If you’ve just moved into your dream house, decked it with the best furniture and household items money can buy and yet feel something is missing, you should take a good look at your windows. Do they look bare, too wide open and expose the entire household to the watching eyes of your neighbors? Or do you feel it’s the opposite, with heavy, dull-looking blinds hanging down from kinky poles obstructing the healthy sunshine and fresh air from outside? Then you should definitely think about buying curtains which add warmth and grace to your sweet home. There are a wide variety of curtains, nets and curtain accessories to choose from. Curtains are made using different types of cloth ranging from simple thin cottons to plush rich drapes made of satin. Plus they come in several shades, shapes and textures so you can buy the perfect curtain to match with the color and contour of your home’s walls.

There are different types of curtains namely netted curtains, voila curtains and jardinières. Besides curtains, there are many pretty accessories which add style and definition to the curtains and windows. The accessories include poles and supports like finials, brackets and rings to lend finishing touches to the set. These products are available readymade or you can even order for custom-made sets to give your own touch. Curtain poles are made of wood, brass, aluminum, steel and wrought iron with different types of finishing like corded poles painted in attractive colors. There are different types of rods commonly used namely dormer rods, portiere rods, café rods, net rods, drapery arms and draw-rods. There are decorative accessories available for holding the poles at the ends like cord weights, valance and swag creators. These also come in different shapes and colors and are made of different materials. Corona kits and tracks are a modified form of poles which come in trendy and stylish shapes to give that aesthetic appeal to bedrooms. However these poles support only light-weight fabrics of medium length. Other forms of decorative accessories are pelmets and valences. Pelmets can be designed either internally or externally and is a feature of traditional buildings. It is a framework which is placed above the window such that it conceals the poles of the curtain or bears some decorations. Pelmets may also serve to prevent the flow of convection currents through the window and so helps to prevent the building from heating up. Similar to pelmets are valances, which are however made of fabric. This form of accessory is used to drape the curtain at the top rendering it a better look. Valances work best with large French windows and bay windows which are draped with thicker and rich looking curtains.

If you feel traditional curtain rods with chunky accessories is too difficult to manage and handle, then you can opt for tension curtain wire systems. Sleek and contemporary, wire systems are very light and thin which can be used to hang the curtains with relative ease. Unlike curtain poles which require too many fixation accessories like bolts, screws, holdbacks and embraces, wire systems only require a hook on either side of the window to which it can be easily tied. Also, wire systems can be stretched and compressed easily, making it easy to transport and reuse. The one probable disadvantage of using wire systems is that it cannot be used for hanging heavy or long curtains, for the wire may tend to break or collapse due to increase in tension along the wire. However, not all wire systems are collapsible since they are made of resilient materials like stainless steel. The latest trend is the advent of electrically operated curtain systems which can be remote controlled or by means of a switch. This setup is particularly useful in large buildings like malls, hotels and industrial houses which make use of large, heavy curtains. So try out different varieties of curtain accessories and add a splash of color to your dream home.