Hi all. E.D.Wolfe here signing in.

What I have to say next is purely my opinion and I do not want to offend those who do what I consider to be BIG curtain no no’s .

May I also add that personal aesthetics play a big part in this and one persons mess is another persons “pièce de resistance” . So at the risk of offending her we go.

TOP FIVE CURTAIN PEEVES.

1. Pinch pleat pushovers.

Time and time again I see these lovely headed curtains hung disastrously wrong.

Swaffer Silk www.swaffer.co.uk

To me it is completely obvious why the first is wrong and the second is correct but let me make it clearer.

The flat section between the pleats is meant to fold under and away so the curtain hangs neatly and pulls off the window well. If the curtain is not hung this way it has a propensity for the hooks to pop out of the eyelets / runners. Also have you noticed that in the first image the spaces flipping forward ? This ruins the look of the pinches, they are almost completely lost. This is before I begin to mention the fact that it can (especially with heavy fabrics) cause the bucrum (stiffener) to buckle and destroy the pleats entirely. I have even seen the fabric on the back of pleats rip because of the pressure caused by them hanging like this and the friction from them rubbing on the rail.

2. Hung out to dry.

OK this is very tricky.

Where to finish a curtain? At the end of the day the choice is yours. However please let me guide you a little.

Full length curtains should either skim the floor, be 1/4″ off, kick 3 / 6 inches onto the floor or pool 10″ and over.

Pooled and kicked are shown above skimming and 1/4 ” off are obvious.

Too many times have I seen curtains kinked on the floor or horribly half mast. I am also not a fan of the skirting board length it is neither here nor there.

3. Pole placement.

This can be hard but I have a basic rule that has served me well for 20yrs.

The pole (if space will allow) should be positioned so that the base of the gather is in line with or above the top of the window. I am fully aware this is not always possible and is an ideal. This is a guide.

Personally I find it a touch strange, (for the reasons of balance), for a pole to be put right up near the cove no matter how much space there is. I feel it can cause the balance of the window to be thrown, especially if the wall space above the window is big. I will let you be the judge.

 Too High I feel.

 Difficult situation.

These curtains are correct, the designer has had no option but to position the pole so high because of the restrictions placed upon them of the one window being a lot higher than the french doors. I feel it is obvious the poles look better if at the same hight, despite the difference. However can you imagine how horrid this would look if there was no second window? If in fact the french doors were on their own. then the pole position would be completely wrong. See the bay above?

Positioning a pole too low can be bad also. 

In a bedroom it is particularly bad and can cause increased light leakage.

Another personal pet hate is pooling Eyelet headed curtains. Some designers do it and that is fine and up to them but the reasons I have for not pooling Eyelet curtains are, I feel, valid ones.

1.Eyelets are in there design created to be neat and crisp in their folds, a pool destroys this look.

2.They are not as full as your average curtain so a nice rich pool is unattainable due to lack of fabric in the width.

4. Blind botch job.

I know I have already done an entire blog on blinds but this gives me a chance to point out a situation repeated again and again.

Why oh why do people insist on fitting blinds that you can see down the back of due to the big gap left because of the positioning of the item or the type of window?

 NO

 YES

 NO

Can you see it ? In a box bay I would not recommend a blind where the bay did not have a section of wall or frame that hid the end of the blind. It looks unsightly and light can leak. Not to mention a potential security risk.

On a splay bay I would recommend traditional battens so that they could be tapered at the sides to fit closer to the outside edge of wall reducing the gap and projection.

On windows where it was possible a dress curtain can provide coverage to hide this end section of blind.

5.Why did they do that?

My final curtain catastrophe has no images (thankfully) . It is the designer who has not got the foggiest what they are doing but professes to know all. The designer who can barely hold a tape measure. The designer who makes a recommendation without checking or knowing 1. if it will fit and 2. if it will work. The designer with lots of ideas and zero technical knowledge to apply it with. The designer who does not fully inform their client of the ins and outs of the possibilities and look of the finished product so they can make an informed choice. And finally the designer who passes off another designers hard work for their own. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. STOP IT.

(No offence was intended in this blog, I apologise if any has been caused, these are only my opinions and musings)

Thanks again for reading. If you have any window treatment problems please either email me or leave a comment (pictures may help).

E.D.Wolfe

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