Wood vs Metal Curtain Poles: Which Should You Choose?

Once you’ve decided on a pole over a track, the next choice is the material — and wood and metal give genuinely different looks, as well as some practical differences worth knowing about.

Look and feel

Wood poles bring warmth and grain, and suit traditional, country, and Scandinavian-inspired interiors particularly well — collections like Ashbridge, Eden, and Honister are designed with exactly this warmth in mind. Metal poles give a sleeker, more contemporary line, with finishes from brushed steel and matte black through to brass and antique gold for a more decorative look.

Weight capacity

Metal poles generally handle heavier, fuller curtains with less visible sag between brackets, thanks to their rigidity — a genuine consideration for interlined curtains or a wide window needing brackets spaced further apart. Wood poles handle standard-weight curtains very well, but for a particularly heavy, fully interlined curtain on a wide span, we’d often recommend metal, or a wood pole with additional central brackets to prevent sagging.

Diameter and finial choice

Both materials come in a range of diameters (typically 28mm–50mm) and finial styles, from simple ball finials through to elaborate decorative designs. Wood poles tend to offer a wider range of hand-carved and turned finial shapes; metal poles offer a wider range of geometric, jewelled, and cage-style finials for a more striking, decorative look.

Practical considerations

• Bay windows: metal poles are easier to join cleanly at angles for a bent-pole bay set-up; wood poles are more commonly used per-pane in a bay instead.
• Humidity: metal poles are unaffected by humidity, making them a safer choice very close to a bathroom or kitchen window if you’re set on a pole rather than a track.
• Longevity: both materials last for many years when well made; wood finishes can be more sensitive to strong, direct sunlight over a very long period than a powder-coated metal finish.

Cost

Pricing overlaps considerably between the two materials and depends far more on the specific collection, finial detail, and diameter than on wood versus metal as a category — a premium hand- finished wood pole can cost more than a simple metal one, and vice versa.

Our recommendation

Choose based on the room’s character first — wood for warmth and traditional interiors, metal for a cleaner contemporary line or where you need to span a wide, heavy curtain with confidence. See our poles vs tracks guideif you haven’t yet settled on a pole over a track.