Curtains for energy efficiency?

YBR

This is our arrangement of blind in the window recess and curtain outside. I added the blind to mitigate direct sunshine because we wanted to block just the top of the window rather than draw curtains fully, but also helps with warmth.

Isoei

Alnat1 said:

My curtains were from Dunelm too "Chenille Geo Peacock Eyelet Curtains"

Also bought the thermal linings from there "Thermal Eyelet Curtain Linings" 

Read the reviews, they appear honest and will add to the description, often giving details of how well made they are (Dunelm appear to have a few poorly made ones)

I tend to choose plainer curtains or vertical stripes, rather than ones with a big repeating pattern. I hate to get a "pair" of curtains where one side has the pattern higher/lower than the other but maybe I'm a bit OCD 

Possible silly question incoming: do they (or any other supplier) do just the lining itself with ring-top attachment already on? I'd like to add thermal curtains/lining to my current ones, but as I'm renting the curtains aren't technically mine, so I can't sew on a lining as you would with cut-t--measure. Besides buying my own pre-made thermal curtains and replacing what's currently up, I wondered if I could just add a thermal liner behind the current curtains.

Emmia

Isoei said:

Alnat1 said:

My curtains were from Dunelm too "Chenille Geo Peacock Eyelet Curtains"

Also bought the thermal linings from there "Thermal Eyelet Curtain Linings" 

Read the reviews, they appear honest and will add to the description, often giving details of how well made they are (Dunelm appear to have a few poorly made ones)

I tend to choose plainer curtains or vertical stripes, rather than ones with a big repeating pattern. I hate to get a "pair" of curtains where one side has the pattern higher/lower than the other but maybe I'm a bit OCD 

Possible silly question incoming: do they (or any other supplier) do just the lining itself with ring-top attachment already on? I'd like to add thermal curtains/lining to my current ones, but as I'm renting the curtains aren't technically mine, so I can't sew on a lining as you would with cut-t--measure. Besides buying my own pre-made thermal curtains and replacing what's currently up, I wondered if I could just add a thermal liner behind the current curtains.

I added a thermal loose liner which is hung on curtain rings, behind my eyelet curtains. I just hang the curtains, folding the lining carrying rings in, so they sit between the folds of the eyelet curtains - they're completely removable so you can take them down and with you when you move on.

Curtain hooks join the curtain to the rings, no sewing involved.

Edit I bought these ones, which come with the hooks: Hachette BLACKOUT THERMAL CURTAIN LININGS 3 PASS INSULATED *INCLUDES CURTAIN HOOKS* (46" x 90") https://amzn.eu/d/fP9uhXl

Edit, I went for larger sized rings which means you can't see them when the curtains are up. 

A tip, don't buy those rings that are hinged and open up in half, thinking it will save you needing to take down and rehang the curtains... It will, but the rings will constantly open up making the lining drop down, and they're a fiddle to clip back together - it's a false economy and an error that I made, before buying proper rings and hanging the curtains correctly.

Spoonie_Turtle

Isoei said:

Alnat1 said:

My curtains were from Dunelm too "Chenille Geo Peacock Eyelet Curtains"

Also bought the thermal linings from there "Thermal Eyelet Curtain Linings" 

Read the reviews, they appear honest and will add to the description, often giving details of how well made they are (Dunelm appear to have a few poorly made ones)

I tend to choose plainer curtains or vertical stripes, rather than ones with a big repeating pattern. I hate to get a "pair" of curtains where one side has the pattern higher/lower than the other but maybe I'm a bit OCD 

Possible silly question incoming: do they (or any other supplier) do just the lining itself with ring-top attachment already on? I'd like to add thermal curtains/lining to my current ones, but as I'm renting the curtains aren't technically mine, so I can't sew on a lining as you would with cut-t--measure. Besides buying my own pre-made thermal curtains and replacing what's currently up, I wondered if I could just add a thermal liner behind the current curtains.

I assumed the Dunelm ones were like this, but then I realised why they're not - as the length of gaps between eyelets at the top could vary by brand. 

But you don't sew them in either, you hang them on rings that hook onto the liner like a pencil top curtain.  Hang it alongside your curtain, so no worries about removing it when you move or even just if you want to remove it in summer.

triplemaya

"a cheap, easy fix is to sew curtain hooks on to cheap fleece blankets and then hook those onto the header tape at the back of a standard pencil please curtain"

That is very neat and very clever. I was clothes pegging the blankets onto the top of the curtains. Kept falling off over time of course.

triplemaya

EssexHebridean said:

We've got a thermal curtain on our front door - another Dunelm one in fact - and it does indeed work very well. Our bay window has the curtains the previous owners left - nice heavy ones and once they are drawn we tuck them behind the radiator to ensure the heat comes into the room not up behind them, that window also has blinds and we weren't worrying about closing those until the last week or so when we tried closing those when pulling the curtains to see if it made a difference - it definitely did, the room warmed up far faster . 

When fixing curtain poles, a lot of people suggest fixing a batten to the wall first and fixing the pole to that rather than directly in to the wall as it is seemingly less likely for the screws to pull out, then. Extending poles can indeed be irritating because of the catchy bit in the middle, but you do get used to it, and certainly in our case it was the only practical option as getting made to measure poles for all the windows was just going to prove too expensive! 

As for linings - a cheap, easy fix is to sew curtain hooks on to cheap fleece blankets and then hook those onto the header tape at the back of a standard pencil please curtain - it's budget friendly and the difference it makes is incredible. You can get the cheap fleeces at Dunelm and similar places. 

Think also about simple roller blinds for rooms where curtains aren't appropriate (kitchens and bathrooms) - you can get those in thermal versions too, although we've always found that the standard blackout ones work pretty much as well. 

If you are really in the Hebredies you must need this and every trick in the book! But maybe you are now in Essex but still with a Hebredies mindset. Or moved to the Hebredies from Essex? Brrrr!

EssexHebridean

triplemaya said:

EssexHebridean said:

We've got a thermal curtain on our front door - another Dunelm one in fact - and it does indeed work very well. Our bay window has the curtains the previous owners left - nice heavy ones and once they are drawn we tuck them behind the radiator to ensure the heat comes into the room not up behind them, that window also has blinds and we weren't worrying about closing those until the last week or so when we tried closing those when pulling the curtains to see if it made a difference - it definitely did, the room warmed up far faster . 

When fixing curtain poles, a lot of people suggest fixing a batten to the wall first and fixing the pole to that rather than directly in to the wall as it is seemingly less likely for the screws to pull out, then. Extending poles can indeed be irritating because of the catchy bit in the middle, but you do get used to it, and certainly in our case it was the only practical option as getting made to measure poles for all the windows was just going to prove too expensive! 

As for linings - a cheap, easy fix is to sew curtain hooks on to cheap fleece blankets and then hook those onto the header tape at the back of a standard pencil please curtain - it's budget friendly and the difference it makes is incredible. You can get the cheap fleeces at Dunelm and similar places. 

Think also about simple roller blinds for rooms where curtains aren't appropriate (kitchens and bathrooms) - you can get those in thermal versions too, although we've always found that the standard blackout ones work pretty much as well. 

If you are really in the Hebredies you must need this and every trick in the book! But maybe you are now in Essex but still with a Hebredies mindset. Or moved to the Hebredies from Essex? Brrrr!

Ha - if I were, then I definitely would! In fact it's way less simple than that though - I'm a Londoner, now living in Essex, who has a strong desire to move to the Hebrides one day!  It's not the temperature as such that's an issue up there though - it's the wind!