Not All Bay Window Curtain Tracks Are the Same

Most online made-to-measure curtain companies concentrate on making curtains and don’t offer a bay window curtain track.

Some do, however, and this is where it’s worth looking a little more closely at what you’re being offered.

A track described as suitable for bay windows may be supplied as a straight length of bendable track. The track is then cut and shaped around your bay window during fitting.

Another option is a custom-made bay window curtain track. With this type of track, you provide the measurements and shape of your bay and the track is cut and shaped before it’s delivered to you.

Both are genuine ways of fitting a curtain track into a bay window, but they’re quite different products.

Made-to-Measure Curtains Don’t Necessarily Mean a Made-to-Measure Track

This is probably the most important thing to understand.

You may be ordering curtains that are completely made to measure — your chosen fabric, lining, heading style, width and drop.

That doesn’t automatically mean a bay track offered alongside them is also being made specifically for your window.

If the track is important to you, check whether it will arrive as a straight bendable track that needs shaping during fitting or whether it will be made to the measurements and shape of your individual bay before delivery.

What If Your Curtain Maker Offers a Custom-Made Bay Track?

A smaller number of curtain companies can also supply custom-made bay window tracks.

There’s no reason you shouldn’t consider one. But with such a specialised product, I’d look at more than the track itself before deciding where to order it.

A custom bay track has to be made from information you provide about your particular window. That makes the measuring and ordering process an important part of what you’re buying.

Getting the correct track isn’t simply about choosing a product. It’s also about getting the information about your bay from your home to whoever is making the track accurately.

Look at How You’re Asked to Measure and Order

Bay windows come in lots of different shapes and sizes, and there are several easy mistakes to make when measuring one for a custom track.

I’d look at the ordering process before deciding where to buy.

Does it help you identify the shape of your bay? Does it clearly show where each measurement should be taken? Does it ask for enough information to check that the measurements make sense?

A good ordering system should be designed around the common mistakes people make when ordering this type of product.

It’s much better for a questionable measurement to be spotted before the track is made than after it arrives at your home.

Check What Happens If Something Goes Wrong

This is another thing I’d check before ordering any custom-made bay track.

A normal product guarantee is useful because it tells you what protection you have if there is a manufacturing problem with the track.

But with something being made specifically for your window, I’d also want to know what happens if the finished track doesn’t fit your bay as expected.

Does the company offer any fit or remake protection? What happens if you’ve made a genuine measuring mistake? Will they help you work out what has gone wrong?

If this happened with a custom-made bay track ordered from us at EZECurtains, we would work out what had gone wrong and remake the track at no cost to you.

That’s the type of protection I’d look for when comparing custom-made bay track suppliers. Hopefully you’ll never need it, but it’s worth knowing what would happen before you place the order.

There Are Advantages to Buying Direct From a Bay Track Specialist

A custom-made bay window curtain track is a very specialised product.

Buying directly from a company that specialises in these tracks means you’re not only comparing the physical track. You can also compare the measuring guidance, ordering system, checks, support and guarantees that come with it.

That doesn’t mean a track supplied by your curtain maker is automatically the wrong choice. If they offer the type of track you want and you’re happy with the way it will be measured, ordered and supplied, it may be perfectly suitable.

The important thing is not to choose it automatically simply because you’re already buying the curtains from the same company.

My Advice

Choose your curtain maker because you like the curtains they offer — their fabrics, making options, service and price.

Then make a separate decision about the track those curtains are going to hang from.

If your curtain maker offers a bay track, find out what type it is and compare it with the other options available to you.

If you decide you want a custom-made bay track, I’d pay particular attention to the measuring and ordering process and the protection you’re given if something doesn’t go to plan.

Your new curtains and curtain track are going to work together every day for years, so it’s worth choosing each of them on its own merits.