Curtain pole bracket types explained
The bracket decides where a pole can go: on the wall, on the ceiling, inside the reveal, round a bay, or two poles deep. Here is every type we stock from Cameron Fuller, Hallis Hudson and Speedy, what each one is for, and how to choose.
Most people only think about brackets when the pack does not have the one they need. The questions are nearly always the same: where does it fix, does the curtain need to pass it, how far off the wall should the pole sit, and is there a second pole behind. Answer those four and the right bracket picks itself. How many brackets a run needs, and how far apart, is covered in our bracket spacing guide; this one is about which type.
End brackets and centre brackets
Every pole starts with a pair of end brackets, one near each end, just inside the finials. On a longer run a centre bracket supports the middle so the pole cannot bow.
- Cameron Fuller sells its standard metal brackets, adjustable loop brackets, double brackets, and chrome and brass brackets for wooden poles, each as an end or a centre version.
- Hallis Hudson sells separate end and centre brackets on ranges such as Neo, Galleria and Museum. The Neo 28mm centre bracket can be fixed to the wall or the ceiling.
- Complete pole sets include the brackets their length needs. Buy extra centre brackets on their own when a heavy curtain wants more support than the set provides.
How many centre brackets a run needs, and where they go, is set out in the bracket spacing guide. Shop them in curtain brackets.
Passing brackets: for bays and long runs
On a standard bracket the arm crosses the path of a closed ring, so the ring stops when it reaches the bracket. That is fine at the ends, but it means a curtain cannot be drawn past a centre bracket, or round the angles of a bay. A passing bracket holds the pole from behind in a way that leaves room for an open, C-shaped passing ring to slide straight past it. The gap in the ring faces the wall, and the bracket arm runs through the gap.
Passing brackets only work with passing rings, so order the two together.
- Cameron Fuller makes passing brackets for its 19mm metal pole: a standard passing bracket and an extension version for fixing to the wall, and a ceiling passing bracket for fixing above. Each is also available with a joiner included, for the join on a two-piece pole. Use them with Cameron Fuller's 19mm passing rings, sold in our metal ring packs. The brackets are in Cameron Fuller metal brackets.
- Hallis Hudson Neo has wall-fixed passing brackets in 19mm, 28mm and 35mm, and C-shaped passing rings in 28mm and 35mm, sold in packs of six.
- Hallis Hudson Arc (25mm) has a passing bracket, an adjustable passing bracket, a ceiling passing bracket and a double passing bracket, with passing rings in packs of four. Elements has passing brackets in 28mm and 35mm, and 28mm passing rings in packs of four.
Measuring a bay first? Our bay window measuring guide covers it, and the bay window collection brings the parts together. Passing rings are in curtain rings.
Ceiling brackets: fixing from above
A ceiling bracket, also called a top-fix bracket, screws into the ceiling or the soffit above the window and holds the pole from above rather than from behind. Use it where there is no wall above the window to fix into: a window that runs up to the ceiling, a deep soffit, or a pole hung across a room.
- Cameron Fuller makes ceiling brackets for its 19mm and 32mm metal poles and metal ceiling brackets for its 35mm, 50mm and 63mm wooden poles, plus the 19mm ceiling passing bracket above.
- Hallis Hudson has top-fix-only ceiling brackets for Neo in 19mm, 28mm and 35mm, a top-fix bracket for Elements, and a combined centre and ceiling bracket for Arc.
- Speedy's 28mm top fix support mounts directly to the ceiling; Speedy suggest it for room dividers or anywhere wall mounting is not suitable.
Whether a wall or a ceiling fix suits your window, and what each needs behind it, is covered in our wall fix vs ceiling fix guide. For a pole across a room, see curtain room dividers. Ceiling-fixable hardware is gathered in the ceiling fix collection.
Recess brackets: inside the reveal
When a window sits in a deep reveal, the pole can go inside the recess, wall to wall, rather than on the wall in front of it. A recess bracket fixes to the side wall of the reveal at each end and holds the pole between them. It gives a neat, tidy finish to a recessed window.
- Cameron Fuller: a recess bracket for the 19mm and 32mm metal poles, and for the 35mm, 50mm and 63mm wooden poles a choice of a metal recess bracket or a wooden recess bracket in the same timber finishes as the pole. See metal brackets and wooden pole brackets.
- Hallis Hudson: recess brackets across nearly every range, metal and wooden. Some come in pairs (Honister, Woodline, Naturals and Masterpiece, for example); most Neo recess brackets are now sold singly, so check the pack size and order two where needed.
- Speedy: the 28mm recess support, a pack of two, made to fit inside a recessed window.
Adjustable brackets: setting the projection
Projection is how far the pole stands off the wall. Too little and the curtain can catch on a radiator, a pipe or a deep sill. An adjustable bracket lets you set it during fitting.
- Cameron Fuller adjustable loop brackets are made for the 19mm and 32mm metal poles and the 35mm, 50mm and 63mm wooden poles, each as an end or a centre bracket, so the projection can be varied to suit the window.
- Speedy's 28mm IDC support (IDC stands for interior designer's choice) extends during fitting to clear radiators, pipes and other obstructions. A round back plate hides the screws, a small grub screw locks the pole in place, and Speedy rate it at up to 10kg per support.
- Hallis Hudson Arc has adjustable end, centre and passing brackets in 25mm: see Arc brackets.
