Curtain
A curtain is a piece of
Curtains are often hung on the inside of a building's windows to block the passage of light. For instance, at night to aid sleeping, or to stop light from escaping outside the building (stopping people outside from being able to see inside, often for privacy reasons). In this application, they are also known as "draperies". Curtains hung over a doorway are known as portières.[2] Curtains come in a variety of shapes, materials, sizes, colours, and patterns. They often have their own sections within department stores, while some shops are completely dedicated to selling curtains.
Curtains vary according to cleanability, ultraviolet light deterioration, oil and dust retention, noise absorption, fire resistance, and life span. Curtains may be operated by hand, with cords, by press-button pads or remote-controlled computers. They are held out of the way of the window by means of curtain tie-backs. Measuring curtain sizes needed for each window varies greatly according to the type of curtain needed, window size, and type and weight of curtain.
Curtains are a form of window decor and complete the overall appearance of the interior of the house. Curtains help control the ambiance and flow of natural light into the room. The effect of drapery or curtains is best seen in daylight, and with proper indoor light positioning, can look attractive even at night.[3]
History
This section needs expansion with: This section is insufficiently lacking in detail, assurance of long-term quality or encyclopedic value, and it requires both significant expansion with regards to the widespread historical adoption of practices to do with the subject as well as additional citations.. You can help by adding to it. (January 2024) |
From evidence found in excavation sites at Olynthus, Pompeii and Herculaneum, portieres, a curtain hung over a doorway, appear to have been used as room dividers in classic antiquity. Mosaics from the 2nd to 6th century show curtains suspended from rods spanning arches.[2]
England
In England, curtains began to replace wooden
Fatimid Caliphate
In the Fatimid Caliphate, a curtain known as a sitr ("veil") was used to conceal the caliph at the beginning of an audience session (majlis).[6] A servant known as the ṣāḥib al-sitr (or muṭawallī al-sitr) would then pull it back to reveal the caliph seated on his throne.[6] The sahib al-sitr was also combined with the duties of chamberlain, master of ceremonies, and bearer of the caliph's sword, and was often chosen from among mamluks from saqaliba backgrounds.[6]
Light and heat control and insulation
Curtains are manufactured from a variety of thick fabrics, each with a differing degree of
A sheer or net curtain is one that is made from translucent fabric, such as a loosely woven polyester voile, silk or nylon made marquisette or ninon, and cotton lace, etc.[8][9][10][11][12] Sheer curtains allow a majority of light to be transmitted through the fabric, with the fabric weave providing a basic level of UV protection while retaining maximum visibility outward through the curtain. Sheer curtains are sometimes referred to as "privacy curtains" in reference to their screening abilities; during the day most sheer fabrics will allow people inside the home to see the outside view while preventing people outside the home from seeing directly into the home. Due to the loose weave in sheer fabrics, these types of curtains offer very little in the way of heat insulation.
Uncoated fabrics provide the next level of
Maximum light absorption and heat insulation in a curtain is created through a
Curtains may be held back with tie-backs (a
Although some curtains may employ pulley systems, they should not be confused with roller blinds or roller shades. They may be generally referred to as window treatments, which are cover or modification of the window, often with the aim to enhance the aesthetics of the window and the room.
Styles
Curtains can be used to give a room a focal point. There are at least twenty different styles of curtains[13] and draperies which can be used in window treatment.
- Flat panel curtains are simple and versatile: to make them, pieces of fabric are hemmed on all four edges and the final rectangular or square piece is hung from curtains poles with clip-on rings or something similar.[13] If pleated, the look is strongly influenced by the fullness of the pleats.
- Panel Pair Curtains are also known as double panel curtains. They refer to two curtain panels hanging on either side of the window. This is the most common style.
- Tab top curtains are made with narrow straps, that loop or tie at the top edge and hung from the curtain pole.[14] This curtain style is often designed as two stationary panels at the sides of a window.
- Grommet curtains are hung by threading the curtain pole through a hole in the top of the fabric. This could be either a cut-out hole with the edges finished by a row of stitching or it could use a grommet to prevent fraying.
- Sash curtains are used to cover the lower sash of the windows.
- Rod pocket curtains have a channel sewn into the top of the fabric. A curtain rod is passed through the channel to hang.[15]
- Thermal or blackout curtains use very tightly woven fabric, usually in multiple layers. They not only block out the light, but can also serve as an acoustic or thermal dampener.
- Curtain liners are used to protect actual curtains from getting wet.
- Eyelet Curtains are attached to a pole (usually metal). A number of circular holes are cut into near the top of the curtain and edged with a metal ring (eyelet). The pole is then threaded through these holes, with approx. 4cm of fabric showing above the pole.
- Pencil Pleat Curtains are formed by pulling cords attached to "rufflette tape" to gather the fabric into pleats that look like a row of pencils. These curtains are then hung under a pole or attached to a curtain track with plastic hooks fitted in every 4th "pocket" along the rufflette heading. Typically a 1.5 m width of fabric will be gathered to 750 mm width. Rufflette Tape was originally developed from tape which held ammunition (bullets) for semi automatic machine guns.
- Pinch Pleat Curtains are usually formed by machine stitching together either 2 or 3 pleats, then leaving a gap of typically 10cm before repeating the pleating process. These curtains are then hung under a curtain pole using either metal pinch pleat hooks or vertical sliding plastic hooks sewn into the reverse of the pleats.
Gallery
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Chateaud Amboise
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Austrian blinds
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Safety curtain in a theater
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Hotel Transvaal
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Waterfall curtain
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Main curtainused as a backdrop at a cinema.
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Bottle top curtain
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Bedroom of Queen Charlotte Mathilde
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Bed with baldachin
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Bathtub with curtain at the Bernheimer House
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Seashell curtain
See also
- Attic hatch
- Curtain ring, curtain rod, curtain tie-back
- Khus curtain
- Theatre drapes and stage curtains
- Front curtain
- Safety curtain
- Pipe and drape
- Kichō
References
- ^ a b "Curtain". The Free Dictionary By Farlex. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ a b "Curtain". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
- ISBN 1-58685-816-5.
- ^ Bane, Deklyn (2017-07-17). "The History of Curtains and Drapery Through the Ages". SBF Curtains & Blinds. Archived from the original on 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
- ISBN 9780471289463. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ ISBN 90-04-10422-4. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ Chrysostomou, Beth Mahoney last updated Contributions from Christina (2022-07-12). "How to cool down a room: 10 easy ways to lower the temp". Real Homes. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ Barbara Baer (1950). How To Make Curtains And Draperies. Universal Digital Library. Medill Mcbride Company. p. 47.
- ISBN 978-81-317-2570-2.
- ISBN 978-0-06-047318-1.
- ISBN 978-0-06-181129-6.
- ISBN 978-0-13-439225-7.
- ^ ISBN 9781616732998.
- ISBN 9781616733773.
- ISBN 9780865733480.
External links
- Media related to Curtains at Wikimedia Commons
- Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. .