The humble curtain pole is a part of the house decoration that is often overlooked - and it's not hard to see why as they aren't the most exciting thing you'll be buying. When decorating your house whether it is for the first time or a redecoration there are big things to think about such as the colour of the paint, which curtains to buy and what style you are going for overall, but curtain poles do make a difference to the feel of the room and shouldn't be forgotten about even if they aren't really that exciting.

It doesn't take long to look at a few different ones  to see which match your room the best, you wouldn't want to go through a lot of effort picking everything else only to have it spoilt by the poles you hang the curtains from would you? I know I certainly wouldn't! Whether you decide on a wooden curtain pole or a black one in the end a little bit of research can go a long way towards making you happy with the look and feel of your house.

First of all let’s start with the obvious. Curtains poles are what you use for hanging up the curtains in front of the windows. You can get a wide range of different styles as well as colours and if you choose the right one they can add something extra to the room that most people won't be able to put their finger on but is there all the same.

Rather than buying the pole in pieces though you can usually get curtain pole kits. These range in price and I'll go into a few examples of pricing later on in the article.

An important thing to remember is that you must measure the size of your window and how long the curtain will be before buying! You don't want a pole that is too big, and you certainly don't want one that is too small otherwise you'll have the hassle of trying to get a refund or even worse losing your money if a refund is not available.

If you are lucky enough to have a bay window then you’ll have to get a specialist bay window curtain pole to make sure it fits the window.

Bay windows are like many things in that they vary widely in price depending on what type you want and what quality of pole you want to buy. It also depends on how long you need the pole to be of course, with the longer the pole the more expensive it is going to be.

For example you can get an eight inch wooden curtain pole for around $90 from an internet website, which is quite reasonable. You can also get a cheaper pole for around $30 although whether it will fit your window or not is a different matter altogether.

Bay window curtain poles tend to be a bit more expensive although not enough to mean that it will break your bank to buy one.

When buying a curtain pole for whatever type of window you have you need to think about several things. First of all you need to have a budget as without it the range is so huge that you'll never be able to narrow it down to a few choices. Secondly you need to think about how it is going to fit in with the rest of the rooms decor - and on a wider scale the rest of the house. If you can have consistent poles throughout the house that you like it can be a big advantage when trying to make your house look good.

If your kit doesn't come with curtain hooks or rings then you need to ask whether they have to be bought separately. They shouldn't be very expensive but it is always worth checking before you get home so that you don't arrive with a pole but no way of putting it up, forcing you to have an annoying trip back to the shops to get what you need.

Curtain holdbacks are a different idea altogether but can be useful, and if you buy them with your poles then you'll be able to make sure they match the decoration of your poles nicely.