Hi rhododendron13, This compact guest room has a lot of potential to fit your description of a room that is elegant, tasteful and welcoming. As you mentioned in your post, curtains with a swag and tail may not have space to hang freely beside the bed, but there are several options you can go for. A curtain with details on the top half of the window would resolve the issue, with a simple tail falling beside the bed. If you were looking for options to maximise space you may want to consider some DIY options which also provide privacy and style to the room. Our Venetians and Cellular Blinds are stocked at Bunnings around Australia, and Mitre10 also stock our Rollers Blinds all of which are easy to install. The variety of material options in these styles are good for choosing one that suits your taste. I would suggest blockout roller blinds, which offer the level of privacy you would want in a guest room, while appealing to many people in its simple style and design. For your convenience I've included an example: Amor Roller Blinds Installation · [More Info[(https://www.houzz.com.au/photos/amor-roller-blinds-installation-contemporary-bathroom-melbourne-phvw-vp~52165450) Hope this helps - good luck with the search!

Hi Karly, This is a lovely look, you will need to consider a couple of things when you hire a builder or plasterer to do the work. What configuration of curtains are you thinking of having? One layer or two layers? There needs to be enough space between the wall and the mock wall for the curtains to move easily. Are you planning on fitting the tracks to the ceiling? If so you will need at least 200mm in front of the existing cornice for two curtain tracks, more if you want 2 layers of S-fold curtains. This could intrude into the room quite a long way. I would recommend calling a specialty curtain retailer as well as a tradie, and I would definately recommend thinking about what your budget is going to be. Have fun! Jenny

I agree with Mel N. It's a relatively closed space and I think with the frames and the light fitting, less is more. An obvious curtain rod would be a step too far I think - pleated curtains on a hidden track would be how I would go.

check "pinch pleat" style hooks...usually available at Spotlight, Bunnings, some department stores or any curtain maker but you can often find a few odd ones at teh Opshops to test which shape suits your curtain...they have the hook part that hangs on the track but also have prongs that project upwards and can be fed through several vertical loops to make a pleat every 10 cms then a smooth gap, rather than continuous gathers, and hold the curtain upright..the different styles have the hook attached a different levels along the prongs so that the hook can be hung higher or lower....the right one may depend on the weight and width of the fabric to suit the curtain space...making the curtain narrower can sometimes help and another option is to add weights to the hem of the curtain.. some special curtain weights look like big flat metal rings about the size of a 20 cent coin and are wrapped in a small pouch of fabric that is sewn at intervals along the inside of the curtain hems...(lots of work so try hanging a few keys on safety pins along the hem to see if that helps before you start sewing) best of luck with this very annoying dilemma