fulfilling the stereotype!

[tycarregydwr]

Just spent three hours fitting curtains
Ok, so one pole went up into a bare concrete wall, another curtain is on a track that the previous owner NAILED to a bare plaster wall, and two other pairs are too short for the doors they're covering.... but at least they'll keep the house a bit warmer while we procrastinate over what to do next :lol: (and for a grand total of £23 in charity-shop bargains, I think well worth it).

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: At least you have some up, you should notice a difference in warmth and cosiness right away! You can extend a curtain by stitching a contrast band (plain to patterned and vice versa) on lower hems and leading edges. (by which I mean the inwards edges). If you do that match weights and types, ie trim velvet with something equally heavy.

Actually hanging curtains is a real art. On my course I met a professional hanger. The way he handled the pleats!! As lovingly as any Egyptian with the carpet that's taken so many years to weave, as proudly as any peacock spreading his tail. He absolutely caressed those curtains into beautiful shape. He talked for hours about how to hang curtains. There were arguments about puddles versus kissing length, about pleats hung forwards or back, what kind of hold-back, about how much deadlight and stackback should be used in precisely which locations for maximum elegance, about how the professionals will make speedy use of resins in walls whose plaster offer no grip. The fittings can workout more costly that the fabrics, especially with bespoke pelmets, metalwork and gilded wood.

And once it's up and perfect, a hand-sewn interlined curtain can never ever be washed and dry cleaned, a gentle vacuum only!

Here's my latest work, an interesting Chinoiserie toile, by Sanderson, first made in the Edwardian period. The curtain took me 2 days and cost around £50. (excluding fittings)

I couldn't choose an extravagant finial due to the abutment with the cistern so was pleased to find the plain brass button finials by Jim L.

 

[Penners]

Actually hanging curtains is a real art. On my course I met a professional hanger. The way he handled the pleats!! As lovingly as any Egyptian with the carpet that's taken so many years to weave, as proudly as any peacock spreading his tail. He absolutely caressed those curtains into beautiful shape. He talked for hours about how to hang curtains. There were arguments about puddles versus kissing length, about pleats hung forwards or back, what kind of hold-back, about how much deadlight and stackback should be used in precisely which locations for maximum elegance, about how the professionals will make speedy use of resins in walls whose plaster offer no grip. The fittings can workout more costly that the fabrics, especially with bespoke pelmets, metalwork and gilded wood.

Sounds like an efficacious cure for insomnia, to me! :wink:

 

[DJH]

That lead flush pipe brings back memories......... I guess that as it's offset, coming down a side wall, the drain in the ground is tight up against the back wall so if the flush pipe came directly down to the pan the seat won't stand up??

Unless of course the cistern itself is offset because of the window??

Doug

 

[tycarregydwr]

Oh my goodness. Who ever knew there was so much to curtains. Not I, certainly. We're very much of the bodge-it school of pragmatism when it comes to these sorts of things... maybe in a few decades when the rest of the house is whipped into shape I will care more! (Then again, maybe not). I very much doubt we'll ever achieve such a smart result as you've got there, but it will be warmer. And the toddler is already experimenting with the 'peepo' qualities of the room-divider curtain :lol:

 

[Flyfisher]

That lead flush pipe brings back memories.........

For a moment there, I thought you were going to say you had installed Joce's cistern. :lol:

 

[JoceAndChris]

Yes, well, if he had, I'm sure it would be a lot better and more beautiful!

That lead flush pipe brings back memories......... I guess that as it's offset, coming down a side wall, the drain in the ground is tight up against the back wall so if the flush pipe came directly down to the pan the seat won't stand up??

Unless of course the cistern itself is offset because of the window??

Doug

What an astute observation! Actually the little bathroom is shaped like the bow of a boat, there's no problem with the lid going back against the wall and indeed this is a fine old noisy 1930s loo, which would be my favourite were it not for the fact that the room is about 4 degrees.

The room was carved out of the rounded porch in the 30s, the horrible little window (on the to-do list) is the one I've curtained.

Sounds like an efficacious cure for insomnia, to me!

:lol: A bewitchingly lovely day, for me!

