Buying Curtains
Recently, my husband and I decided we wanted to buy some curtains for a window in our living room. We have had a shade on it for several years now, and after visiting a friend, noticed how much nicer curtains made their windows look.
So, we set out to find some that we both really liked. We ended up finding a set that wasn't insanely expensive and that we both liked. It inadvertently matched some decorative pillows I had purchased a while back, so it was a perfect find.
We bought the curtains as well as a rod...that is where the irritation began.
Curtain pocket & rod size
Nowhere on the curtains we purchased did it say anything about what size the pocket was. Nowhere on the rod did it say what it's diameter was. So, imagine our surprise when we got them both home and tried to put them up and found out that the curtains did not fit on the rod!
What made it even worse is we drove about 40 minutes away in order to buy the curtain and the rod. We didn't want to have to make another trip just to get a new rod. So, my husband decided to look at Bed, Bath & Beyond for a new rod in the town he works in.
When he went in, he found some nice clip on rings that we are using in order to hang our curtain instead of using the curtain pocket. That worked out nicely, since then we didn't have to mess with returning the rod (we weren't going to return the curtains, since we like those).
Sashes
Along with the curtains, there were some sashes that we purchased to make the top of the curtains look nicer. Whoever designed these really needs to be shot. They are easy to put up, as they have a ring on either side that just slides over the rod...however, they are made to go with the curtains we purchased. The curtains are something like 40" wide, but the sashes are only 23" wide. This means that if we put the sash up, and have it go on the outsides of the curtain, we cannot close the curtains. The window is wider than 46" (23 + 23).
So, we ended up going back and purchasing a third sash to go in the middle. Now there are 3 sashes going across the window, and the curtains have several rings past the outside 2 sashes, so we can close them if we ever decide to.
The Rod
Back to the rod. The rod that we purchased is fine. It is pretty, sturdy and holds the curtain up without an issue. However, after we hung the curtains, we decided that they would have looked better with a sheer hung behind them.
All rods are sold with the mounting brackets (a good thing). However, now that we want to have a sheer behind our curtain, we need a second rod. Of course, they sell dual rods and even triple rods, and the even sell some special attachments that you can use to put a second rod up on your existing brackets...but alas, these do not work for our brackets.
The brackets that came with the rod are kind of a scroll shape. The attachments you can buy to hang a second rod behind your existing rod do not work with this type of bracket. And, apparently it is very difficult to find where they sell individual brackets. We like the rod we have, and just wanted to get a different set of brackets that would allow us to have a second rod behind the one that is up now. You can't buy these. The rod we have is bigger around than many rods and they just don't seem to sell brackets.
I just don't understand this. I understand that they sell brackets with the rod, but if you want to hang curtains and sheers, then you are stuck with a much smaller selection of rods, or you have to buy a separate rod and hang it behind/below the rod you already have. I would think that rod/curtain makers would have figured this out by now and would allow you to just buy brackets.
Maybe it isn't the manufacturers...maybe it is the stores that carry the merchandise. Whichever it is, it is extremely aggravating to the buyer.
So, beware when you purchase curtains for your home. Decide before you buy anything if you want just curtains, or if you want curtains as well as sheers to go behind it. It will influence your purchase. Also, see if you can make sure that the curtain you buy will fit on the rod that you buy, or you may end up going back to the store in order to buy some clip-on rings or a new rod.
