Iron Bay Window Curtain Poles, made to measure

Product description

Our bay window curtain poles are forged by hand from solid iron at our Suffolk forge and shaped to the exact measurements of your own bay, so your curtains hang beautifully and draw right the way round. Whether yours is a neat three sided bay, a sweeping curve or something less regular that has already defeated a standard pole, we make each one to order and guarantee it for life.

• Made to measure for any bay, from two sided to curved
• Forged from a 20mm solid iron bar 
• Passing brackets and passing rings, so your curtains travel round every corner
• Finished in Matt Black Paint or Natural Beeswax
• Your choice of handcrafted finial, from the Cannonball to the Ram's Horn
• Lifetime guarantee as standard
• Planet-friendly, recyclable metal handcrafted in the UK, with a tree planted for every order

There are two three sided shapes because some bays have angled corners, which suit the 2 Bend Bay, and others have crisp right angles, which suit the Square Bay. A window set into a tight recess suits our recess curtain poles, and if none of the diagrams looks quite like your window, email us a few photos or give us a call and we will work it out with you.

Every Bay Can Be Done

Whether a bay can be done is the question we hear most, often after a weekend spent coaxing a bendable kit round the corners, and the answer is yes. Because each pole is forged to your measurements rather than cut from a standard length, the angles are built into the iron before it leaves the forge, and irregular bays are something we tackle with some enthusiasm. One customer wrote to us about theirs:

"Our lounge bay window was a particularly complex shape. We found Richard's 'can do' attitude incredibly refreshing, seeing this challenge as an opportunity, not a problem. The final product has been superbly made. It fits the window beautifully, and the curtains run smoothly along the intricate shape."

We guarantee the fit on all our ironwork, bay poles included, when the measurements you send are accurate, and we check them with you before forging begins. Many interior designers send us the measurements of their clients' bays for the same reason, and you can read more from our customers.

How Curtains Travel Round the Bay

The worry with any bay is that curtains stick at the corners, because that is where the brackets sit and a closed ring stops at the first bracket it meets. Our passing brackets and passing rings work together to solve this: each ring has a small gap cut into it, which lets it slide over the bracket and carry on along the pole, so your curtains travel round every bend and close right across the bay. Our short video shows how passing rings work.

Most bays need five brackets in total, two standard end brackets, two passing brackets and one centre bracket, while larger bays may need four passing brackets. Each shape's page sets out what your bay needs, and if you are unsure we are always happy to talk it through. Solid iron takes heavy lined curtains in its stride, which is just what a draughty bay needs on a winter evening.

Ceiling Mounted Bay Window Curtain Poles

If there is no wall above your bay window, or a lintel, coving or a window that runs right up to the ceiling leaves no room for a bracket, your pole can be fixed to the ceiling instead with our ceiling brackets.

We have forged custom brackets for a wall one customer described as very wonky, and found a solution for supports that needed different lengths of projection, so send us photos of your ceiling and the top of the window and Richard will advise on the best fixing.

Finishes, Finials and Matching Ironwork

For a black bay window curtain pole, our Matt Black Paint gives a clean, uniform and durable finish, while Natural Beeswax gives a softer gun metal grey that lets the grain of the iron show through. Look closely and you will see the hammer marks left by the forging, part of the character of every piece shaped by hand. Bay windows are a prominent feature of Victorian domestic architecture, and hand-forged iron sits as naturally in those rooms as it does in a country cottage.

Choosing the same finial ties a new bay pole to our bespoke curtain poles on every other window, and we forge matching holdbacks to go with it. We are happy to work with ironwork you already have, too, and have made brackets to match a customer's existing pole and bespoke extensions for a pole that moved to a new window. 

Measuring and Fitting Guides

Every bay shape measures up a little differently, and each shape's page walks you through its own measurements, but a few things hold true for any bay. Measure with a friend, use a tape measure, work in millimetres and measure to where you want the finials to end. Never assume the two sides of your bay match, because in our experience they never, ever do, and once your measurements are in, we check them with you before anything is forged. 

Our guides and videos show the principles, which are the same whatever your bay:

• How to measure a bay window for a curtain pole
• Measuring a 2 bend bay and measuring a curved bay
• Installing a bay window pole and installing a curved bay window pole