What To Look For When Shopping For Curtains

Are you unhappy with your curtains? If you’ve had your current curtains for a few years, it’s likely the colour has started to fade, the sides may be fraying and your old blind just doesn’t look full of life anymore.

Well, then it looks like it’s time for you to start shopping for a brand new curtain for your home, but do you know what you need to look out for when shopping for new curtains? There are lots of different types of curtains, as well as different fabrics, different rails and so much more, so it can be hard to know what sort of curtain you need and what you need it to do.

Luckily for you, we’ve put together this handy guide of what to look for when you’re shopping for new curtains for your home, so read on and find out what you need to know before going curtain shopping.

Made To Measure Or Standard Cut?

The first question of your curtain buying journey should be whether or not you should be getting a made to measure curtain or a standard pre-cut curtain off of the shelf. You can buy pre-cut curtains in certain standard sizes, but they may not be perfect for your window size, so if you can’t find a decently sized pre-cut curtain you should opt for a made to measure curtain.

With a made to measure curtain, you provide the measurements for your window and the company will make the curtain to that exact size so that your new curtain is perfectly sized to your window, of course they’re slightly more expensive, but if you would need to rim down pre-cut blinds it’s often simpler to just pay the extra for made to measure.

How Will The Curtain Fit In Your Window?

Knowing how your curtain will fit into your window is important, sometimes you’ll be able to keep the headrail from your old curtains, other times you’ll have to replace the headrail so it’s compatible with your new curtain. The main types of attachments are by hooks which attach to a curtain rail, or eyelets which have a curtain pole threaded through them.

Often, the simplest solution is to check how your current curtains attach and purchase a new blind that fits the same way. This means that you’ll only need to pay for the curtain and not also the track or pole and you’ll be able to easily install your new curtain.

What Properties Should The Fabric Have?

Finally, you should know what qualities the fabric on your new curtains should have, as there are so many types you want to make sure that your new curtains are appropriate for the setting, they’ll be in. For example, in a bedroom setting you’ll want your curtains to be made out of a blackout material which will block light rather than a dimout curtain which would let light into your bedroom at night.

So you should know where the curtain will go and what needs you have, you can always ask a member of staff to help you, but it’s good to know for yourself before shopping around. Things to keep in mind would be how much light the curtain lets through, how often will it need to be cleaned, will the curtain need to be water proof and so on.