Drapehaus
Drapehaus
Preparing the room
Drapehaus
Preparing the room
Season
Handover is a moment rather than a season, but it behaves like one — it has a clear before and after, a rush of simultaneous decisions, and a set of choices that are easy now and costly later.
By the Drapehaus studio · 19 September 2026 · How we write
The pattern we see repeatedly is that everything gets decided in the first fortnight, under time pressure, in an empty flat with bare white walls. Those are close to the worst possible conditions for judging fabric, and the regret rate is correspondingly high.
The useful discipline is separating decisions by how reversible they are.
Anything hidden or structural has to be decided now: power runs for motorised treatments, recessed ceiling track pockets, and any fixing that must go in before decoration is complete. These cost very little at this stage and are disruptive or impossible afterwards.
Bedrooms should also be resolved immediately, because blackout is functional rather than decorative and it affects sleep from the first night. Getting the geometry right — wide enough, high enough, returning to the wall — is what actually darkens a room, and it is worth doing properly rather than quickly.
Everything else can wait. Living room fabric in particular benefits enormously from being chosen once there is furniture, a rug and some colour in the room.
Where the builder has provided track or rods, inspect before building on them. Developer hardware is usually the lowest-grade available and very commonly sized exactly to the window opening with no stacking allowance either side.
That single detail matters more than it sounds. Track sized to the opening means the curtains can never clear the glass, so the room is permanently darker than it should be and the window always looks smaller than it is. Replacing the track at the outset is a small job; living with it is not.
Also establish what the glazing actually is. Single-glazed clear glass on a west elevation will need solar control whatever curtains go up, and knowing that before choosing fabric prevents the spend going in the wrong place.
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The handover inspection is the one moment when the developer is obliged to put things right, so it is worth looking at the windows as carefully as the kitchen. Open and close every sash and slider, check that locks engage, and look for gaps between frame and wall that have been filled with sealant rather than properly finished.
Look at the sills and the drainage. Sliding windows have weep holes in the bottom track that let rainwater out; if they are blocked with mortar or paint, the first monsoon will bring water over the sill and into whatever curtain hangs there. A sill should fall away from the glass, not towards the room.
Note anything that is wrong and have it fixed before the window treatments go up. A leaking frame discovered after new curtains are installed means taking them down for the repair and, quite possibly, replacing fabric that has already marked. Photograph each fault and keep the developer's written response, so that anything outstanding can be followed up after the keys are handed over.
Before any hardware is chosen, establish what sits above each window. A reinforced concrete lintel holds a bracket firmly but needs the right drill and plugs. Blockwork can be sound or crumbly depending on the block. A gypsum false ceiling will not carry a curtain track on its own at all.
False ceilings are the most common trap in new flats. If a ceiling-mounted track is wanted, the ceiling contractor needs to install a timber or metal support strip above the board along the line of the track, before the ceiling is closed. Adding it afterwards means cutting into a finished, painted ceiling.
Ask the developer for drawings showing where concealed services run. Electrical conduits often run up beside windows and across lintels, and a drill through a live cable is a far larger problem than a slightly misplaced bracket. A cable detector is a sensible precaution even with drawings. It costs little and removes the guesswork.
When in the year the keys arrive changes what should be done first. A flat handed over in the monsoon has new plaster and concrete that are still drying in air that is close to saturated. New buildings give off a great deal of moisture in their first months, and fabric hung in a sealed new flat in July can mildew before anyone moves in.
For a monsoon handover, keep windows open when possible, run fans, and hold off on anything but bedroom blackout and privacy until the building has dried. Measurements can be taken, and fabric chosen, but hanging good curtains is better left until October. Fabric hung in October goes up into a dry building and a dry season.
A handover in the dry months is the opposite: everything can be installed comfortably, and the priority is to finish anything structural before the monsoon arrives. A flat handed over in March has about two months of good working weather, which is enough for bedrooms and hidden work if decisions are made quickly.
A flat bought to let has different priorities from one that will be lived in. For a rental, every window treatment should be robust, washable and simple to operate, and bedrooms need to darken properly because guests will review the room on sleep. Standardised sizes and fabrics across rooms make spares and future replacement much easier.
Anyone letting a flat to tourists should also remember that registration with the Department of Tourism is required before operating, under the Goa Registration of Tourist Trade Act. Check the current requirements for the category and take advice, because they affect how the flat should be specified and when it can open.
For a home you will live in, the case for waiting on the living areas is strongest. Nothing about a living room curtain is urgent, and it will be looked at every day for years. Choosing it once the room is furnished is the single most effective way to avoid regret.
