Since 1954 Factory Direct Drapes™ has specialized in custom drapery, curtains, and valances well known for high quality craftsmanship and long lasting durability. Our products are proudly Hand Made In America and we provide a lifetime warranty on all work.Our custom Blackout Curtains and Blackout Shades provide 100% blackout solutions to your laboratory, photo studio or other commercial application. No light can penetrate through them, not even through the seams. With the quick and easy installation, you’ll have blackout conditions that are custom fit to your specifications. Blackout Curtains are 100% blackout, no light can penetrate through them, not even through the seams. Blackout Curtains are fire retardant and pass the NFPA 701 for your safety. Blackout Curtains put you in total control of the light in your studio. Blackout Curtains are versatile and can be moved, unlike shaded window stickers. Each order comes with a 12″ valance. Custom Commercial Blackout Roller Shades

SuperVinyl Blackout Roller Shades are an excellent window treatment choice for blocking light from your space. You can enhance energy efficiency by blocking the heat that comes in tandem with bright sun rays, and control light sources for photography, laboratory, deep sleep and more. Blackout Curtain Track and Hardware The track we provide to install your blackout curtains is extruded aluminum and can be straight or curved. The carriers are doubled-wheeled and will not bind up when pulled around corners. Our heavy duty tracks are made to install directly into a grid of a commercial drop ceilings. And is pre-drilled with all necessary hardware included for an easy install. See how we can help. We offer the ability to complete your order today with help from us, or all on your own. World War 2 index Homes in the 1940s Many children in the 1940s lived in small houses or flats. In towns, many people lived in small terraced houses. There were blocks of flats too, though not as tall as the 'tower blocks' built after the war.

A typical family house had a sitting room and kitchen, with two or three bedrooms upstairs. Not all houses had bathrooms or indoor toilets. Many houses had windows stuck over with paper tape. In an air raid, the blast-force of a bomb exploding could shatter windows along a street. Tape across the windows stopped the glass shattering into thousands of pieces, and causing injuries. In the Sitting Room In many homes, people sat to relax in the sitting room (also called the lounge, parlour or simply the 'front room'). Here they would read, listen to the radio or chat. They ate meals in the kitchen, or the dining room if there was one. The sitting room was often the 'best room', kept for visitors. In most homes a coal fire warmed the sitting room. There were gas and electric fires too, but few homes had central heating. In cold weather, people sat around the fire. It was a good idea to keep a candle in every room. During air raids, bombs often hit power cables and gas pipes.

Then people were left in the dark, without electricity or gas to light their homes. Some homes had gas lamps, but by the 1940s gas lights were a bit old fashioned. Many homes had electric light. Every window had 'blackout curtains', which were drawn at night. If not, the ARP warden came along, shouting 'put that light out'. Best Laptop For Rap Music'Blackout curtains' stopped light from rooms showing from outside. Indoor Outdoor Ceiling Fans LowesThere were no street lights either. Mens Shoes Sale DuneThe idea was to stop lights from towns guiding enemy planes to drop bombs. Coal fires kept people warm in winter. Coal was a very important fuel. It kept people warm. More important, it kept factories and trains working. In families, children often shared bedrooms.

In bed, they snuggled down under blankets and eiderdowns - very few people used duvets. Some bedrooms had a jug and basin for washing your face and hands in the morning. Not every home had a bathroom. Children kept books and toys in their bedrooms, but there were no TVs, and no computer games of course. Some homes had only an outside toilet, and in many homes it was chilly going to the bathroom at night. So small children often used a 'chamber pot' (potty). The pot was made of china and was kept out of sight under the bed. Not every 1940s home had a bathroom. Many poor families washed in the kitchen, and had baths in front of the fire. The metal bath was filled with hot water from pans and kettles. In bathrooms, hot water often came from a gas heater. The wartime ration for a bath was 5 inches (12.5 cm) of water once a week. The idea was to save water. In some families, it meant several people used the same bathwater, one after the other! Not all homes had an inside toilet.

You used an outside toilet in the backyard or garden. To avoid a chilly walk in the night, you could use a pot kept under the bed. Washday meant hand washing or boiling dirty towels and sheets in a 'copper' or 'boiler'. This was a metal tank filled with water heated by gas. Few people had washing machines. A washboard made scrubbing easier. After rinsing (in clean water), wet clothes were squeezed through a 'mangle'. The mangle had two rollers, turned by a handle. As you turned the handle, the rollers squeezed water out of the wet washing. The clothes were then hung on a line over the fire or outside to dry. They were 'aired' on a fold-up wooden 'clothes horse'. In 1942 Utility furniture went on sale. Chairs and tables were made for 'utility' or 'use', from wartime materials. There was such a shortage of furniture that people were asked to look in attics for old tables and chairs. Wartime rationing meant smaller books printed on recycled paper. People moved around a lot during the war.

There were 60 million changes of address. By 1941 over 2 million homes had been destroyed by bombing. Cutting bath towels in half meant less washing, and so saved water. One tip was: stand a saucepan of water in the hot oven after you finish cooking. Then you had hot water for washing up. Cottonwool ear-plugs helped muffle the noise of air raids. Not all wartime hot water bottles were 'bendy' like today's - they were made from pottery. Many people were worried that their pets would be frightened by air raids. Pet shops sold 'Fit and Hysteria' powders - to put in a pet's food, to keep a cat or dog calm and quiet. Some children became good at telling grown-ups how to look after their gas masks. Never put it near the fire! Don't carry it by the straps! One idea was to cut the wooden legs off an old bed, and turn the bed into a sofa. At Buckingham Palace, the king and queen banned all flowers, unless they were picked in the palace garden. One not-very-sensible suggestion for a wartime Christmas present was a bullet-proof wallet, to keep your money safe!