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What size curtains for a 240 cm window?

Quick answer

Two pairs, or made to measure pole 280 cm (9 ft 2 in) · drop 229 cm (7 ft 6 in)

No single ready-made pair is wide enough for a 240 cm (7 ft 10 in) window: its pole is 280 cm (9 ft 2 in) long, so buy two pairs or have curtains made. Made to measure, order for a pole 280 cm (9 ft 2 in) long and a drop of 229 cm (7 ft 6 in), with 560 cm (18 ft 4 in) of fabric across the two curtains.

By the Snuug team · Updated · Worked out with the curtain size calculator

A window this wide is where ready-made sizes run out. Two of the widest stock curtains together fall short of 2 times the pole, so one pair would close only when pulled flat.

Two pairs is the cheap fix: hang two curtains each side and the joins hide in the folds. Check the pole too. Past a certain length it needs a centre bracket, and eyelet curtains cannot pass a bracket, so each side must stack on its own half.

Top 23025Drop 229Pole 280240
To scale, from the front, with the curtains open. The amber bar is the pole.

Worked out for A window 240 cm (7 ft 10 in) wide and 115 cm (45 in) high, its sill 90 cm (35 in) from the floor, under a 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) ceiling, with eyelet curtains on a pole, to the floor. Change the numbers

The working

  1. Window top = 90 + 115 = 205 cm from the floor.
  2. Pole length = 240 + 2 × 20 = 280 cm.
  3. Lowest pole top = 205 + 15 = 220 cm. Two thirds of the way to the ceiling = 205 + (240 − 205) × ⅔ = 228 cm. Highest = 240 − 5 = 235 cm.
  4. Hem at 1 cm (floor). Drop measured from the top of the pole.
  5. A 229 cm drop puts the pole top at 1 + 229 = 230 cm, between 220 and 235 cm.
  6. Each curtain ≥ 280 × 2 ÷ 2 = 280 cm wide.

Each curtain needs to be about 280 cm wide, more than the widest ready-made size (229 cm): buy two pairs, or made to measure.

The rules, and their sources

Pole past each side of the window

Let the pole run 15–20 cm (6–8 in) past each side of the window, or 25–30 cm for pencil pleat and heavy curtains, so they stack off the glass. Dunelm's rule with no pole fitted: the window + 40 cm.

A rule designers use Sources: Argos, Curtain pole buying guide (checked 31 October 2026); Dunelm, How to measure for curtains (checked 31 October 2026); Poles and Blinds, Extra long curtain poles guide (checked 31 October 2026).

Curtain fullness

Both curtains together, laid flat, are about twice the pole's length for Dunelm's standard gather, 2.5 times for a fuller look, and about 1.5 times for tab tops.

A rule designers use Sources: Dunelm, How to measure for curtains (checked 31 October 2026); Dunelm, Curtains measuring guide (checked 31 October 2026).

UK ready-made curtain sizes

UK shops sell ready-made curtains in pairs, each curtain 117, 168 or 229 cm wide (46, 66, 90 in) and 137, 183 or 229 cm long (54, 72, 90 in); some ranges also come 274 cm (108 in) long.

Shop sizes Sources: Dunelm, How to measure for curtains (checked 31 October 2026); John Lewis, Hidcote Weave lined eyelet curtains (checked 31 October 2026); Next, Living room help: curtain sizes (checked 31 October 2026); Blinds Direct, How to measure for curtains (checked 31 October 2026).

Other window widths

The same window height and ceiling. The pole is the window plus 20 cm (8 in) each side, and the pair is the narrowest that gathers properly on it.

WindowPoleEach curtain of the pair
90 cm (35 in)130 cm (51 in)168 × 229 cm (66 × 90 in)
120 cm (47 in)160 cm (63 in)168 × 229 cm (66 × 90 in)
150 cm (59 in)190 cm (75 in)229 × 229 cm (90 × 90 in)
180 cm (71 in)220 cm (7 ft 3 in)229 × 229 cm (90 × 90 in)
210 cm (83 in)250 cm (8 ft 2 in)no ready-made pair
240 cm (7 ft 10 in) this page280 cm (9 ft 2 in)no ready-made pair

Change the numbers

Your sizes will differ. The curtain size calculator opens with these numbers filled in: change any of them and the answer, the working and the drawing follow.

Open the calculator

Editorial notes

Worked out by the Snuug team on 12 November 2026 with the same code as the curtain size calculator, so the two cannot disagree. Every rule cites its source, with the date we last checked it. A rule designers use is a convention, not a study.

Other sources the calculator draws on:

  1. Dunelm Ireland (10 Nov 2018), How to put up a curtain pole (at least 15 cm above the window), checked 31 October 2026
  2. Terry's Fabrics, How to measure your window for curtain poles (15–20 cm above; 8–10 cm when tight), checked 31 October 2026
  3. Havenly (Clark, 3 Jun 2025, updated 10 Jun 2026), How to hang curtains like an interior designer (two thirds of the way to the ceiling), checked 31 October 2026
  4. Direct Fabrics, Understanding curtain stacking (about 15 cm per fabric width for eyelet, 25 cm for pencil pleat), checked 31 October 2026
AnswersWhat size curtains for a 120 cm window?For a 120 cm (47 in) window, buy one ready-made pair with each curtain 168 × 229 cm (66 × 90 in), on a pole 160 cm (63 in) long.AnswersHow much paint for a 4 m × 4 m room?The walls of a 4 × 4 m room need 5.5 litres of emulsion for 2 coats, 6 litres with 10% spare: buy 1 × 5 l + 1 × 2.5 l.GuidesHow high to hang curtains: pole height and width in cmFit the pole at least 15 cm above the window, or two thirds of the way to the ceiling, and 15–20 cm past each side. With UK curtain drops worked out.