Why do my expensive-ish curtains look crap

[Sickofhousestuff]

Hi, I’ve bought my first house so a newbie to house stuff. Unfortunately, my mum is not good with this sort of thing so hoping for some MN advice.

Why do my curtains look crap? Yes they will look better after a steam but I’m not loving the way they look. We have huge windows so had to purchase made to measure which wasn’t cheap.

Im thinking I need more hoops. DH wanted the curtains to hit where they do but I think it’s a shame they don’t hit just above the window sill. Tempted to get my sewing machine out and watch some YouTube videos!

Please help. I’m gutted. They look really different to the image on the website as well :’(

@RightNowRightHere you know I’m gutted. Bit harsh to twist the knife.

Our floors have a pattern so I was paranoid the room would look busy with bold sofas too.

OP, profesional seamstress here!
length is good - no shorter! And they need to be ironed or steamed.

Get a matching pelmet made, that will make them look more expensive

Judging by your kitchen and your floor I think your house will look awesome. Just need a little tweak of the curtains 😊

You aren't inept. You should see some of things I did to my house when I was 30! Perfectly nice, neutral curtains wouldn't have come close to the disasters I orchestrated. I still make weird decisions in my fifties. But so what? Decorating your house isn't a moral decision.

As others have said, you need more rings and to steam them and let them settle. I'm willing to bet you won't even notice them a year from now. They'll just be a part of the room.

FWIW, I like your sofa! And I agree with a previous poster who said that if you get bored with these curtains a few years from now, dyeing them a burnt orange would look lovely with the blue furniture.

I’ve just read this entire thread and well done OP for being so gracious in the face of such unnecessarily rude comments!

The curtains are fine and once you steam and tweak as suggested they’ll look great.

Some real patronising snobs on this thread

The fabric is just right.

Take the curtains down - at the top where the hooks are, are strings.

Tie on end of the strings in a knot, and at the other end, pull all the strings out, until the curtain is the correct width for half the window, then do the same to the other curtain.

Ideally, you should have hooks every 3rd string (going across).

You see on the top, there are 3 separate strings going horizontally across. You can adjust the height using the top, middle or bottom set, depending on where you want the bottom of the curtains to hit.

I didn’t RTFT, so apologies if someone has already posted this 🙂

Your house looks gorgeous! Enjoy it!

This is why I do eyelet curtains, I'd lose my mind trying to dress curtains!

More rings.
Id have them sat on the windowsill, and I would also add something else to the window, to make it look more finished. A Roman blind in another neutral colour or pattern, or a light net style curtain underneath on a second pole.
They finish in the middle of nowhere - I always think curtains need to hit something; either the windowsill or the floor. Short curtains on short windows like this make the window smaller and the ceiling lower so I hang full length curtains whatever the window size, down to the floor. I see you’ve got the radiator there so not totally practical but if you really want short curtains I’d get them to sit just about on the window sill then add a second layer of textile with a Roman blind or floaty net behind them to elevate it. x

1. You have a problem with those curtains, they don't work at all.

1. You have a problem with your DH. You are an adult, act like one and don't be a doormat.

Even up the pleats, steam and consider weighting the ends, alter the pole/ where the hooks are. If there's not enough width then consider remaking as eyelets? Wouldn't cost too much to change the tape.

And op- no one teaches you this stuff, well apart from mumsnet. Unless you've got a great curtain maker (and even then it can go against your preference) it can go wrong. Everyone must have curtains they'd do differently- trial and error is how you learn. As annoyingly expensive that is.

I’m really not a curtain fan, I think these would be loads better floor length. Gather at the top and steam them to make the best of it. They usually look better when they have been hung for a while

Short curtain can sit on the window sil to keep the heat in - current house

Long curtains slip behind the radiators - old house.

Solves heating issues

Sorry op I don’t like the look. The curtains will look better ironed and gathered though.

The way to make curtains look good is to hit the floor or to be a little too long and puddle. More recently, I’ve bought ready made curtains for my house having paid a lot for made to measure in the past.

Next do extra wide and extra long curtains. I’ve used extra wide (284 cm) on a wider window than this and just didn’t gather the tab top. Yes, it would look nicer fuller. But not 1k nicer or whatever the cost. I’ve also got several ikea curtains on a 4 m wide window and pull them across individually.

