Hi,

We have a bay window in our lounge room and wondered how best to dress it. What sort of pole/cord can i fix the voile to? Cheap if possible for our rented accomodation. Someone mentioned muslin instead of net - but how can i attach it to the bay window curve? I have beige Ikea curtains with a tracking line but it doesn't seem to be holding it too well and at the end if it is pulled back sometimes the curtain will come off at the end. How can i fix this? And how can we update our rather scruffy looking lounge without spending a fortune?

Hi Yellow,

I dont have bay windows but understand that Argos do do special tracks...

There are two realitively reasonable sources for dressing materials for the windows... one would be the Fabric Warehouse - a search on the name should reveal their nearest stall or you could use sari material to drape...

As for keeping the curtains on the track you need an end stop for your current rail - normally the last curtain hook has a screw in it which you tighten to prevent it from coming off the end.

I hope this helps

Angela

hello
there are special rails out there that bend round bay windows, as angie mentioned, but some of them can be quite expensive!! would you be able to screw in the little eye hooks used for the stretchy netting wire? you could use this inside the curve of the window with your voile/sari/sheer fabric on, and if its possible you could get a straight curtain track and put it on the straight wall so the bay is enclosed at night (hope you understood that!!) if not, you could always try the copper pipe bending trick!! you can hire bending tools by the day, and make sure you buy piping thats thin enough to bend, then make a template of the curve, marking where suitable places for brackets are, and bend the pipe following the template. might be hard work, but think of the satisfaction!!
as for cheap ways to glam up the lounge, i would say go for a calm neutral all over, with maybe an accent wall for added interest, or add interest with accessories/flowers/picture frames or blocks of colour on the wall. dont forget there are texture paints on the market now! i have just suggested this to my brother for his bedroom in a coffee/cream colourway, and (with a little coaxing) he agreed!!
hope this helped!!
Riah

oh, and if you do go for the copper pipe idea but dont like the colour, strip the sealer coat off and key the surface with thin gauge wire wool and esp or metal primer is better, and then paint!!
good luck!!
Riah (again!!)

Hi Riah,

Glad to see you are back on the boards again - how was Uni?...

Angie

Hi there. I am not sure how your Ikea curtains factor into this, but it might help with the voile. Possibly the cheapest would be lengths of bamboo cane supported by a cup hook (or similar but smaller hook) at each end. You could do voile swags to disguise the fittings.

To stop the curtains falling off your track: if you can figure out the track name (or take along one of the hooks) you might get the proper end fitting. Otherwise make your own, fitting a small screw as the end stop on the side facing the window.