Curtain shops in Trivandrum

Curtain Designs

When it comes to decorating a room, curtains are often the last thing on your mind – and the most difficult to decide on (at least in my experience). It’s easy to get swept up in different interior styles and pretty home accessories, but a room without curtains looks bare, naked and unfinished. If you look at any of the below images and picture them without curtains, you’ll see a series of unfinished and cold looking rooms.
One of the mistakes I made when decorating my home was deciding on the curtains last. Firstly, it meant we had very little privacy (one of the main functions of curtains).

I hadn’t anticipated lying on the floor trying to wriggle into my clothes and underwear every morning, trying to keep out of sight from passers by. I also hadn’t anticipated waking up at half past four every morning when it started to get light outside – another major function of curtains is keeping out light. Or feeling overly exposed at night with the lights on.

Choosing the right curtains can be a difficult and time-consuming decision, especially if, like me, you haven’t done it before. We put it off for months because we didn’t know where to start. Since then, I’ve learnt a lot more about the different styles, lengths, pleats, rods, fabrics, pelmets and valances (bear with me, I’ll explain), so I hope to help here with a brief overview, along with some gorgeous inspiration and ideas.
Far from an after-thought, curtains add length to a room, frame a window, add wow-factor, and when using complimenting fabrics to other upholstery or cushions then curtains can be the finishing touch in tying a room together.
From poles to tracks, tab-top to tie-top and from pleats to pelmets, here are a few window dressing ideas to inspire your next project.

Curtain hanging systems

There are two ways you can hang your curtains; on a track or on a rod pole.

1. Curtain track

A curtain track is an unobtrusive and elegant way to hang curtains, as you don’t see the track at all. They are often layered in double or even triple tracks,combining blackout curtains with sheers or voiles in bedrooms.
The quiet, efficient and smooth operation of tracking systems make them a very popular choice. They are also perfect for curved windows when curtains need to move smoothly around a corner – for example in bay windows. Brackets normally get in the way of curtain rings being pulled around a bay, but this design uses passing rings that allow the curtains to be drawn all the way round.

2. Curtain pole

A curtain pole is always visible above the curtains, unless you cover it with a pelmet or valance. They are available in different sizes and can be made from wood or metals.
Poles are usually capped at each end with a finial, a decorative stopper affixed to the ends of a pole to prevent the curtain slipping off.
Curtains should frame a window, so make sure hardware is installed to reflect that. A rule of thumb is to allow an extra 10 per cent of rod on each side, but heavier fabrics will require a bit more.
When curtains are open, the space that the gathered fabric takes up is called “the stack”. The stack should not cover too much of the window itself when the curtains are pulled.