Custom Pelmets

A pelmet is a shallow box or board fitted above a window to hide the curtain track or the top of a blind. It closes the gap where warm air escapes and light leaks, and gives the window a finished, built-in look instead of exposed hardware.

Three things. It hides the track or roller so the window reads as built-in. It closes the air gap at the top of the curtain, so heat doesn't escape over the rail on a cold night. And it stops the light halo above a blockout blind. A padded pelmet also softens noise.

Four we make regularly: padded boxes upholstered in your curtain fabric or a contrast; recessed ceiling troughs where the track hides inside a plasterboard pocket; painted or timber pelmets matched to the architraves; and traditional fabric valances hung on the face of a pelmet shelf.

The gathered fabric valance of the 1980s is out of favour. The pelmet itself is not. Square-set painted boxes and recessed ceiling pockets are standard detailing in new builds, because a track that disappears into the ceiling line reads as modern rather than dated.

Deep enough that the fabric never rubs the glass or the back of the box. Our standards: pinch pleat on a single track needs 120-150mm internal depth, S-fold needs 150-180mm, and a double track carrying a sheer plus a blockout needs 200-250mm.

Our standard face heights are 200-300mm for pinch pleat on a single track, 150-200mm for S-fold, and 200-350mm where a double track carries a sheer and a blockout. Over a roller blind, 90-100mm covers a single roller and 140-160mm a day/night pair.

A pocket framed into the ceiling so the track sits inside it and the curtain appears to fall straight out of the ceiling line. It has to be framed before the plasterboard goes on, so tell your builder early. Allow 150mm deep for a single track, 250mm for a double.

Yes. A pelmet over a roller blind hides the tube and cuts the light halo along the top. Allow 85-100mm internal depth for a single roller, 150mm for a day/night double, and 110-130mm for a motorised tube with the battery inside it.

You can buy flat-pack pelmet kits in standard widths, and on a straightforward square window they do the job. They arrive unfinished and in fixed sizes, so wide spans, out-of-square openings and double tracks are where they struggle. We make ours to the measured opening and install them.