Desperately need curtains at my bay window but don't know how!

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My draughty Victorian bedroom is utterly freezing and the baby and I are awake and miserable overnight. We have plantation shutters at the bay window put in my previous occupants which are nice but do naff all to keep it warm.

I've hung curtains before just on a plastic strip that bent round the shape of the bay but the wood is soft and weak and the weight of the curtains meant they just fell down. I now have some rather fetching holes in the wood above the windows where the curtains ripped the screws out.

Any bright ideas how to hang curtains? I've seen roof mounted track but the ceilings are incredibly high, don't think I could reach. Also seen bay window poles but reviews are mixed. Also have the problem of the soft/rubbish wood that it would be going into.

I know I'm probably being a bit dense and pathetic but I haven't had much sleep 😬

I will be going near an IKEA today if that helps... They have various curtain systems but they hurt my head to look at

There is a specialist metal pole that runs around the edge of the bay to make an omega shape. Pricey but worth it as the straight edge takes the weight.
www.madebytheforge.co.uk/bay-window-poles/iron-bay-poles.html

Oh thank you that looks interesting!

Have you got space between the windows and the ceiling to screw, with lots of long screws, a baton all the way round the bay. Then attach then curtain track to that.
Or, 2 pairs of curtains, and three tracks - one on the side of the bay, a pair in the middle, and a further curtain on the other side. This will only work if you have a bay with angles rather than a semicircle!

Personally I found that DIY bay window curtain fittings were a short term economy that ended up more expensive in the long term. We in the end had a curtain rail fitted by a professional who was able to get it into the exact right shape and fit for the bay. He put it onto the wall, not the wood of the window frame. Appreciate this may not be viable if you’re at home with a baby at the moment. Also, it’s worth investing in thick curtains.

Following as we have the bendy plastic type and our original lime plaster walls are so fragile I don’t dare to open the curtains. Usually when I try and open them part of the wall falls out and I have to spend a few hours on a ladder with a pot of polyfiller

Here's a photo of one of the sides. It actually goes straight across so I'm wondering if a long pole attached into the wall at the sides could help take some weight. Directly above the wood of the window frame is the cornicing and then the roof.

I'd really like a professional job to be honest it's just steeling myself up to pay for it. Should have had it done years ago really as I've been moaning about this ever since we moved in

You’d probably need a roof fix pole like a metropole or a bespoke bent bay pole like silent gliss around the inside edge of the bay, but the soft wood would need to be replaced if batons won’t work. A curtain fitter would be able to advise you.

The bespoke poles can be pricey but it depends how badly you want the draught kept out.

Thick heavy lined curtains down to the floor would help.

What kind of screw have you used previously?

It looks likes there's already wood battens round the window. Which should help distribute the weight. I'd try plasterboard fixings which hold better for heavy items and should hold the weight of the curtains without issue

Thank you. DH thinks we can try with more robust fixings, at least in the short term so I'll get on that this weekend.

Really appreciate all the advice x

John Lewis does a made to measure bay window pole service. Pricey but not extortionate.

We’ve got a DIY system from www.polesandblinds.com which is OK and secure, but not as nice as a properly made one. Was very easy to put up and takes the weight of our interlined velvet full-length curtains.

We've got two square bays and have also ended up using bendable plastic tracks. The first one we put up was quite flimsy and struggled to hold the weight of the curtains so for the second track I ended up screwing in a load of extra brackets which has helped as the weight of the curtains is more distributed if that makes sense. Worth a try?

We had a window like that. We used three straight battens on the wall, and a flexible plastic curtain rain - the rail really didn't need to touch battens along its entire length. It was up for years with no trouble - I would imagine that's the cheapest way to do it, OP.

I've always found that the bendable plastic tracks work fine on bay windows.

There are thermal curtains you can buy, OP.

The white pieces of wood between the windows & the ceiling would be perfect if they weren't rotten.

So take down those bits of wood, put new ones in place of the same size, paint white, then fix up a bendy plastic rail with your curtains on.

[quote ViewfinderPiggle]There is a specialist metal pole that runs around the edge of the bay to make an omega shape. Pricey but worth it as the straight edge takes the weight.
www.madebytheforge.co.uk/bay-window-poles/iron-bay-poles.html[/quote]
this one still requires 3 fittings in the bay itself.

most bay window poles use curtain rings which are 3/4 of a circle, and pass over the supports.
We have a good quality expensive pole properly fitted and it looks great, very solid, but those 3/4 rings don't go past the support poles nearly as smoothly as you would think and it is a pain in the arse.

I can only close the curtains standing on something so my hand is up high.

Another option could be to have several cutains, and several straight tracks. So the open curtains sit against the wood betweent he windows

We've just had a nightmare trying to get curtains for our square bay.

There's very little room between the top of the window and the "ceiling" of the bay, so because of the way the windows open, a pole is out of the question.

We've put a bendy track in, but there are very few ready made curtains for curtain tracks - they all have pole eyelets. Our previous curtains were made to measure, and they cost a fortune. We've given the room a revamp, but I don't want to spend £££ on curtains again, so we got a very cheap pair from Dunelm which will have to do until we find some we actually like.

Have you thought of putting the curtains outside of the bay - in a straight line from wall to wall?

@parietal

The white pieces of wood between the windows & the ceiling would be perfect if they weren't rotten.

So take down those bits of wood, put new ones in place of the same size, paint white, then fix up a bendy plastic rail with your curtains on.

This. Replace the rotten battens with new, decent wood, and screw into that.

If you are on a budget try the long velvet curtains from IKEA, they block out a decent amount of light and cold air, we have them on our bay window. Also try thermal blackout lining from Dunelm or wherever. Together they make a massive difference