Sound muffling

[trialia]

First post here :) w00t.

I just moved into my first ever flat of my own. I can hear my neighbours go up and down the stairs outside my front door - from my bedroom, if I leave my bedroom door open, even when the front door is closed. I've been thinking about the possibility of putting up a curtain over the door. But I have no idea where to begin with that. What measurements do I need, what fabric would be best, where could I get a curtain rail that I could fit above my door that would be easy to draw aside for someone who has trouble reaching above her head? If anyone here can help with any of that, it would be MUCH appreciated, thank you! (I'm in England - Manchester, if anyone needs to know for place-recommendations.)

Comments

[draigwen]

Not sure what the best material would be but I'd be inclined to just get a curtain wire and then get tab-top curtains to go on it - just for the simplicity.

Do you have a Dunelm nearby? If so, I'd definitely go there for curtains and rails. They have a great variety and are reasonably priced.

[trialia]

Thank you. Dunelm's a bit out of my price range though...

[hivesofactivity]

If the curtain is for sound-muffling purposes, I'd go for a blanket fabric, which is nice and thick. The easiest way to get this is, of course, just to buy a big solid blanket (from a charity shop, market or a regular homewares shop - TK Maxx, John Lewis, Primark - that kind of thing). I don't know what you find attractive: you might find a blanket you like the look of, or you might want to line it with a thinner fabric you do like. Measurements: the height of the door right down to the floor, plus extra for hemming, plus the height of where the curtain rail is going to be. Err on the side of 'too big', as you can always adjust later. Have the curtain a good bit wider than the door itself, to allow both for covering over the edges of the door (where draughts/noise/whatever also come in) and to have folds and drapes in the closed curtains to help with the muffling effect. (You don't want a single layer of fabric stretched tight across the width of the door, because that won't help the noise and will look terrible.) If you are drawing a curtain way higher than yourself, the easiest thing to to is to attach a swinging stick (I can't think of another way to describe this) onto the last curtain ring to push the curtain back or pull it shut.

[schnurble]

Have the curtain a good bit wider than the door itself, to allow both for covering over the edges of the door (where draughts/noise/whatever also come in) and to have folds and drapes in the closed curtains to help with the muffling effect.
Exactly. Usually, when making curtains, the width of the fabric should be 2 or 3 times of the width that it should cover.

[trialia]

Thanks muchly :)