Asked on Dec 12, 2014

Curtains to help prevent from draft hallway? Does it work??

Tone
by Tone
We have a very "open" house were the entry and the hallway is open, and cold draft tracks around all the other rooms. The floor out in the hallway is directly on a cement surface (with only laminate floor, and a carpet on top) and the door is old, not insulated and with a big window. So no need to say a lot of cold drafts get in the house trough the entry/hallway. There is no door but a nice framed opening. I was thinking about hanging up thick curtains to help prevent the cold draft from flowing in. Will this help? Does anyone have experience with this?
  11 answers
  • Loribeth Loribeth on Dec 12, 2014
    That is the solution that has been used for generations in older homes. You see it a lot in historic homes, because it works. I say go for it. The only thing you need to remember the curtains need to look good from both sides, because it is an entry.
  • Michaela Edwards Michaela Edwards on Dec 12, 2014
    yes they do work they are still using them in business in Germany to keep the initial draft when you first walk in. They are super heavy, needs good support when hanging up.
  • Opal Opal on Dec 12, 2014
    Insulated curtains do wonders are are fairly cheap. You can hang them back to back (sewn/glued together if you care to) so it looks good from either side and you can match the decor of each room. I would think it would be enough if only one of the curtains were insulated or if you have curtains that you want to use already you can get a panel that goes in between which is much like batting of a quilt. I have heard of using a white shower curtain between two panels but I can't seem to remember the details.
  • Marlene Haigh Marlene Haigh on Dec 13, 2014
    Be sure the curtain have black out lining it works great. I have old windows that had wooden roman shades. I added black out lining to the back and it works great keeping the cold out.
  • Gail Gail on Dec 13, 2014
    I did that near the top of my stairs. We keep the upstairs much cooler than the downstairs and there was always a draft down the stairs. It really helped one thing being upstairs we were the only ones that saw it so and old heavy blanket worked for me. Growing up we always did that in our old farm house.
  • Sue Sue on Dec 13, 2014
    I'm originally from England, old homes were so drafty. We used to hang a curtain rail over top of the external doors and hang a heavy duty curtain on it, it would be closed when needed. Of course this could be used over any doorway and use a tie back with a simple hook screwed into the wall when not needed. We used to make inexpensive rollie polies (no idea what they were really called) for the inside base of the outside door to stop the drought coming in there too :-)
  • OnBlissStreet OnBlissStreet on Dec 13, 2014
    Oh, yes, they will totally help. I bought some insulated curtains at Target about 4 years ago to put on our patio door. The floor is always freezing near it in the winter, but now that the curtains are up, it's nice and warm.
  • Tone Tone on Dec 15, 2014
    Thanks for all youre answers! I think I will have a look at my local good will. I know they have some thick and heavy, yet ugly curtains there. I can simply make a new lining for them to make them blend in in our inventory:)
  • OnBlissStreet OnBlissStreet on Dec 15, 2014
    Another thing that I've done is buy a canvas drop cloth and use that to make a seasonal curtain. They are super cheap and really thick. Much less expensive than buying the fabric at the fabric store.
  • Tone Tone on Dec 16, 2014
    ok, thanks everyone for all the great tips! I now have got my hands on 4 lenghts of medium heavy curtains. But they are not insulated with anything. So I was thinking of using one length for the front and one for the back, and then use a fleece blanket for the inside/lining. That should keep some of the draft out, dont you think? :)
  • Bernice H Bernice H on Jan 10, 2016
    @tone...we live in mexico Baja,we have cement walls,cement tile floors,and it is very cold. No houses have indoor heat. We use propane heaters. We have an archway,with 2stairways off of it. Very cold and drafty. We now have a blanket over the doorway to the living room. It is a must. Walking into the kitchen from the living room,it must be at least 10 -15 degrees warmer in the living room..yes, this works!