Curtain poles for a bay window with "passing brackets" or fuck it and get tracks

[0898]

I've bought a bay window kit from Ikea. The one with the bendy bits to fit the corners.

Unless I'm missing something, all the brackets that support the pole are enclosed, so the curtain rings won't be able to go past them. Meaning half the curtains (I'd need 2 pairs) will get stuck halfway. Which will look shit.

So do I need to get some passing brackets and those C shaped rings? Are they a pain in the arse that always stick?

[sugarhoops]

We took down the horrible white plastic tracks that were on our upstairs and downstairs bay windows when we moved into our house 9 years ago. We replaced at great expense with the more attractive bendy curtain poles and c-shaped rings to pass over the bracket bends.

OMG I spent the next 5 years spending ridiculous amounts of time drawing and undrawing the curtains past the sodding bendy bit in the bay....drove me completely BONKERS . I often hand to stand on a chair / the sofa in the bay to make the curtains open / close properly

We have since had our curtains both up and downstairs completely re-made into roman blinds (lady used all the same fabric and liner, just cut it up and made it into gorgeous roman blinds - one one each side window, 2 for the 2 front window parts of bay, so 4 blinds in total for each bay window).

No more curtain poles or tracks, just simple, easy to draw roman blinds.

In hindsight, we should never have dumped the ugly tracks - they did work a dream, just looked really ugly. If we'd realised how annoying the bendy poles were, we could've just kept the tracks and paid someone to do those header things you see on some period house bay windows, to hide the tracks. Saying that, we're not really a grand-curtain-with-headers type house, so roman blinds suit us perfectly.

So yes, I found the bendy poles a complete nightmare and would urge you to think twice before dismissing tracks!

Sorry, that probably wasnt the answer you were looking for was it?!!

[TortoiseshellSpecs]

You mean box pelmet (the header thing), sugarhoops. That would be my smartest solution too. Or a custom corded bay pole so you can close the curtains using side cords rather than pulling the curtains themselves, but that is a very expensive option.

[sugarhoops]

Yes thats it tortoiseshellspecs!!

[VestaCurry]

We kept the ugly tracks (as you say, they work ok) and hid them with box pelmets.

[JacktheLab]

Urgh we have those expensive curtain poles (house was an ex show house and came with the window dressings already or I'd never have forked out for such expense!)

They are a total pain, we don't even draw the curtains now, just have them open all the time and put up blinds. I say keep the curtain tracks you have and put up a pelmet

[0898]

That is v good info sugarhoops, thank you. I'd rather take the hit on ditching the poles now than curse them twice daily for years.

I have a feeling blinds might be a bit ££ but I might be wrong!

[groovejet]

www.amazon.co.uk/Integra-Brooklyn-Window-Curtain-Brushed/dp/B005PWTAHC/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

We have this in our bay window, wanted a pole that could us eyelet curtains and this does the job, only 3 brackets 1 at each end and one in the middle.

[0898]

Thanks groove- is it really sturdy without the extra brackets then? And smooth on the corners?

[TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams]

We had those, but bought them from John Lewis. Solid brass poles with bendy bits for the corners, the whole lot cost frickin' hundreds. They were a disaster. They got stuck and jammed in the corners, the C shaped one's got caught together. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
Put shutters in the new bay window. Also cost a fortune but at least I don't have to balance on the backs of the armchairs to draw the curtains!

[exexpat]

Exactly the same here as treadsoftly - brass poles from John Lewis, look lovely but the c-shaped rings get stuck together or won't go past the brackets so you have to jerk the curtains, and the rings then come unhooked and so on. My front room curtains now stay open unless it is freezing. The not-so-pretty tracks with pull-cords in my other bay windows are so much better.

[happylittlevegemites]

Blinds shouldn't cost too much. They're not so hard to make, and require a lot less fabric than curtains.

[AWombWithoutAFoof]

We had the same as groovejet, we didn't hang really heavy curtains, and they swished backwards and forwards beautifully.

Yu can bend the pole to whatever angle you have (don't the Ikea ones just do right angles?). It was a bit of a headfuck to put up, but once we'd done one side it was fine.

[groovejet]

Yes really sturdy, our curtains are pretty heavy. they are a pita to put up but DH who isn't that great at DIY managed with not too much swearing :)

[Soonish]

In my own limited experience I think you should probably get tracks. Fineline do a brilliant range and I resorted to them when I had had an expensive heavy pole with actual articulated corners up for about a year and it had never stayed straight (I put up the right number of brackets in the right places and am a generally competent DIYer, but still)

Then one of the kids sat on the end of a curtain andthe whole thing fell off the wall, and nearly killed him (near miss) and as our walls are crumbly Victorian ones, there was just a big gaping hole above the window and I had to get tracks or have no curtains (or rebuild the entire wall).

I realised that contrary to my previous belief, you do not need a heavy pole to hold heavy curtains. In fact the heavier the curtains, (we have 11ft ceilings and interlined/velvet) the closer you ought to be to the wall to help negate the torsion on the track/pole.

Also we could attach the tiny track brackets to the actual wood frames which was impossible with the hugeee pole brackets.

Never looked back. Honestly they are bloody marvellous and so unobtrusive - I am getting them for the rest of my life. And yes the curtains did stick on the bends, too. But not any more.

{happy dance}

FINELINE is the bomb.