Curtains

You hung the “blackout” curtains. You still woke at 4:47 a.m. to a laser-thin blade of sunrise slicing across the pillow. Sound familiar? Welcome to the great blackout con: plenty of curtains wear the label without earning it, and even the honest ones lose a few battles at the edges. The best blackout curtains do … Read more

There is a special kind of dread reserved for the parent of a baby who has finally, gloriously, dropped off. Then the sun clears the neighbour’s roof at 4:45am. In Britain that isn’t bad luck, it’s astronomy. Around midsummer the sun is up shortly before 5am in London, and earlier still further north. A nursery … Read more

There’s a particular kind of satisfaction in pulling a cord and watching a window fold itself into neat, even ridges — like a paper fan someone actually knew how to make properly. That’s pencil pleat curtains for you: unfussy, endlessly adaptable, and somehow still the heading style your nan, your interior designer friend, and the … Read more