Waiting on the living room does not mean living with bare glass. Privacy and some sun control from the first night are reasonable expectations, and there are several ways to get them without committing to the final scheme. The aim is a room that works now and leaves the final decision open. A few months of temporary blinds is a small price for choosing the real curtains once the furniture, rug and wall colours are in place.
Simple roller blinds in standard sizes, fixed inside the reveal, give privacy and darkness quickly and can later move to a utility room or be kept behind the final curtains. Tension-fit and no-drill blinds avoid marking walls that may be repainted. Pleated paper blinds that stick to the frame are the most basic option and are genuinely temporary.
Whatever the temporary solution, choose it so it does not dictate the final one. Avoid drilling for temporary brackets exactly where the permanent track will need to go, and keep the fixings small, so the wall does not need repair before the real work begins. Small holes in the reveal are easy to fill; large ones in a finished wall are not.
Diagnosis
WhyJudged against bare white walls in an empty echoing room, which is nothing like the finished space.
FixTemporary blinds for living areas; defer the real choice until there is furniture in the room.
WhyThe decision came after decoration was finished.
FixDecide on motorisation before decoration. Otherwise use battery or solar motors, which avoid chasing a finished wall.
WhyBuilder-supplied track sized exactly to the opening with no stacking allowance.
FixReplace and extend 30 to 40cm past the opening on each side. A small job now, and it permanently changes how light the room is.
WhyNobody established that the west-facing glass was the real issue before choosing fabric.
FixIdentify the glazing and orientation first. Solar film or better glass may be the right spend.
WhyWeep holes in the sliding window track blocked with mortar or paint during construction.
FixCheck and clear weep holes at the handover inspection, and have the developer correct any sill that falls inwards.
WhyFixed into gypsum board with no support strip above it.
FixHave a timber or metal support installed along the track line before the ceiling is closed.
WhyHung in a sealed new flat during the monsoon, while fresh plaster and concrete were still drying.
FixFor a monsoon handover, ventilate, run fans and leave good curtains until the building has dried.
Checklist
Run power for motors before decoration is finished
Form recessed track pockets before ceilings close
Inspect builder-supplied track for stacking allowance
Resolve bedrooms properly and immediately
Use temporary blinds in living areas until furnished
Establish glazing type and orientation before choosing fabric
Open every window and clear the weep holes during snagging
Confirm what each lintel and ceiling is made of before choosing hardware
Ask for drawings of concealed conduits near windows
For a monsoon handover, dry the flat out before hanging good fabric
From the Journal
All articlesFAQ
Anything hidden or structural — power for motorised treatments and recessed ceiling track pockets — because those are simple now and disruptive later. Bedrooms too, since blackout is functional and affects sleep immediately. Living areas can and should wait.
Check it first. Developer track is usually the lowest-grade available and very often sized exactly to the window with no stacking space, which means the curtains can never clear the glass and the room stays permanently darker than it should be. Replacing it early is inexpensive.
Because fabric judged against bare white walls in an empty room looks quite different once there is furniture, a rug and wall colour. It is the most common regret in new-build work, and a set of simple temporary blinds for a few months avoids it entirely.
What type it is and which way it faces. Single-glazed clear glass on a west elevation will need solar control regardless of what curtains go up, and establishing that before choosing fabric stops the spend going to the wrong place.
Not to the board alone. Gypsum will not hold a loaded track for long. The ceiling contractor needs to fit a timber or metal support strip above the board along the line of the track before the ceiling is closed. Adding one afterwards means cutting into a finished, painted ceiling.
Open and close every window, check locks engage, and look for gaps filled with sealant instead of properly finished. Check that weep holes in sliding tracks are clear and that sills fall away from the glass. Have faults fixed before any curtains or blinds go up.
Only what you need for sleep and privacy. New plaster and concrete release a lot of moisture in their first months, and in monsoon air a sealed new flat can mildew fabric before anyone moves in. Ventilate, run fans, measure and choose, and hang the good curtains in October.
Standard-size roller blinds fixed inside the reveal give privacy and darkness quickly and can be reused later. Tension-fit and no-drill blinds avoid marking walls, and stick-on pleated paper blinds are the simplest stopgap. Keep temporary fixings away from where the permanent track will go.
Generally 30 to 40cm past the opening on each side, so the curtains can stack clear of the glass when open. Builder-supplied track is often cut exactly to the opening, which leaves the curtains permanently covering part of the window and the room darker than it should be.
If there is any chance you will want them, decide before decoration is finished, because that is when power can be run to the window without chasing a finished wall. If the decision comes later, battery or solar motors avoid new wiring, at the cost of recharging or occasional battery replacement.
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