Curtains and blinds
Curtains and blinds have the potential to perform a function well in
excess of simply cutting out light (when drawn) and giving privacy. A
room can be massively enhanced with careful selection of curtains and
blinds. A few Buy2LetExpert pointers are set out below but ideas will vary greatly
from case to case:
Combining blinds and curtains can look impressive and mean day time
privacy can be attained while still allowing light into the room. In the
example below the bedroom is close to the footpath at the front of the
property. The addition of Venetian blinds to the bottom portion of
the window only provides privacy from pedestrians outside. In
addition natural light floods in the top portion of the window (and a
little through the almost closed slats in the bottom). It is also
possible to open the window. Careful adjustment of the venetian blinds
even allows a little light in through the Venetian slats while
maintaining privacy. Only at night need the curtains be closed. (picture
right).
The alternative and usual solution to the above bay window issue is to
have either simply a pair of curtains or a set of roller blinds. The
solution is cheaper in the first instance but the saving is a false
economy. In either case the only way to obtain day time privacy is to
close the curtains or blinds completely meaning artificial light must be
used even on bright sunny days! Furthermore the windows cannot be opened
easily with closed blinds and curtains. It is no fault of the tenant but
the room is likely to quickly become a dark unventilated, unhealthy,
smelly hovel. Clearly this is bad for the tenant but imagine trying to
let this property while the tenant is in situ! Renting while tenants are
still in situ is essential to reduce voids and increase income.
Curtains should normally be light and made of cotton. Cases vary
but a few general Buy2LetExpert pointers might be:
- Curtain rails should typically be 50cm longer than the window width
(more for large and less for smaller windows). This allows the
'gather' (closed curtain width) of the curtain to NOT cover the
window when the curtain is open. This is important so that the
maximum light can enter the room when the curtain is opened fully.
- The 'fullness' of the curtain is how many times wider the
curtain is than the window. The greater this fullness, the more the
'gather' width. Tradition heavy English curtains may have 2 or even
3x gather. This is unlikely to be required or wanted in a buy to let
property. A typical younger client is likely to prefer a lighter
curtain with less 'gather'. As a general rule a 1.5x to 2x gather is
enough. Of course reducing the gather also reduces the cost of the
curtain as less material is used.
- Headers. Ensure the header is flexible enough to allow the
curtain to cover the curtain rail. Nothing looks worse than a curtain
hanging below the curtain rail.
- Curtain Rails. This is very important. There are many issues but
it must be easy to pull the curtains. If possible a high quality non
chorded track may be preferable. With a chorded curtain track It can
be hard to see the chord and pulling the curtain manually may break
the mechanism quickly. It will then become impossible to pull the
curtain at all. The tenant will quickly break the curtain hooks,
track or even pull the track down completely! In short make the
system simple but robust. Many English domestic manufactured tracks
are simply not up to the job so be careful. Stuck curtains mean dark
unventilated rooms which is bad news when it comes time to conduct
viewings with tenants in situ.
Blinds designs vary greatly but like curtains can perform far
more than cut down light and add privacy. An older and/or ugly window
can be disguised beautifully with blinds. The example (right) shows simple
blinds, adjusted for length and width by But2LetExpert, covering some
very poor quality aluminium framed fixed windows in a kitchen area. The
aluminium frames are stained and the 'fit' to the masonry is poor. The
windows sit over a good quality kitchen and would look awful without the
blinds:
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