are pencil pleat or eyelets nicer?

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

Stuck in total indecision. We need new curtains in our living room. We have neither a modern or tradtional style to the room. It's just a bit of a mix really although probably more modern. I don't like massively "on trend" stuff as I prefer a more classic style really which doesn't date too much, although don't mind changing cusions etc to match trends every few years. Currently got a cheap plastic pole and some ancient wrecked pencil pleat curtains which were supposed to be changed 7 years ago (and we haven't got round to it !)

I'm just looking for something very plain and neutral, probably cream/natural.

Pleats absolutely any day of the week. Make sure you order enough width too to make sure the fabric isn’t skimpy. Eyelets are awful IMO (sorry to any eyelet lovers 😬)

Pleats for me too, I just don't like eyelets.

Pencil pleats are probably more traditional but I hate them. They always look messy and you have bunched curtains at the end of the pole.
All of my curtains are eyelets.
I spend my money on poles, nice metal ones with lovely finials, cheap poles look horrible.
I bought my last ones from here, they are lovely.
www.nigeltyas.co.uk/curtain-poles.html
My curtains are all from Dunelm they look really nice.

Pencil pleats. Eyelets are very Argos Catalogue (sorry).

Yes, I suppose I view eyelets as being very "Next". Which is fine if you like that look but not sure it's right for my living room. We do have eyelets in our kitchen diner but they go with the look of the room cos it's less "lounge-y".

I'll probably be getting the curtains from Dunelm, @Shehasadiamondinthesky, just can't decide on the type, or pole really.

I'm veering towards pleats having seen the replies. What type of pole though?

I'm an eyelets girl.
Stainless steel poles here but totally depends on your lounge.
We have more silver/grey in our colour scheme therefore stainless steel looks best.

Pencil pleats, I also like triple pleats

I'm another eyelets woman. They are so much easier to put up and there's no faffing around getting the pleats even. I prefer the look of them, they are more up to date and I have a modern property so they look better. As long as they are made from good quality lined fabric and the poles are also decent quality they look fine.

I don’t like eyelets. They let the light in too much in a bedroom, and (sorry eyelet lovers) I just think they look very cheap.

Pleats for me. I live in an old house and eyelets would look wrong. They look best in a modern setting.

I don't really like the look of pencil pleats hanging below a metal pole, like this. I think it looks cheap. But the only tracks for pencil pleats I can see atDunelm look flimsy. And in fact the one that is up there is bending from the weight of the curtains and coming away from the wall, and it was supposed to be a luxury strength one. That was Dunelm.

Any ideas for a decent set up for pencil pleat curtains?

Neither.
Goblet or inverted pleat as per these imaged (the names vary)
penumbrablinds.co.uk/our-products/internal/soft-furnishings/curtain-headings/

We have pencil pleats with no curtain hooks from IKEA - there are loops at the back of the curtain to push the curtain pole through.
So they don’t hang below the pole, the pole is covered by the curtain.

@Sportsnight

I don’t like eyelets. They let the light in too much in a bedroom, and (sorry eyelet lovers) I just think they look very cheap.

You're correct bought a house with eyelet curtains in the bedroom the early morning light in the summer streamed in, awful. Curtains we have had made are pleated

Pencil pleat all day long, preferably pinch pleat too. All my curtains are hung on tracks in the recess of the windows as above each window is a wooden beam. Even if I wanted a pole for eyelet curtains I couldn't bring myself to drill into the beam.

Pencil pleat is my favourite. But only if they're made to measure so that the pleat is sewn in, if you have to do the pleats yourself they tend to look awful and move over time etc. But of course made to measure tends to be quite expensive. So if I couldn't afford that I'd go with eyelet. I'd rather that than awful looking pleats!

How much for made to measure curtains usually? I'm getting new ones. I know it depends on window size. I want full length.

Don't like eyelets

Pencil pleat.

If you get some with wide header tape & put the hooks on the bottom of it, it won’t hang under the pole.
Or a pelmet box -although I’d find that a bit much.
Or extra brackets on the curtain track/light curtains. Ours doesn’t bend but we have a curved curtain track in a bay so there are 9 brackets for the track.

@MeetMeAtOurSpot

Pencil pleat.

If you get some with wide header tape & put the hooks on the bottom of it, it won’t hang under the pole.
Or a pelmet box -although I’d find that a bit much.
Or extra brackets on the curtain track/light curtains. Ours doesn’t bend but we have a curved curtain track in a bay so there are 9 brackets for the track.

I was about to say this - wide header tape and hooks low down. The pole will then be invisible.

I have these - 55mm in polished mahogany, with glass finials which I bought locally. They are lovely. Make sure the curtains have weights in the lining so they hang properly!

We got made to measure eyelets from John Lewis. Someone came to measure up. I just think there isn't enough material at all and they don't look full. Wish I'd complained at the time. I much prefer pleat.

Pencil pleat every time.

Can you get pinch pleat or goblet? I don't like eyelets (but they have their place) but think you have to be careful with pencil pleat too - they can look messy and uneven.

Over-invested in curtains, but goblets are on a par with magazine racks and antimacassars.