Curtains aren’t just additional décor, they are functional too.  Here is our quick guide to help you choose the right style of curtain for your windows by asking yourself these questions…

1. Decisions, decisions!
Do I want them to help keep in heat, prevent drafts, or allow the room to stay cool? How much light should they let in or block? If your curtains are for a bedroom, you might choose a heavy material which won't allow a single ray to spoil your sleep. Alternatively, you might like sheer fabrics for those rooms where you want to let in as much light as possible, for example, a kitchen area or attic window. Blinds are great for windows where you need a variety of functions: pull them up for an unobstructed window, open them for a partial view, or close them fully to keep outside eyes away.

2. Exaggerate it and bring in the sunshine
If you want to draw attention to your windows, order more fabric and hang your curtain pole 15-30 cms above their frames. This makes your windows look much larger than they really are. Allow your curtains to hang to the floor past the bottom of the window frames to add even more height to the illusion!  

If you'd like your windows to let in as much light as possible during the day then add 20-25 cms more length on each end of your curtain pole or track. This means you can pull the curtains aside without obstructing any part of the pane. It also helps narrow windows appear wider.

3. Heading style?
Traditional heading styles like pinch pleats can be single, double or triple pleated - these generally need more fabric than pencil pleats where a heading tape is added to the back of the curtain and cords are drawn to gather the heading up together.  Eyelet curtains are great for windows without much space at the sides as they don’t take up much room when they are stacked back in their neat pleats. The same goes for Wave curtains, these operate on a special track and produce a similar effect to eyelet curtains - without the eyelets!

4. To line or not to line?
As well as the design, you'll need to decide if your curtains should have a lining or not. A lining protects the curtain from dirt on the window and sunlight which may fade the fabric. It helps keep more light out and  a thermal lining can actually provide extra insulation - which might in turn reduce your electric bills! For extra luxury and warmth, choose to have your curtains interlined too - this adds a ‘blanket’ type layer between the main fabric and lining, essential with silk curtains.

5. Pole or Track
Curtain poles can be metal, wood, acrylic with a huge range of decorative finials now - the
choice is endless!  These can even be used in bay windows with special curtain rings which pass over the corner brackets.  Tracks can be corded or uncorded and are a great choice especially on wide windows where the curtains are heavy as they can be fixed to the wall or ceiling with plenty of brackets.

Luxaflex have designed a retractable cord system for their Duette pleated blinds. The revolutionary Luxaflex® SmartCord™ operating system uses a retractable cord mechanism. The cords move smoothly to raise and lower the Duette® Shade with ease and safety.  Benefits include:
- Increased safety for children.
- Constant cord length means there are never any long dangling cords to detract from the appearance of the shade.
- Operating system is colour coordinated with any choice of Duette® fabric.
- Suitable for large windows up to 360cm wide.

In2interiors have had one of their busiest 6 months to date with a wide range of projects all across Surrey and London!

We’re happy to report that many more local customers in the Spelthorne and Elmbridge areas are using our services than ever before and many of them have benefited from our 5% cashback promotion for recommending new customers to us.

We’ve seen a trend with residential customers this year buying more vertical blinds and roller blinds, especially using fabrics with heat deflection and insultation properties.    Olympic Blinds launched a new range of patterned roller blinds earlier this year which has proven to be very popular.

Lots of eyelet curtains still being made - our customers tell us that they like the simplicity of the design and that they don’t have to ‘dress them in’ when they are stacked back as they always look neat.

Sheer roller blinds in white are also very popular at the moment - customers are choosing these instead of net curtains to provide privacy without the flounce!

No more dangling cords with the LiteRise® option on Luxaflex Duette and Plisse blinds.  The LiteRise® cordless system makes raising and lowering Duette® and Plissé Shades easier than ever. Designed so that you simply push up to raise and pull down to lower and your shades stay right where you put them.

- Intuitive ease of operation.
- No lift cords for a clean, uncluttered look.
- Elimination of lift cords means increased safety for children.
- Operating system is colour coordinated with any choice of fabric.
- Suitable for large windows up to 240cm wide.