy.

• Roman shades: Roman shades have a cord woven throughout their fabric that you can use to raise the shade in an accordion pattern or to lower it back down.

• Roller shades: Made of vinyl or opaque fabric, roller shades fit the dimensions of your window to offer privacy and complete coverage. The shade wraps around a dowel and uses a spring mechanism to roll up and down.

• Pleated shades: Pleated shades have horizontal panels of fabric that operate like Venetian blinds. Purchase shades with a “top-down” feature if you’d like to let light in through the top of your window.

• Cellular shades: Cellular shades, also called honeycomb shades, offer insulating benefits that can lower your monthly energy bills. They are made from one or more layers of light-filtering fabric that let light in while keeping exterior heat or cold out. Blackout shades prevent any light from entering a room.

• Woven wood shades: Woven wood shades such as bamboo shades cover your window and, when closed, filter light into your room. They can help you keep the sun out of your room on hot days without blocking out all natural light.

• Venetian blinds: Venetian blinds, also called horizontal blinds, have horizontal slats that you can tilt up or down to adjust how much light comes into your room.

• Vertical blinds: Vertical blinds have vertical panels that you can swivel open and closed or pull to one side of your window.

• Mini blinds: Affordable aluminum mini blinds can have one-inch, one-and-a-half-inch, or two-inch slats that you can adjust to control the amount of light that comes into a room. They are sometimes called aluminum blinds, macro blinds, or micro blinds.

• Wood blinds: Wood blinds offer privacy, beauty, and natural insulation. You can get wood blinds with one-inch or two-inch slats.

• Shutters: Vinyl shutters and wood shutters have sets of parallel slats, called louvers, which you can adjust to diffuse light and achieve different levels of privacy. Plantation shutters have louvers that are more than two inches wide.

Dress up your window treatments

Supplement your curtains, drapes, sheers, blinds, and window shades with valances and window scarves.

• Window valances: A valance is gathered, bundled, swagged, or pleated directly above your other window treatments. Valances come in a vast variety of fabrics and textures.

• Window scarves: Drape graceful window scarves over curtains and sheers to give your window frame a soft look. Country Curtains and Croscill both offer window scarves in a variety of patterns and colors.

No matter what you buy, look for window treatments with wand controls instead of long cords or chains if you have small children or pets in your house.

Measure Your Windows

Measure Your Windows

Window treatments such as curtains, shades, and window blinds need to fit your windows. Take measurements before buying.

Measure your window for curtains

Decide how much of your window and its surrounding wall you want your curtains to cover. Measure from top to bottom and from side to side.

• Determine curtain length: Your curtains will hang on a curtain rod about six to eight inches above your window frame. Add another inch or two if you want a more dramatic look. Measure from your curtain rod's position to your desired floor length (usually 2 or 3 inches above the floor).

• Determine curtain width: Curtains should extend two or three inches to each side of your windows. Multiply your side-to-side measurement by two to allow for full, luxurious curtains.

Measure your window for shades and blinds

You can hang shades and window blinds inside your window frame for a clean, modern look or outside the window frame to achieve a look akin to curtains.

• Inset window treatments: Inset shades and inset blinds require precise measurements. Measure the inside of your window frame from top to bottom and from left to right. Also note its depth.

• Outset window treatments: Outset shades and outset blinds give you more leeway when measuring window frame dimensions. Measure from the point you'll hang the shade to the point where you want it to drop. Add an extra two inches to the top portion of the window frame to allow for mounting brackets. Also measure from side to side.

Get Hardware to Hang Your Curtains

Get Hardware to Hang Your Curtains

Put the finishing touches on your curtains with curtain rods, finials, holdbacks, and curtain rings from brands such as Restoration Hardware and Smith & Noble. You'll find minimalist window treatment hardware perfect for modern homes, more ornate hardware that really stands out, and everything in between on eBay.

• Curtain rods: Curtain rods come in a variety of colors, styles, and finishes. Often adjustable, you can fit your curtain rods precisely to your window. Look for double rods if you want to use layers of sheers underneath your drapes.

• Finials: Metal finials, wood finials, or glass finials cap your curtain rod at each end.

• Holdbacks: Nickel holdbacks, chrome holdbacks, pewter holdbacks, and brass holdbacks provide an attractive way to hold your curtains open.

• Curtain rings: Curtain rings, available in a variety of materials and finishes, allow you to create a more casual effect. Consider looping or clipping curtain rings to tie-top curtain panels.

• Spacers: Use spacers with mounting hardware to create more room between your window trim and outset window treatments.

Find Window Treatments on eBay

Find Window Treatments on eBay

Once you know what type of shutters, shades, drapes, blinds, or curtains you want, go to the Home & Garden portal, click Window Treatments, and start searching for item listings on eBay.

• Categories: The Categories list on the left side of each page will help you narrow down your listings by item type. You'll find links for Blinds, Curtain Rods, Hardware, Curtains, Drapes, Roman Shades, Shades, Shutters, Valances, Windows Scarves, and Other Window Treatments.

• Keyword search: Search eBay listing titles for specific words. For example, if you want to find finials, type "finials" (without quotation marks) into the Search box. Click "Search title and description" to expand your results. Visit eBay's Search Tips page for more tips on searching with keywords.

If you can't find exactly what you want, try shopping eBay Stores, tell the eBay Community what you want by creating a post on Want It Now, or save a search on My eBay and eBay will email you when a match becomes available.

Buy Window Treatments With Confidence

Buy Window Treatments With Confidence

Before making your purchase, make sure you know exactly what you're buying, research your seller, and understand how eBay and PayPal protect you.

Know your purchase

Carefully read the details in item listings.

• Figure delivery costs into your final price. If you spend a lot of money, make sure the seller will insure the item when it ships.

• If you want more information, ask by clicking the "Ask seller a question" link under the seller's profile.

• Always make sure to complete your transaction on eBay (with a bid, Buy It Now, or Best Offer). Transactions conducted outside of eBay are not covered by eBay protection programs.

• Never pay for your eBay item using instant cash wire transfer services through Western Union or MoneyGram. These payment methods are unsafe when paying someone you do not know.

Know your seller

Research your seller so you feel positive and secure about every transaction.

• What is the seller's Feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive responses do they have?

• What do buyers say in their Feedback? Did the seller receive praise?

• Most top eBay sellers operate like retail stores and have return policies. Do they offer a money-back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?

Buyer protection

In the unlikely event that a problem arises during your transaction, eBay and PayPal are there for you.

• Pay safely with PayPal: PayPal enables you to pay without the seller ever seeing your bank account or credit card numbers. In fact, PayPal protects buyers 100% against unauthorized payments from their accounts. Plus, with PayPal Buyer Protection, your purchase can be covered up to $1,000.

• eBay Security & Resolution Center: Visit the Security & Resolution Center to learn how to protect your account and use eBay's quick and efficient resolution tools.