A Guide to Curtain Furniture
How you dress your windows can have a big impact on the overall look of a room. Choosing the correct window treatment can often be difficult. Curtains soften a space and there are endless fabrics to choose from. Once you've decided on curtains, then comes the task of hanging them. We’ve put together this simple guide to help.
Above left: our Pewter Curtain Pole with our Ball Finials. Above right: our Beeswax Curtain Pole and matching Ball Finials.
Our striking curtain furniture is both practical and beautiful. Skilfully forged by hand from solid steel it exudes character and charm. We now offer eight elegant finial designs. Choose from subtle Beeswax, shimmering Pewter or glossy Black.
Above: our Black, Pewter, and Beeswax Curtain Poles with our Hammered Ball, Monkeytail, Regency, Hook, Shell and Ball Finials.
Curtain Furniture Explained
Curtains hang from a curtain pole which is in turn connected to the wall by two or more curtain brackets. Our poles come in 1m, 1.5m and 2m lengths. If you require a longer pole then an Aluminium joining bar can be used to join two poles together. The curtain finials are fixed on each end of the pole with a grub screw. Finials come in many different designs and anchor the curtain, making sure it doesn’t slide off the pole. We also offer curtain tie backs that can be fixed to the wall to hold the curtains in place when open.
Above: our Beeswax Curtain Pole with matching Ball Finials, Curtain Rings and Brackets.
Curtain Headings
There are several different types of curtain headings. Most commonly curtains hang from the pole either by eyelets through the curtain itself, fabric tabs, or by using curtain rings and hooks. If using curtain rings we suggest using four rings per 300mm.
Above left: eyelet curtains on our Pewter Curtain Pole with matching Monkeytail Finials. Above right: pleated curtains hung on our Pewter Curtain Pole via our Pewter Curtain Rings, featuring complementary Ball Finials.
Drop & Gather
The length of the curtain is known as the drop and the mass of material when drawn is called the gather.
<img src="https://www.fromtheanvil.co.uk/media/blog/Drop_gather.jpg" alt="Left- long pink curtains in a bedroom on a Black curtain pole with the text " drop"="" next="" to="" it.="" right-="" closeup="" of="" the="" same="" curtains="" with="" word="" "gather"="" over="" it."="" width="1000">
Above: an image demonstrating the drop and the gather of curtains, featuring our Black Curtain Pole with matching Curtain Rings, Brackets, and Ball Finials.
Fitting a Curtain Pole
There are many different window sizes and shapes so this is just a general guide for fitting a From The Anvil curtain pole and you should adjust the process to suit your window type.
Before fitting the furniture first consider the type and weight of curtain you wish to hang.
Heavier curtains with thick lining need extra room at each end of the pole for the gather and may require a third fixing bracket to hold the extra weight. It’s important to consider the weight of the curtain when choosing your fixings. You may need to use a longer screw and raw plug or more heavy-duty fixings.
If you are dressing a large window you will need to use a third centre bracket.
1. Measure and mark the pole position.
Above: our Pewter Peardrop Espags. on a modern uPVC window frame.
Aim to position the pole so that the curtain hangs where you prefer it, whether it’s just below sill length, or touching the floor. When measuring the drop Remember to factor in whether the curtain hangs from eyelets or rings. The end brackets should be at least 50mm along from each the side of the window recess, probably more if you have thicker curtains and at least 50mm up from the top edge.
2. Position the centre bracket.
Above: marking the location of the centre bracket.
Measure the full length of the window and find the centre point. Then measure the curtain drop and mark the fixing position with a cross. As our curtain brackets are all made by hand, we recommend holding the bracket in the centre of the marked fixing position and using a pencil mark the position of each screw hole through the bracket.
3. Drill and plug the fixing holes.
Above: preparing the fixing holes for the curtain bracket.
Before drilling the fixing holes check for any cables or pipes and avoid the window lintel. You may wish to drill a smaller pilot hole first before using a larger drill bit. After drilling, remove any dust and then insert the raw plug.
4. Fix the brackets.
Above: fitting our Pewter Shelf Bracket.
Using a screwdriver screw the centre bracket into place. Next mark the position of the end brackets using a spirit level and taking your curtain’s gather size into consideration. We recommend that the pole and finial overhang the bracket by at least 50mm. Repeat these steps until all the brackets have been fixed.
5. Fix the finials and position the pole.
Above: securing our Pewter Ball Finial to our Pewter Curtain Pole via a grub screw.
Now that all three brackets have been fixed, we can place the pole into position. First place the curtain rings onto the pole and then fix both finials onto each end and tighten the grub screws securely. If you're using eyelet curtains, thread the curtains onto the pole before placing it onto the brackets. If you are using a joining bar, connect the two poles together and tighten the grub screw at the end of the connecting curtain pole securely.
Above left: the grub screw on our Pewter Mounting Bracket. Above right: two lengths of Pewter Curtain Pole connected via our Aluminium Joining Bar.
Now place the pole onto the brackets, leaving one or two rings between the end bracket and finial to anchor the curtain. Make sure that the correct number of rings are equally balanced either side of the centre bracket.
Top Tip – when placing the pole into position make sure that the grub screws at each end are facing the wall.
When the curtain pole and rings are in position you can tighten the grub screw in the brackets with the Allen key provided.
5. Attaching the curtains.
Above: the underside of pleated curtains.
If you are using curtain rings and hooks you can now gather your curtain heading into pleats.
Top Tip - Securely tie any excess string and tuck it into the heading tape. Don’t cut the excess string as you may wish to un-pleat your curtains to wash them.
Next, place a curtain hook on about every fourth pleat. We suggest using four rings and hooks per 300mm. Make sure you have used the same number of rings and hooks.
Above: pleated curtains hung using our Pewter Curtain Furniture.
Then simply hook the curtain onto the rings.
Discover our full colelction of Curtain Furniture here!
Or, find new ways to use these products in our Accessories & Alternative Uses blog!
Email: info@fromtheanvil.co.uk
Instagram: @fromtheanvil
