What height should you choose for your bed valance?
Whether you want to protect your mattress, prevent dust from gathering under the bed, or for purely decorative purposes, there are many reasons to choose a valance. Embrin offers a semi made-to-measure design, allowing you to select the colour, dimensions, and height of your valance; but which height should you choose?
The valance: not too short, not too long
There is no ideal length for a valance; however, it should meet at least two essential rules.
The valance must not be too short
The valance is used, as its name suggests, to hide the bed base, so it must be long enough to cover at least the entire bed base. This means that once the valance is in place, no part of the bed base should be visible (apart from possibly the legs, which we will discuss later).
The valance must not be too long
The valance should not touch the floor as a rule, simply to prevent dust from gathering along its edges. Since one of the uses of a valance is to keep dust from accumulating under the bed, it would be counterproductive to collect all that dust along its sides.
Visible or hidden legs: the choice is yours
Generally, the valance covers not only the bed base but also its legs, for aesthetic reasons. However, depending on the style and height of the legs, it is entirely possible to choose to keep the legs visible: sculpted or stylised legs, or simply a wish to keep the space under the bed visible (especially for pet owners), there are various reasons to opt for this style.
Valance with hidden legs
The valance that hides the bed legs will generally reach just above the floor, leaving a slight gap for air circulation and to prevent dust from clinging to the edges. This is the most popular option. Hiding under the bed is the ideal solution for those who use this space for storage.
If you would like a valance that hides your bed legs, you will need to measure the distance from the bottom of your mattress to the floor.
Valance with visible legs
The valance with visible legs leaves part or all of the bed legs exposed. The valance with visible legs is ideal for those with underfloor heating: it allows better circulation of air and heat beneath the bed.
If you would like a valance that leaves your bed legs visible, you will need to measure only the height of your bed base: from the bottom of the mattress to the bottom of the bed base without including the legs.
So, the height you choose for your valance will of course depend on the height of your bed base, but also on your decorative preferences.
