Curtain Poles

Many buyers and homeowners relegate curtain poles to one of those purchases which requires no thought – tending to view it as something you need to hang curtains from, with little to no regard for the appearance or material used to create them. When it comes to using curtain poles, the most important considerations are how strong they are and how long they are – needing them to be long enough to hold the curtains drawn out or stacked together, and strong enough to support the weight of your full curtain material.

Making sure your curtain poles are the right length and diameter

The idea of curtain poles is that you can easily slide the curtain from open to shut, with adequate space at the ends for the bunched-up material to comfortably sit and allow the natural light to stream in. This likely means measuring your curtain pole so that it is longer than the total width of the window. Of course, there are two different ways of operating curtains, with most homeowners choosing the best solution primarily based on the total width of the window. That is, whether to use one curtain which simply slides off to one side when open, or two curtains which separate in the middle and sit bunched on both sides. For those buying from scratch, we would always recommend purchasing your poles a little longer than you think you need, as they can easily be cut down to size. While purchasing extenders is perfectly possible, it is not as easy as cutting a little excess pole off.

Making sure your curtain poles are sturdy

Fixing your curtain poles will likely rely on the use of brackets; generally, one at either end, though some longer windows will require an additional support bracket in the middle. One key thing to ensure with your pole and brackets is that you select a pole which can be easily lifted from the brackets should you need to change or adjust the positioning of the curtains. Some of the more traditional styles of curtain and curtain pole using rungs which hang directly from the pole, and which you clip the material to. These are easy to use once in place and can be removed without having to tamper with the pole at all – however they are challenging to put up. The more modern designs of curtain feature reinforced holes factored into the fabric and design, eradicating the need for curtain hooks or hoops, and resulting in a much cleaner finish with the fabric covering much of the pole. This is particularly beneficial if the pole you have chosen was selected more for support than design – for example a metal finish. In terms of material and reliability, most curtain poles are made of metal or hardwood – with both offering an equally effective solution to hanging most curtain styles.

Using curtain poles as part of your home décor

With so much curtain pole on show, particularly at the ends, there is a real opportunity to use your curtain pole as part of your home decorating scheme – whether you choose to select elaborate pole ends which match your room, or simply hang additional accessories from the pole, such as fairy lights or floral garlands. Most high street retailers stock very basic curtain poles, based on the knowledge that buyers tend to use the curtains themselves as decoration rather than the poles. For the best selection, as well as the option of having your curtain poles made according to your exact measurements, head to larger department stores which offer a tailored curtain pole service.