JOHN BIDDELL CURTAIN CALL
67
I love curtains, and believe they make or break a room. They can add colour, texture, drama, warmth (both metaphorically and literally), softness – the list goes on and on. I realise that a pair of well-made curtains in a gorgeous fabric will undoubtedly set you back a good few quid, but believe me it’s so worth it. We often have returning clients telling us that the curtains we fitted in their house 10-15 years ago still look fresh and new.
My heart sinks when a new client comes to us saying that the building work has gone over budget, and consequently they don’t have much left to spend on the curtains. It’s such a shame. The new heating system might be top notch, the technology bang up to date - so much so that you could run a bath at home while you’re on holiday in Tenerife (assuming your airline has enough fuel to get you there), but a skimpy set of curtains at the window is going to absolutely ruin the impact of any room, and devalue the overall effect entirely. We always advise people in that situation to wait until they have the funds to give the windows the proper treatment the project deserves.
A good pair of curtains will be hand sewn, and of course lined. But good can instantly be made into fabulous by adding interlining. This is a fleecy fabric inserted between the face
fabric and the lining, giving bulk and substance in any situation, but particularly to more diaphanous fabrics, and most certainly linen. It also has the properties of adding insulation, deadening sound and reducing light intrusion. In short, interlining adds a lot to the look but not a massive amount to the cost.
Curtains come with a variety of headings. The basic types such as pencil pleat, where a tape is pulled up to achieve a kind of “soldiers in a row” effect, are the entry level. A taped heading is also great for a relaxed, rustic feel. Eyelet headings, where a pole goes through the top of the curtains, can look smart in a contemporary room – very preferably using a chunky 50mm diameter pole with 70mm eyelets, but these days is waning in popularity. Wave heading is the increasingly popular choice for a contemporary look, and gives a similar effect to eyelet headings, except that instead of having a pole go through the curtains there is a very discreet track fitted above them. My out and out favourite though is hand pinch pleat, sometimes called French pleat. Here the fabric is hand sewn into groups of 3 pleats, which when professionally fitted and dressed gives the most elegant of effects. The curtains can be hung from a track or a pole, or surmounted by a pelmet, and will look equally at home in a contemporary or traditional setting.
Just a few words about poles before we move on. The variety of poles available today is truly staggering, ranging from wood - traditional or contemporary - through all sorts of fabulous metal
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HOMES & INTERIORS JOHN BIDDELL - INTERIORS EXPERT
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