It is not Difficult to Plan Your Bay Window Treatments!

It is not Difficult to Plan Your Bay Window Treatments!

In our article you will discover why bay window treatments are not actually that dissimilar to window treatments for straight flat windows.

I distinguish you will actually find that strange thing to say. You must be thinking they have to be different. After all the windows are completely different shapes.

It's not the curtains that are different it is really the kind of window curtain hardware you use to hang them with that is different.

I have said that you can find a couple of exceptions to the rule of the "curtains being the same". These exceptions only relate to a couple of styles of top treatments that you may want to use. I discuss these exceptions a little later.

I will show you examples and take you step by step from start to finish.

Many people worry about fitting bay window treatments, but there really is no need.

The curtains and top treatments such as window treatments valences are usually made the same as for straight flat windows. Then hung from bay window treatment hardware.

To start you will need a flexible, bendable curtain track kit. This will allow you to hang one pair of curtains that cover all the sides of the bay (as in the window treatment picture just below).

The exceptions being for a fabric covered cornice window treatment (as in the window treatment photo below). They obviously have to bend in just the right places to fit the shape of the bay window.

The other exception is if you are planning on hanging tailored swags. That is because swags can't bend around corners. So each swag width has to be made to fit each side of your bay exactly.

As a result what is the reason that you can't use ready made drapes for bay window treatments?

You will have to get custom made window treatments to fit your bay windows appropriately. If you don't hang ready made curtains (not suggested), and you don't mind them looking like a complete "dogs dinner".

Therefore, what's the problem then?

Ready made draperies are merely not made wide enough to fit most bay windows. You just can't buy ready made curtain panels wide enough to fit as a single pair. You would need to hang two or even three pairs to give you enough gather in the fabric when closed to look right.

Even fairly small bays are around 10ft wide. So ready made draperies even at 100 inches wide each curtain panel will when gathered still only fit an 8ft wide window. This is allowing double for gather in your curtains.

Another problem is that they are also never the right length, either too short or too long.

As a rule of thumb your custom curtains ungathered straight out of the bag should be at least twice the width of your window. So on a 10 ft window your pair of curtains should measure 20ft wide. Most ready made curtain panels are only made up to 100 inches wide. Meaning that we are still 20 inches too narrow on each of our pair of ready made curtains.