Curtains (Length if CH radiator under window)

It's down to likes and dislikes, which vary a lot. I am not a fan of short curtains, so I would stick with long ones, and leave them open in your situation. It's different in a bedroom, but even then, I prefer long to short.

Mine just skim the top of the radiator. I have vertical blinds as well, which skim the top of the windowsill

We fitted a radiator shelf over the radiator and the curtains come down to that.

This reduces the amount of heat from the radiator going behind the curtains and heating the window space.

I would still close the vertical blinds as well, a window can never be too well insulated.

I have shutters and no curtains, I prefer the simplicity, but if I did have curtains I would not block the heat out so shorter.

Shorter.

No point in covering radiators.

I agree- and if I could I would move the radiators...

Ours are about 3” below the sill and about 3” above the radiator. Works for us!

We moved the radiators when we renovated our bungalow as they were all in front of the windows, short curtains are obviously better for releasing heat from the radiators into the rooms.

It’s a personal choice.

I have full length curtains and blinds. The curtains stay open but I close the blinds. I prefer full length curtains

I have thermal blinds than shorter curtains. I just close the thermal blinds so we have the full benefit of the radiators. In the summer I use the curtains to shut the night out.

We do the same as you, long curtains which are never closed. Vertical blinds we close at night

Perhaps something horizontal fitted over the windows? We've roman blinds, flat up inside the window trim in day, down at night if necessary. I'm not fond of verticals, so that wasn't an option.

I like the idea of having radiators moved.

Narrow shelves just above the radiatiators (the same depth as the radiators) and curtains finishing just above the shelves would be my ideal. The shelves direct the heat into the room rather than wasting the heat from the top of the radiators towards the ceiling.

Our radiators are all on outside walls except in the bathroom, but we have put heat deflector panels behind them all to try to stop the heat just being absorbed into the cold outside walls. We have a mixture of blinds and just-below-window

oops, posted accidentally!

...just-below-window-sill level curtains. Can't see the point of having a radiator covered up with curtains when/if you draw them.

Vertical blinds and the windows that have rads under are short

Not curtains but sofas. In two rooms, a sofa covers the radiator. I keep a gap between the rad and sofa but is it worth the expense of movingvradiators?

Iam64 I moved mine to free up lots of wall space in my dining room and sittingroom.
I put them both under the (huge) windows.
One has very long curtains that billow on the floor when open and sits in loose crumpled folds on the (wide) window ledge when closed.

Because the radiators are free-standing (like short old-school cast iron type) the other pair sits behind when closed. There is a "stay" to anchor it to the wall. The curtains go either side of it.

It works for us.
I wouldn't cover the radiators in the winter with a curtain.

The best move I made was to move the sofa from in front of the radiator.

Down to the floor on the patio doors, below the sill to within an inch of the radiators on other windows.

I have radiators under all my windows and my curtains just skim the tops of them. We aren't overlooked so I leave them open, except the bedrooms, most of the time. I haven't got the money or the mental energy to embark on moving radiators.

It’s not an easy decision as there are only four walls in the average room. If you have a radiator under the window you lose heat that way, and have to have short curtains to avoid blocking heat too. If the radiator goes on another wall you are limited to where the furniture can go, unless the room is big enough for it to fit in the middle. Many rooms have fireplaces and chimney breasts, which put further limits on furniture placement, and you need a door somewhere, to get in and out .

I think we just have to do what works for us in the rooms we have. I have a large bay window with perfect fit blinds and long curtains that are usually open. The radiator runs along the wall opposite the fireplace and has a sofa in front of it. The other sofa is at 90 degrees to it in front of the remaining wall. I have had a sofa in the bay at times, and that works too.

Personally, and as I say, it comes down to preference only, I dislike short curtains so would play around with furniture placement before considering that option.

Thanks all for your ideas and comments x

I far prefer floor to ceiling curtains - they look nicer in my view. However, even these days of double glazed windows, plumbers still insist on putting the rads underneath the windows. Why? They are not Victorian sashes and there is virtually no cold air coming in - anyway, interlined curtains will stop any draughts.

In our previous house, I had the radiators sited in "dead" spaces - i.e where no furniture could be placed, like just inside a doorway, which freed up the rest of the room for furniture.