Quite often today you can hear such an unusual word as a hood. It is usually used when it comes to curtains and curtain rods. In this regard, many questions often arise. What is it and what are they for? We will give answers to this question and a number of others in this article.
Purpose and features
A hood is a special strip that is used to decorate the cornice. It is fixed on it with either special clamps, or with an adapter. Such a plate is found on almost all modern aluminum or plastic curtain rods. There are several varieties of blends. All of them differ from each other in their pattern and width, as well as in the method of fastening. Lately, plastic cornice hoods have become more and more popular. Their peculiarity lies in the fact that, if necessary, they can be easily changed.
The variety of options for decorating blends produced today is simply amazing. Hoods can and are used not only as decorative elements for decorating the cornice, but also in order to hide the clips or hooks on which the curtain itself is attached from prying eyes. In addition, with the help of blends, you can visually increase the height of the walls and increase the very space of the room.
But in order to achieve all these goals, it is necessary to choose the right color and material for making the hood, and also take into account some of the nuances when purchasing it.
Varieties
There are several criteria by which blends are divided into types. First of all, this concerns the external coloring of this element:
- Classic white color. Such hoods are considered the most versatile, because they are suitable for curtains and cornices of absolutely any color and texture.
- Imitating natural leather, wood or any other natural materials.
- Any monogamous color. All shades of brown and gray, black, maroon and green are most often found here. Such hoods are usually selected either in a single color scheme with the curtains, or, conversely, in complete contrast with it.
- Having additional decoration in the form of stucco, sparkles or rhinestones. These blends are very popular in the avant-garde style as well as the Baroque style.
- With molding, that is, a special insert that usually imitates some kind of expensive metal.
An equally important criterion for separation is the material for making such a curtain rod accessory. Usually hoods are made of plastic, because this material is quite flexible and durable, and durable.
But modern manufacturers today also make metal-plastic hoods, which are distinguished by increased strength and are suitable for large cornices. Unfortunately, such blends are very difficult to find in Russia today.
Do not forget about the width of this product. There are narrow hoods - no more than 2 cm wide, and there are also wide ones, in which the width can reach 5-6 cm.
As you can see, even such an unusual and, at first glance, completely unimportant accessory, like a hood for a cornice, has several varieties. Therefore, you need to know some of the nuances of her choice in order to make the right purchase.
How to choose?
If you decide to revive the interior of your room with the help of such an accessory, then you should be very responsible in choosing it. Otherwise, you can get just an ugly cornice that does not fit into the overall design of the room.
First of all, it is necessary to select the hood in accordance with the width of the space intended for it on the cornice itself. Otherwise, the final design will look ridiculous and ugly.
Do not forget about the color scheme: it should either be close to the general color style of the room, or be directly opposite to it, but at the same time harmoniously combined with it. A striking example of this choice of contrasts is black and white.
The total area of the room should also be taken into account when choosing such an accessory, the same applies to the size of the window itself. In small rooms and on small cornices, massive hoods decorated with rhinestones or stones will look inappropriate. Therefore, it is necessary to select them based on the interior of the room and its area. If a product with a pattern is selected, you need to ensure that its general motive fits into the general concept of the room's design, because, as you know, style is expressed in details.
Such decoration is mainly intended specifically for ceiling plastic or aluminum curtain rods, so you should not try to put such an accessory on other types of it. Many manufacturers deliberately subdivide such accessories into groups, depending on what material they are intended for the curtain rods. Therefore, when buying a hood, this item must be taken into account.
Now that a suitable accessory for the curtain rod has already been purchased, it is necessary to install it correctly so that it not only looks beautiful and stylish, but also is securely fixed.
How to put it on?
You can install the hood on the cornice in several different ways:
- If you purchased a product, having a special lock, then all that is needed is to snap it into the special side sinuses of the cornices themselves. In this case, along the entire length of the hood itself will be positioned correctly and evenly.
- If there is no such lock, then in the place where the hood will be located, it is necessary to glue a piece of double-sided tape equal in width to the bosoms, and then press the product itself tightly from above. This method has one significant drawback - in the future, it will be almost impossible to dismantle and change the hood, since the adhesive tape will glue both parts very tightly.
- The third option consists in the use of a well-known Velcro and glue. It should be said right away that such a hood installation will be lifelong, it will be impossible to remove it from the cornice later. To do this, one side of the Velcro is glued to the curtain with super glue, and the other is glued directly onto the hood itself. Further, both parts are simply connected to each other. You can also apply glue to the inside of the Velcro between the cornice and the hood for added strength.
As you can see, self-installation of such an additional accessory is not difficult. But thanks to such simple actions, even the most ordinary-looking and simple cornice can be turned into a real work of art.
Where to buy and how much does it cost?
Today, many both domestic and foreign manufacturers of curtain rods complete their goods with such a product. But if for some reason you do not like the hood offered by the manufacturer, you can easily replace it with another one. You can purchase such a product both in online stores and in ordinary construction markets.
Currently, the most popular and respected among buyers are the blends of such brands as Legrand and Meander.
If we talk about the cost of such a product, then it depends on the specific model of the hood. On average, the minimum cost of a running meter is 120 rubles, and the maximum can reach thousands of rubles.
Testimonials
Blends for curtain rods of various types receive only positive reviews from buyers. People mark their wide range, low cost and ease of installation as the main advantages. An important plus for many buyers is the fact that it is possible to instantly change the appearance of the cornices themselves and the entire room as a whole. Therefore, we can say with complete confidence that hoods for cornices are a really important, necessary and demanded invention.
For information on how you can update the old cornice with a decorative strip, see the next video.