How do you measure an opening for curtains?

Swissy

Swissy

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Sorry but after googling this i'm still lost, i have an opening between my living room and kitchen, i want to hang some lined curtains between these two rooms rather than have a solid door of some kind.

The opening is 4' 6" or 134cm wide by 6' 6" or 200cm high they will be hung from a curtain pole which i have yet to put up because obviously it's position will impact on the height i need for my curtains.

The purpose of the curtains is mainly to keep the living room warmer.

Can anyone help a thick single bloke please? :)
 
Swissy said:
Sorry but after googling this i'm still lost, i have an opening between my living room and kitchen, i want to hang some lined curtains between these two rooms rather than have a solid door of some kind.

The opening is 4' 6" or 134cm wide by 6' 6" or 200cm high they will be hung from a curtain pole which i have yet to put up because obviously it's position will impact on the height i need for my curtains.

The purpose of the curtains is mainly to keep the living room warmer.

Can anyone help a thick single bloke please? :)
Click to expand...

What exactly is the question?

Usually you want to double the width, so if using one curtain you would make it 268cm wide or if using two curtains then each would be 134cm wide. That’s to ensure you still have a gather when they are closed otherwise it would look like you’ve hung a bed sheet.

The height really depends on the type of curtain (ring, pencil pleat etc) and the height of your rail.

We’ve just replaced all of our curtains with curtains to go and their measuring guide was spot on

https://www.curtains-2go.co.uk/measuring-curtains.htm
 
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I think that you usually allow for fabric at one & a half times the width. Some say two times, but if you're having heavy fabric, that makes them quite bulky. HTH
 
My first question would be can I actually put a pole up. The reason I say that, is large openings tend to have lintels across them. So depending on what type of lintel you may not be able drill into it and depending on what it is it may not be safe too.

We had a similar problem in one of our houses had to extend the rail about a foot either side of the opening to miss the lintel. So I would start with the pole and then look at the curtains.
 
So if i go for the one & a half times the width measurement, i would need to buy a pack that says, in my case 200cm?


The reason i've not put the pole up yet is because most of the pre packed curtains i've seen are all a set measurement so it needs to be in the right position, other wise i will need to have them made to measure.
 
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If you're looking at a pair of ready made curtains then the width quoted is normally for EACH curtain - so if it says 200cm then each curtain panel is 200cm wide - 400cm total width.
Don't forget to allow space at the sides for pulling the curtains back so they don't take space away from the opening - assuming that's what you want. I usually allow an extra 10-20% on the width for this. Then work out the overall width - between 1.5 and 2 times the actual width is the usual - I've found they tend to hang better nearer the 2 times mark. So for a 134cm opening I'd be adding about 30cm for room to pull the curtains back so overall think of 160-170cm - so look for a curtain width of something in the 150-170cm type of range for each panel in the pair.
Ready mades tend to use standard sizes - 228cm will be length you need - the pole height depends on the type (as noted in the previous post) - so depending on how much room you have between the opening and the ceiling then this may dictate the hanging approach you use.
 
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munch said:
My first question would be can I actually put a pole up. The reason I say that, is large openings tend to have lintels across them. So depending on what type of lintel you may not be able drill into it and depending on what it is it may not be safe too.

We had a similar problem in one of our houses had to extend the rail about a foot either side of the opening to miss the lintel. So I would start with the pole and then look at the curtains.
Click to expand...
I had that problem. I put a length of timber about 2'' by 1/2'' up with "No Nails" and screwed the curtain rail to that.

I painted the timber to match the rest of the wall...I'm not a heathen!
 
As other Chris said, I find that if the opening is say 2 meters, then buy ready made's at 2m as this is per curtain, this give enough to "pull back" with a reasonable pleat when closed.
 
My comment was for making curtains from scratch. If you're buying ready made/ made to measure, then it should be straightforward opening sizes.
 
Would it not be easier ti just put draught excluder on the door and door frame?
 
thinking about it not sure I would want a curtain on an opening into a kitchen. Going to get rather "yucky" I would have thought. What about split two way doors (Rather like western salon doors) if space is a problem?
 
Got me specs on now, strangely enough I have a appointment at optician in a hour and a half:rolleyes:
From a fire safety point of view a curtain between kitchen and other room is not exactly recommended is it.
 
Thanks all, the curtains will probably only be closed at night to keep the living room warmer.


Krisstiffer said:
If you're looking at a pair of ready made curtains then the width quoted is normally for EACH curtain - so if it says 200cm then each curtain panel is 200cm wide - 400cm total width.
Don't forget to allow space at the sides for pulling the curtains back so they don't take space away from the opening - assuming that's what you want. I usually allow an extra 10-20% on the width for this. Then work out the overall width - between 1.5 and 2 times the actual width is the usual - I've found they tend to hang better nearer the 2 times mark. So for a 134cm opening I'd be adding about 30cm for room to pull the curtains back so overall think of 160-170cm - so look for a curtain width of something in the 150-170cm type of range for each panel in the pair.
Ready mades tend to use standard sizes - 228cm will be length you need - the pole height depends on the type (as noted in the previous post) - so depending on how much room you have between the opening and the ceiling then this may dictate the hanging approach you use.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, it made it a lot easier for me to understand ;)
 
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