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Good Question: How To Hang Wall To Wall Curtains?
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072508_curtain2.jpg I want to do a wall treatment in one of my rooms, with sheer curtains lining the whole wall. I decided on this because that particular room's wall is completely covered in mirror, and since I am renting I cannot rip it down. I feel a sheer curtain will give a very cool look to the walls and take advantage of the reflective properties of the mirror. However, what is the best method of hanging these curtains? I have been unable to find a curtain rod that is longer than 120".

 
 

Hey Christopher, we think in this case it would be best to use some kind of a rail on the ceiling so that you can seamlessly hang curtains all the way across the wall (also, what's up with having a whole wall of mirror, did it use to be a dance studio? A porn set?). We found these pictures on SuperNaturale showing what sheer curtains can look like tracked (in this case, they're around a kids play area, but you get the idea):

072508_curtain.jpg

You should be able to find the right hardware at Home Depot, but if you have trouble, we've blogged Kirsch Hardware before.

Anyone else have some ideas for Christopher?


[Top Image from Sundrape]

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Comments (16)

I've used Kirsch Hardware in my bedroom and living room to have floor to ceiling draperies - the track butts up end-to-end and there are curved pieces available for turning corners - I even was able to bend a straight section for my slightly curved outer walls (I live in a round building)

It takes a bit of work to align the clips that mount the track to the ceiling, but I've never had any problems.

posted by bepsf on July 25th 2008 at 10:02am
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Something like this should work:
http://www.interiormall.com/cat/nsample.asp?ID=75034&t=142

I have a 215" curtain rod in my living room - I bought two 120" rods and was able to connect them but I wouldn't reccoment doing that. The supports are every few feet which means you can't move the curtains from one end to the other.

posted by suziegoombs on July 25th 2008 at 10:03am
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pvc pipe is inexpensive, lightweight and is easy to couple. i've used it for a similar application (a valance spanning about 20')

posted by onejkm on July 25th 2008 at 10:04am
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I used black iron plumbing pipe from H0me Dep0t to achieve a black wrought iron rod look for my dining room. It spanned wall to wall so I used closet rod cups painted my wall color to mount it on the adjacent walls. Its iron, so it doesn't bend in the middle so no need for a center support. It spanned 15'-0". They come in ridiculously long lengths and I'd recommend having them cut it for you before you leave. Oh, and have them cut off the threaded end for a smooth finished look.

posted by copperdog on July 25th 2008 at 10:13am
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IKEA has and inexpensive cable and clip set.

posted by Enamorada on July 25th 2008 at 10:24am
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I have had some success with tracks bought from http://www.curtaintrax.com - for a 25ft expanse. I simply sewed a snap tape to the top of the curtains and used snap carriers to attach them to the track. Be careful though! Some of the tracks do not come pre-drilled and it's tricky trying to drill the holes without mucking up the track edges. My recommendation would be to use a ceiling mount track with brackets, which should make installation much simpler.

posted by hejiranyc on July 25th 2008 at 10:39am
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Can you make them floor to ceiling. The so-called hospital tracks can be any lenght that you like. I also second IKEA's cable systems Diginet (my preference) and Deka which don't limit you to ceiling height. If you don't alread have your sheers, may I recommend IKEA LILL. Great bargain and good looking.

posted by quiltmaster on July 25th 2008 at 12:16pm
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I made my own curtain wire, ala the Ikea system.

You drill a hole into the studs on either side. Screw in a large screw eye (I was hanging six panels of heavy thermal curtains, so I went with sturdy hardware). On one end attach a turnbuckle (two screw eyes with a "buckle" in the middle that pulls them together) loop cable around, crimp and tighten.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2116/2280155644_c6dbb76701.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2213/2280155662_5088c3facd.jpg

After (they were tightened a bit since this to remove the bow in the middle):
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2345/2280155706_e6a8bb9046.jpg

posted by Aloof on July 25th 2008 at 12:25pm
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Here's another shot, a recent one.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3231/2701632283_141ace995b.jpg

posted by Aloof on July 25th 2008 at 12:48pm
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This is what you want:

http://www.konnectinternational.com/app/stx.products.asp?cid=1

Staight track can be very expensive to ship. The bendable track comes in a roll for inexpensive shipping. It takes a bit of effort to straighten it out, but is well worth the savings. I use the rollers attached to Ikea diginet curtain clips. I have used this track for a 66" run in the bathroom and a 161" run in the bedroom and have been very pleased with the result. They will even cut the track to a specific length to save you the effort.

posted by RichardinLA on July 26th 2008 at 2:53am
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Tensioned wire. I believe Modern in MN has a tutorial, but I can't seem to find it.

posted by prolix on July 28th 2008 at 7:16am
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I recommend either hospital curtain track:
http://www.medicalproductsdirect.com/hanprivscree.html
or the Kvartal line by Ikea:
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/IkeamsSearch?storeId=12&langId=-1&catalogId=11001&searchType=product&pageNumber=-1&orderBy=score&category=%23%7EProducts&query=kvartal

I used the Ikea product in my home to create wall to wall curtains and am very pleased with the end result.

posted by Daily Nuance on July 28th 2008 at 11:21am
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We have long curtain rods at Made of Metal Curtain Rods. We ship up to 104", but we supply a connector so you can buy longer rods and put them together. Since you are using sheers (a light curtain), you could get a long rod without needing support brackets except at the ends. We also have end mount brackets so that you can mount the rod to the walls and pull your curtains all the way to the left or right.

posted by madeofmetal on March 10th 2009 at 10:18am
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help! i have 20 feet of windows and curtains made from sheets but my ceiling is concrete.

posted by tlcuningkin331 on May 27th 2009 at 12:55pm
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www.Curtain-Tracks.com offers a wide range of curtain tracks that are ideal to address the design challenge presented here. Both ceiling and wall mount tracks available, including flexible and pre-bent tracks. Great customer service as well.

In general, tracks up to 16 ft are available, but shipping tracks that are over 8 ft precludes them from being sent via UPS...therefore they must be shipped via freight carrier, which usually adds significantly to the cost, or picked up locally.

For the comment above regarding concrete ceiling, you can mount any tracks to them, just be sure to select your mounting concrete/masonry screws carefully as the heads may need to fit into the slot in the track (depends on track style as some tracks use brackets while others accept screws directly through the tracks) and you may need to use masonry anchors as well.

posted by Eskimo on November 30th 2009 at 5:09pm
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the above link for Curtain-Tracks.com didn't work...here it is:

http://www.curtain-tracks.com

posted by Eskimo on November 30th 2009 at 5:11pm
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