- On a café rod, Cameron Fuller offers a choice of fixed projections instead: 20mm or 50mm face-fix brackets, or a recess fitting. Our café rod guide explains which to use.
Double brackets: two poles, one fitting
A double bracket carries two poles, one in front of the other, from one set of fixings. The usual arrangement is a voile or sheer on the back pole and the main curtains on the front, so you can draw them independently.
- Cameron Fuller makes metal double brackets in 19mm/19mm and 32mm/19mm, each as an end and a centre bracket. Its 19mm double pole packs include them.
- Hallis Hudson Neo has a wall-fixed double bracket in 28mm + 19mm and 28mm + 28mm. Hallis recommend the 19/28mm version for use with rings only, not eyelet curtains. See the Neo double bracket.
- Hallis Hudson Arc has double end, centre and passing brackets in 25mm: see the Arc double bracket.
More on pairing the two poles in our double curtain poles guide, and the sets themselves in double curtain poles.
Brackets for wooden poles
A wooden pole gives you the widest choice, because the bracket can match the timber or deliberately contrast with it.
- Wooden cup brackets hold the pole in a cup finished to match the pole, so the bracket reads as part of it. Cameron Fuller makes them for its 35mm, 50mm and 63mm wooden poles in the same wooden finishes, and Hallis Hudson has cup brackets on wooden ranges such as Museum, Modern Country, Eden and Ashbridge.
- Wooden recess brackets do the same job inside a reveal: Cameron Fuller in all three diameters, and Hallis Hudson across its wooden ranges.
- Metal brackets for wooden poles: Cameron Fuller also offers standard metal, metal ceiling, metal recess and adjustable loop brackets for its wooden poles, in its metal colours.
- Chrome, antique brass and light brass brackets: Cameron Fuller's way of putting a metal accent against timber, in 35mm, 50mm and 63mm, each as an end or a centre bracket.
- Some Hallis Hudson wooden ranges add clasp brackets (Museum, Modern Country, Origins, Eden, Ashbridge) and Modern Country has an architrave bracket. The product photos show each shape.
Cameron Fuller's wooden pole packs let you choose wooden, standard metal, ceiling, adjustable loop, chrome, antique brass or light brass brackets when you order. Single brackets are in Cameron Fuller wooden pole brackets, and Hallis range brackets such as Museum 45mm and Modern Country 45mm are in curtain brackets.
Hallis Hudson Neo: cup or cylinder?
On the Hallis Hudson Neo metal poles the end bracket comes in two styles, cup and cylinder. Both fix to the wall and do the same job; the difference is the look, so choose the one you prefer from the photos.
- Neo 28mm: pole sets are made with either a cup bracket or a cylinder bracket, and both are sold singly as spares.
- Neo 35mm: the standard end bracket is the cylinder style.
- Beyond the end bracket, Neo has passing brackets, ceiling brackets, recess brackets and double brackets, covered above. See Neo 28mm brackets, Neo 35mm brackets and the Neo 28mm rings, which include passing rings.
Speedy supports
Speedy call their brackets supports. Three are sold singly or in pairs for the 28mm poles, to replace a lost one or change the fixing:
- 28mm recess support (pack of two): fits inside a recessed window.
- 28mm top fix support (each): mounts directly to the ceiling, for room dividers or where wall mounting is not suitable.
- 28mm IDC support (each): extends during fitting to clear radiators and pipes, with a round back plate that hides the screws.
Wall or ceiling above the window? Wall means an end bracket, ceiling means a top-fix bracket. Inside the reveal? A recess bracket. Must the curtain travel past a bracket, round a bay or along a long run? Passing brackets and passing rings. A sheer behind? A double bracket. Then match the diameter of the pole, and count how many you need with the spacing guide.
Common questions
What is a passing bracket?
A passing bracket holds a curtain pole from behind so that open, C-shaped passing rings can slide past it. The gap in each ring faces the wall and the bracket arm runs through it. Passing brackets are used on bay window poles and long runs where the curtain has to travel past a bracket. They only work with passing rings, so order the two together.
What is the difference between an end bracket and a centre bracket?
End brackets hold the pole near each end, just inside the finials. A centre bracket supports the middle of a longer run so the pole does not bow. On a standard pole the rings cannot cross a centre bracket, which suits a pair of curtains meeting in the middle. Our bracket spacing guide says how many a run needs.
Can a curtain pole be fixed to the ceiling?
Yes, with ceiling brackets, also called top-fix brackets, which screw into the ceiling or soffit and hold the pole from above. Cameron Fuller, Hallis Hudson and Speedy all make them. They suit windows with no wall above them and poles hung across a room.
What is a recess bracket?
A recess bracket fixes to the side wall of a window reveal, so the pole sits inside the recess, wall to wall, rather than on the wall in front. Cameron Fuller makes metal recess brackets and, for its wooden poles, wooden recess brackets in the pole's finish. Hallis Hudson and Speedy have recess brackets too.
What does a double curtain pole bracket do?
It carries two poles, one in front of the other, on one set of fixings: usually a voile or sheer on the back pole and the main curtains on the front. Cameron Fuller makes 19mm/19mm and 32mm/19mm double brackets, and Hallis Hudson Neo makes 28mm + 19mm and 28mm + 28mm.
What is the difference between a cup and a cylinder bracket?
They are two styles of end bracket on the Hallis Hudson Neo poles. Both fix to the wall and do the same job, so the choice is about the look. Neo 28mm pole sets come with either; on Neo 35mm the standard end bracket is the cylinder style.