Curtain Rails

[clayspaniel]

Can anyone recommend a good curtain track? We have persevered for over a year with a bay window rail from Dunelm Mill but can't stand it anymore as the curtains keep getting snagged on the bend and we need a ladder to untangle it every time.

[PigletJohn]

Is it a simple white plastic one? I thought they were all much the same. Maybe you have too sharp and bend and need to form it into a gentler curve. It helps to have plenty of wall brackets to hold it in shape.

You can get Swish anywhere, and Homebase own-brand seem very good but cheaper. If you stick to one good make it is easier to have hooks and brackets to fit in your handy drawer.

[clayspaniel]

Thanks Piglet. The current one is a metal pole with brackets and a bend. Are the ones you mention fairly easy to put up? Prior to the metal pole we had a Screwfix plastic track and it kept falling down.

[PigletJohn]

yes, but get extra brackets.

If the screws are coming out of the wall you have a different problem.

Look at Swish Corded sets.

[JT05]

We just put up a JL brass bay pole with four bends. You buy it in bits, to your specific needs. It was quite expensive and needed a reasonable amount of DIY skill. But IMO is preferable to plastic.

[clayspaniel]

JT this sounds like the bay pole we got from Dunelm (which was very fiddly to put up). Do you find that you can swish the curtains along it? Ours always gets caught on the bend and have tried both plastic and metal curtain hooks.

[SunnySomer]

We struggled for years with a track we put up ourselves. Eventually had it replaced with a Silentgliss track installed by our local curtain shop. They got the angles absolutely right and the curtains flowed really easily (right-angled bay, so not a gentle curve). It cost about £200 which appalled my DH, but I think was really worth it.

[PigletJohn]

I sometimes like the look of poles, if you want them to be very prominent, but going round corners is hard and not really satisfactory.

When I had a large bay, I gathered the curtains at the edges, and in the front corners of the bay, so gathered in four places. Each was reasonably small.

[JT05]

Yes we looked at the Dunelm first, as a cheaper option. The previous owner had put one up, it was insubstantial and only curved around the first two corners, so that the curtains hung over the side windows and could not be fully pulled back. The JL ones are better made and pull quiet well considering each curtain is two widths of heavy linen.
It really all depends on the look you want.

[Cherylene]

My DPs suffered many tracks and rails on their bay windows that fell down, got stuck etc. In the end they got a JL pole (put up by JL) and it has not fallen down for years. I think any shop used to fitting and making curtains for non standard windows should be able to do something. It may cost more, but you will only need the one.

[JT05]

I will add that in the bedroom bay on the next floor we have got a Swish white track with lighter weight curtains. It works with the decor of the room and pulls marginally better round the bends!

[Joinourclub]

We had the same problem, do have up and got blinds. Much less fiddly !