Why do my expensive-ish curtains look crap

The odd, cold evening? Maybe where you live. Personally I'd rather window sill length curtains than staring at some weird tucking arrangement all winter.

We've just had new curtains made for our bedroom. It has a bow window which is 4m wide. Each curtain is 5m wide and the strings are pulled so there are plenty of pleats at the top and they each measure 2m wide when the strings have been pulled. They fall about 2cm below the window sill and we have blackout linings.

If someone has made your curtains they should have made each curtain 2 or 2.5 x the width of your whole window. It doesn't look like they have. 2.5 x width gives you fullness but 2 x is often ok depending on the fabric .

Here is the John Lewis fabric guide to fabric measuring for curtains.
Just one of those things you learn OP- you'll know next time.

Can I ask where you live in the UK?

I also think for next time, move the curtain rail up as high as possible so you can hang longer curtains.

Ooohhh nice kitchen

wait and wash before any attempts at shortening

Eyelet curtains were a godsend, so much simpler.

They're too short and with big windows like that eyelet curtains look better I think.

They should be longer and hung tighter at the top, it will take a while for creases to fully drop out, my curtains took ages to be crease free

Without wanting to sound harsh, they look like they're made of cheap linen and have been hung up by Stevie Wonder.

I'm not sure the material is right for curtains. They look too creased and have no weight to them.

Don't think the problem is too much material, each individual curtain can be the width of the rail, stretched out, that's how they used to be sold anyway. You need more rings, pegs evenly spaced along the tape, one in every third little pocket. Steam them - a woman in a curtain place once told me 'the creases will fall out of them naturally' - well, I hung them and they never did! You can also encourage them to hang in folds by putting clothes pegs on them for a few days, about three for each fold, spaced from top to bottom - my mum always did that.

Is the fabric a linen mix, that would explain the creases.

PS - you could still get away with pre-made curtains because your windows are wide rather than long. Just buy two packs rather than one and hang two curtain panels on each side! They will still hang better if you iron, use the gathering tape and train the pleats though.

@Sickofhousestuff , did you go into a shop and give them your measurements? Did you measure from the curtain rail to under the sill and give the depth as the width?

Or are they ready mades?

I see plenty of people have told you that those curtains need a good iron and for to be gathered using the tape at the top. Once you've done that you'll be able to see better whether you need more curtain hoops (depends on the weight of the fabric). You may also find that you need to train the curtains to sit neatly. Arrange the folds how you want them to sit and then use clothes pegs at the bottom of the curtains to hold the folds in place for a few days. You'll need to keep the curtains open while you're doing this, and it will look a bit odd but the folds will sit much better after you take the pegs off.

Dont say that! You're not rubbish at all. Just some tweaking to be done.

The sofa sounds immense and the curtains will be fine once they've been gathered and if it turns out they're not wide enough theres plenty that can be done to add width. You just might need to throw a few more quid at it x

Doesn't look like you pulled the strings OP.

Also they are a funny length. Curtains are best when the touch the floor or one or two inches from the floor. If your DH doesn't want floor length, then blinds would probably be better.

Don't worry OP all this talk of 4-figure curtains or they're rubbish is tosh!

Made to measure simply means 'made to specified dimensions'. It doesn't have anything to do with the fabrics etc. A straight forward clean and modern fabric like yours will look perfect in any normal house just once it's dressed.

My dad once splurged on some bespoke curtains with all the trimmings (80s) for our living room and promised to have them hung by the end of the day, mum took me out.

When we got back, he had hung them so all the pattern and the froofy bits across the top were against the window and the lining was on the inside facing the room! He said he thought that they should hang that way so they looked good for people looking in
😱

I think they look super short which makes them look odd!

While I agree with everyone who has said blinds look better than sill length curtains, that's not what the OP has, and it's not what her husband wants. Working with what she has, the key point is the width - if the curtains are not wide enough, they will never look nice, they'll need extra fabric.

If they are wide enough, they will look tons better ironed and gathered. As others have said, when you gather, secure in a way that you can easily undo. I always wash curtains with the threads loosened, and regather when hanging back up.