How should I cover the doors and windows in my hall?

[AnnOnymity]

Despite being the only new and double-glazed room in a very old house, my entrance hall is very, very cold indeed. There is even a big gap between the front door and the wall (see pic). I've come to the conclusion that some sort of door curtain is needed, but am going round in circles trying to decide exactly how to do this.

The picture of the door isn't the best as I had to stand in a dark corner to take it! There are long windows either side of the door and also two more on side walls out of shot.

A curtain above the door, then matching blinds (thermal blinds?)?

A very long curtain curtain rail covering the door and windows to both sides? That could end up looking like a theatre stage when the curtains were down though, and would be a very heavy curtain for any tail to support?

A curtain just on the bit of the door that opens (short rail attached to the wood)? But that might not cover the gap at the side and would make it tricky to pen the door fully (it is recessed).

Another fantastic solution that I'm missing?

Warmth is the key factor but it must look ok too. It is quite a grand house and I don't want the entrance to let it down.

Apologies for the many typos.

I'd be nervous about having curtain hanging down between the windows and door during the day and ruining the look. So I'd be inclined to go for curtain all the way across.

You can get special curtain poles for doors that fold open with the door.

The windows certainly make it tricky though!

They might be called a portier

I would look into some sort of draught proofing strip on the hinge side of the door for starters. This could possibly be fitted outside to cover the gap. Also do the same at the bottom of the door.

Consider how you would get the curtain out of the way in order to open the door. You can get curtain poles specifically for fitting to doors which lift the curtain up as the door opens.

It's a wide space when you factor in the windows. One curtain all the way across would lead to much comedy trying to open the door! You could fit three curtains to one pole/track though. Or how about shutters to the two windows and a heavy, thermal lined curtain on a pole above the door with a good amount of overlap at the sides?

Oh and fit a draught excluder flap over the back of the letterbox on the inside of the door.

X-post with Owl - they are portiere rods.

I would put a portier across the door and then separate curtains across the windows to hang on the sides away from the door.

Also, what is the heating like in the hall? Is the radiator not big enough or does it need bleeding?

I think I might get a portier for my front door. They look far more practical and lovely than my Ikea curtain pole!

I had a portiere in my old house - they overhang the edges of the door so the curtain properly covers the edges of the door. You can fit a curtain holdback or use a tie back to keep the curtain out of the way when it's less cold.

Thank you all, this is really helpful.

I'd never heard of a portiere before, but that is exactly what I need, think. A cursory google suggests there are ways of attaching it so that the door still opens fully.

Re: radiator - it does work properly (unlike most, see other thread ) but it is on an external wall and is fighting a losing battle against the heat loss from the door and 4 windows. We also have two flights of stairs that go off the hall and so any heat that there is just vanishes. I have today attached these magic heat loss prevention panels behind the radiator so I hope that might help a little.

Do people think 5 curtains (4 windows plus door) will look ok, or too fussy? Would blinds be better on the windows?

I don't think shutters are an option as the windows are pretty narrow. Plantation style ones would look really wrong here. We have the solid ones that fold to the side in other rooms (a la impeding credits on Downton Abbey).

Those windows are not narrow by a lot of peoples' standards I would say! I imagine you could get shutters of a suitable style to fit. You definitely should look into draught proofing the door more as well as curtains though.

The whole point of a portiere is that it is attached to the door and lifts the curtain out of the way so the door can be fully opened. They are good. Are you thinking a pair of curtains per window when you've counted 5 for windows and door, or are there 4 windows? I would use poles for the window curtains which are wide enough to allow you to pull the curtains completely clear of the windows at the times of year when you are not bothered about keeping draughts out.

I'd put thermal lined roman blinds inside the recess of the windows and have a matching heavy lined curtain over the door. Maybe in Summer, swap and have just a plain voile panel on the windows so that the light comes in and take the door curtain down?

I think that in daytime a single curtain at each window pulled to the side would look better than a pair of curtains but, I'll freely admit, I have no eye for this kind of thing!

They are only 63cm wide (170 long, I think).

I was imagining a single curtain per window too.

Should have mentioned that one of the windows out of shot is tiny (other 3 are the same size). That one would look silly with a curtain - like one of those curtains that the Queen opens to reveal a commemorative plaque! It may not be possible to make or buy anything to cover that one.