One of the best ways to give your home a stylish new look is to fit a new pair of luxury curtains and provide a moveable, stylish accent to your wall colour, furnishings and fittings.
With curtains being such a vital part of each room, people want to ensure they are making the right choice, so here is a list of frequently asked questions about designer curtains, from how to decide on the right colour scheme to how often you should replace them.
How Hard Is It To Fit Curtains?
Providing you have a sturdy ladder, a spirit level, a power drill and ideally someone to help hold the curtain rail, it is nowhere near as hard as you think to fit a pair of curtains.
If you need to set up a rail, it is a matter of carefully measuring where you will fasten it to the wall, drill the holes, screw in the brackets and fit the pole in place, tightening the screws as needed to ensure it stays in place.
After this, fitting the curtains themselves range from incredibly simple if they have eyelets you can simply thread the pole through the eyelets, or put in curtain hooks and connect these hooks to the curtain pole.
It can sometimes be a bit awkward given the size of the parts but is not as hard as it would appear at first sight.
Should You Keep Curtains Open Or Closed On Hot Days?
A fiercely debated subject is whether it is better to keep your curtains open on a sunny day and let sunlight into a room, or to keep them closed.
There are two schools of thought on this. The first is that by keeping the curtains closed you reduce the amount of sunlight that enters the room and therefore shield the room from heating up.
The other is that by closing the curtains and the ability for hot air to leave the room you are exacerbating the issue and heating the room even further.
The truth largely depends on the type of curtains you have and where they are placed relative to your window.
Thin, lighter coloured curtains can help to reflect heat away from the room, but thicker curtains, especially if they consist of multiple layers can have the opposite effect.
They trap heat in the room which makes everything feel stuffier and warmer, which is far from ideal.
How Often Should You Change Your Curtains?
Nothing lasts forever, particularly when it comes to interior design. Sofas should generally be repaired or replaced every seven years, Mattresses should be replaced every seven years as well and carpets should be replaced every five years, depending on how well you treat them.
Curtains, however, do not have as firm a rule as this, and the answer is as much a matter of taste as practicality.
Outside of changing worn-out curtains, some people do have two sets of drapery; a lighter set for the hot summer months and a thicker set to use over winter.
Can Thick Curtains Soundproof Your Room?
The short answer to this is no. Soundproofing works by sealing a room off and using certain designs and materials to force sound waves to change direction. Because curtains by definition allow air to pass through, they are not soundproof.
However, thicker curtains using several pleats and densely packed materials such as velvet or wool will dampen sounds considerably and can reduce echo in a room.
Can You Have Both Blinds And Curtains?
Absolutely, and in fact, it can help to make your interior space feel cosier.
Whether you use wooden slats or Venetian blinds, you can combine them with cosy curtains to create your own personal shelter from the elements in the winter.
If you want to make your living space feel more spacious, however, it may be best to pick one over the other.
What Is The Difference Between Flame Resistant And Flame Retardant?
Most curtains and soft furnishings have some level of fire protection, to ensure that they do not burn very easily and accelerate the spread of a fire, and this comes in the form of either flame resistance or flame retardant.
The former is an inherent part of how the curtain is made, and it is either specially weaved or contains materials that do not burn very quickly. This means that a curtain will not burn very well or could even put itself out in some circumstances.
The latter is a standard fabric that is instead treated with a coating that stops the material from burning very quickly. It is two different ways to protect a room and its occupants.