Curtains and Radiators

Curtains and Radiators

Radiators are often to be found below windows, presumably to avoid taking up wall space elsewhere in the room, but causing curtain designers quite a headache for window treatments.

A lovely pair of full-length curtains is undoubtedly the most stylish way to dress a window, however if the radiator is below the window, then when the curtains are closed and the central heating is on, the only result is hot curtains and a cold room.

Curtains finishing just below the sill is one solution, leaving the radiator uncovered when the curtains are closed. There are two drawbacks with this; firstly the curtains never seem to look quite as stylish as full-length, and also some of the heat rising up from the radiator still ends up behind the curtains.

The next best solution is probably to abandon curtains and fit a roman blind. This can be a great answer, particularly if the window has a nice wooden surround to help add interest and finish. Though if the window reveal is simply ninety degrees of plaster, then the surround to the roman blind can look slightly bare.

The complete solution, if you can stretch to it, is to have both curtains and a roman blind. Through the summer you can close the curtains and admire your fabric in all its glory, then in the winter you can just drop the roman blind and leave the curtains open – or of course you can take that approach all year round if you wish. ‘Mock’ curtains are a possibility, these are curtains that don’t full close and are just there to dress the window. This saves on fabric as well, though we would recommend not using too little fabric as the curtains can then look a little odd if it’s obvious they don’t close, curtains that cover about two thirds of the window still save fabric and really finish the treatment.

Having curtains plus a roman blind is another creative opportunity of course. The same fabric can be used for both, but choosing two fabrics to complement each other makes for a really super window treatment.

In the photo above, a Blendworth fabric for the curtains, Blendworth Thatch 005, looks fabulous with a plain blind in a matching colour.