Taking care of a house is something that most people love to do. Different accessories and things that you can add to any room in order to give an extra presence and to help make it look better. Curtains are essential for any room, also, far more than a functional bits and pieces used to block light and endow solitude. Curtains are a form of window treatment and complete overall appearance of the house. These are also known as “draperies” in the US which is a piece of cloth intended to block or secure light, or drafts or water in the case of a shower curtain.
What are the curtain fabrics available in the market?
Curtains are used to give an aesthetical appeal for a room. An elegant one greatly increases the aesthetics of a room and gives an opulent look. If one cannot modishly work out for a good kind of curtain, a dirty and ill matched curtain curtains may give a room gloomy. The choice of curtains then should be given an utmost consideration. Depending on the purpose of which the curtains are being installed, fabric curtains, as the most popular window treatments may be opt to a light fabric or heavier drape, each with a differing degree of light and absorption and heat insulating qualities. Selection should also depend on the colour of the room, privacy required, how hot or cold upon want it to be and the art of light you prefer entering your room.
A wide range of fabric can be chosen when making your own curtain. A sheer or net curtain is made of translucent fabric which allows of light to be transmitted, providing a basic level of UV of protection. These are sometimes referred to as privacy curtains as during the day will allow people inside the home to see the outside view whilst preventing people outside the home from seeing directly into home. Uncoated fabrics are tightly woven fabric which is mostly opaque and provide a reasonable level of heat insulation due to tight weave fabric. Uncoated fabrics then when closed attempts to block out direct sunlight, light will still are visible through the curtain. The coated fabrics are coated with a liquefied ruber polymer in a single coat to an uncoated fabric. This fabric is considered a one pass coated fabric, often referred to as dim-out because of its ability to absorb 50-70% of a direct light source. Other parameters in choosing fabric curtains are the size of the room, the shape of the window and the colour and upholstery of the furniture.
For formal rooms, the use of fabrics like, brocade, damask, faille, silk, velvet or velveteen is recommended. If it is for informal room, you must choose from boucle, chintz, sateen, linen and sheeting. For casual, you can go with broadcloth, burlap, canvas, corduroy, denim, muslin, poplin suede cloth or tweed.
How about home-made curtains?
Curtains are used now in many homes or business to make a trend statement or to add a bit of stylish to the environment. They are regarded as decorative utility products which change the look of a room and give an expression of the room, a frame of mind. But as per requirements, curtains can be expensive and may seem not available in the market easily. In this case, home-made curtains are an advantage allowing you t splash out on more expensive curtains especially if one is very skilled and puts on a professional finish to them. You should visit craft and fabric shops to pick out the material preferred for your curtains and search for designer versions and start making your own. You can tailor the curtains to your exact requirements and will have a good option to customize them by using accessories (tie-backs, pelmets, cushion covers).
Other considerations:
A thought should be given on safety for floor length curtains when pets and children are present in the house. Make sure of your window measurement. You must decide on the length of the curtain, sill length, below sill length of floor length. The weight of the fabric will also determine the thickness of the pole.
Lining the curtains can protect it from damage due to dust, sunlight and in insulating the room.
Sunlight considerations:
- Use lined window treatments, blinds or shades to protect fabrics as dark colored fabric are light and fade
- Acetate often is blended with silk or cotton to make it more resistant.
- Consider professionally installed film to diminish the damaging effects of the ultraviolet rays.
Washing curtains:
- Don’t’ forget to check the label for washing instructions before laundering ready-made curtains. Hooks, rings and hardware should be removed if curtains are washable.
- Machine wash on a short gentle cycle using cool water and mild detergent must be used.
-Iron on the reverse side. Take care not to break the stitching and reattach metal hardware only after the curtains are dry.