And the toddler is already experimenting with the 'peepo' qualities of the room-divider curtain

Sweet! Soon those little fingers will be quite ready to be set to stitching duties, amongst others. :wink:

 

[tobydog]

Just don't show the little toddler any Tarzan movies otherwise the room dividers will suddenly become far more entertaining

 

[agbagb]

tycarregydwr, that sounds like a proper do for now job. Here's a "man" tip for the too short curtains: Cable ties make excellent adjustable curtain rings.

 

[Penners]

Rubbish! A real man would raise the floor by the requisite amount. :wink:

 

[JohnB]

I went to collect 5 bags of curtains that were offered on Freecycle, and came back with 7 or 8 bags! Haven't hung any of them yet though!

 

[tycarregydwr]

Sweet! Soon those little fingers will be quite ready to be set to stitching duties, amongst others. :wink:

She nearly got the little fingers stitched right up today, as she insisted on sitting on my lap as I hemmed one of the pairs :lol:

tycarregydwr, that sounds like a proper do for now job. Here's a "man" tip for the too short curtains: Cable ties make excellent adjustable curtain rings.

:lol: :lol: That may be a step too far even for my lackadaisical approach - got the mother-in-law visiting next week so there are some minimum standards...

 

[tycarregydwr]

I went to collect 5 bags of curtains that were offered on Freecycle, and came back with 7 or 8 bags! Haven't hung any of them yet though!

Nice. Hope they are nicer than the ones I am currently attempting to get rid of via Freecycle - honestly, they're barely shed-worthy. And seem to be made of that semi-disposable cellulose/plastic stuff you sometimes get carrier bags made out of...

 

[Feltwell]

:He talked for hours about how to hang curtains.

I guess he makes more money from curtain making courses than after dinner speaking then :wink:

I want Joce's loo! That would look perfect in my downstairs toilet, much better than the modern one that's in there now. I think Ebay will be beckoning when the room gets refitted, mind you finding a suitable lead / copper flush pipe could be a challenge.

 

[DJH]

I don't recall ever seeing a wc pan fitted like that before, and what agood job they made with blending the seat back in the corner with wood.

Feltwell I used to deal with a company who still extrude lead pipe so when you're ready let me know. I once had the chance of buying an lead extruder with all the dies but weighing about twenty tons or so I turned it down. It was scrapped :shock: and I've always regretted it.......

 

[LadyArowana]

I once had the chance of buying an lead extruder with all the dies but weighing about twenty tons or so I turned it down. It was scrapped :shock: and I've always regretted it.......

..... whereas the saintly Mrs DJH was eternally grateful.

 

[plasticpigeon]

I nearly bought a house with a loo fitted exactly like that. It was a small 1920s semi. It was incredible, absolutely everything was as the day it was made, right down to the bakelite fuseboard!!! It was in excellent condition too apart from the windows at the back. The room the loo was in was so small that it wouldn't have been possible to sit on the loo if it had been fitted straight. None of the original features are there now unfortunately, the buyers had it stripped within hours of getting the keys. Bloomin cash buyers:-(

 

[Penners]

I want Joce's loo!

Careful, Feltwell! You're straying very close to edge of slight perviness.

 

[JohnB]

Nice. Hope they are nicer than the ones I am currently attempting to get rid of via Freecycle - honestly, they're barely shed-worthy. And seem to be made of that semi-disposable cellulose/plastic stuff you sometimes get carrier bags made out of...

Thanks for the warning. I'll be extra careful when I read Pembrokeshire Freecycle offers, in case it's you trying to dump your dodgy junk :wink:.

The ones I got are very good, but mostly not to my taste, although the aim is to put most of them in rooms other people live in!

 

[tycarregydwr]

Nice. Hope they are nicer than the ones I am currently attempting to get rid of via Freecycle - honestly, they're barely shed-worthy. And seem to be made of that semi-disposable cellulose/plastic stuff you sometimes get carrier bags made out of...

Thanks for the warning. I'll be extra careful when I read Pembrokeshire Freecycle offers, in case it's you trying to dump your dodgy junk :wink:.

I did put an honest description on there. Which is probably why no one wants them. If I could just figure out something heavy enough to stuff them with I could make them into very ugly draft excluders...