I had curtains made to measure by John Lewis 20 years ago and they still look like new - they also came and hung them. Some tips from watching the fitters:

As pps have said the tapes need tightening.

Most importantly, they drew the curtains back to the fully opened position then smoothed with their hands down each curve so they formed row of pleats, then tied a piece of guauze-type material firmly but not to tightly to hold them into place - I was told to leave them in these pleats for a few days, can't remember exactly how long.

This gave them a very finished and streamlined look. They are ceiling to floor length.

They are pencil pleat, you need to pull the strings at the top to pleat them. Do not shorten them that will look awful.

I don't know if I'm more shocked by the sheer nastiness on here or by the fact people would cover their radiators so the curtains look better (debatable). It's not classy to kick someone already upset, and OP the first time I pulled strings on curtains I forgot to tie the ends. And even that isn't a major drama a darning needle soon resolved that.
It's also not a husband problem if he wants some input into how his house looks, I wish mine took a bit more interest. Although he would comment on covering radiators.

@dumdededdumdum @Sickofhousestuff Theres lots of inspiration for window treatments in nearly every Home magazine and sites such as Houzz. A John Lewis store will give you deteiled info on headings and suitable lengths and widths for gathering. 2 or 2.5 times the width for full pencil or other decorative gathers. The attached is from Homes and Gardens magazine and is part of a wide ranging article on window treatments.

I try and steer DH away from interior design. He just thinks of function. No imagination. I keep up to date with trends (he doesn’t) and there are several ways to deal with wide windows with not so much depth. As the article says, curtains can be used to heighten the room. They dress the window and thinner ones do allow heat out from a rad. You could look at blinds side by side.

Personally I never buy without seeing what they will look like regarding headings and I want to see the fabric. Your fabric has crumpled a lot. For me, I would add a decorative edge as they are a bit boring.

Wow there are some rude comments on here. Thankfully there have been helpful comments about tightening the tab, giving them and iron/steam, and training them to hang. @Sickofhousestuff you sound lovely and from the photos you have shared your house looks lovely as well, you are much better at this house stuff than you realise. The curtains will look great once you've dressed them and I completely agree they allow the sofa to shine.

TO THE RUDE PEOPLE:
1)Floor length curtains is a fashion that looks best in period houses.
2)Short curtains are a practical option that give a MCM look in a modern house (which the OP clearly has with a wide picture window) and work well with radiators or other features below windows.
3) Made to measure just means what it says, the measurements are given to the seamstress who makes the curtains to fit.
4) Short curtains are suppose to hang ~10cm below the sill to stop draughts and so the length is correct.
5) The width of curtains depend on the gathering at the top. Eyelets need the least amount of fabric at about 1.5x the width you want, pencil pleat are in the middle needing about 2x the width and pinch pleat (which always looks the most expensive) about 2.5x the width.
5) Lots of cheap fabric can look great (e.g. sewing together several off the shelf curtains or using cheap fabric to make made to measure curtains) or if you want an expensive fabric roman blinds that are made to measure and have interlining can look fab and use a lot less fabric.

No they don’t frankly. Why not have had them made floor length? The fabric is also quite bland, but that’s probably a personal taste thing.

As others have said, gather up the heading tape and use about twice the number of curtain rings. And give them an iron!

@JaninaDuszejko Total tosh. There’s no defined length for short curtains. Sitting on a window cill is normal. Especially if the cill protrudes. Who wants a cill making the curtain have a bulge?

Obviously changing now is difficult. Advice for the future on interior design isn’t wasted. Unfortunately lots of pictures are of older houses but the principles of using curtains for decorative effect is still good advice. Also the use of blinds side by side is a good solution for wide windows. You can add a heat retention layer. Lots of people add sheets to soften the look. So use layers.

Most interior decorators don't use short curtains unless in a cottage where heightening the room is never going to work. In other homes, it’s desirable. Wide windows can make a room feel like it has a low ceiling. Giving an illusion of height is often used to improve the ambience of the room. Plus who wants the decorative effect of a modern bog standard radiator?

2. You have a problem with your DH. You are an adult, act like one and don't be a doormat.

Oh please. My DH is one of the good ones. Over the course of gutting our house (new wiring, paving etc) I have probably selected 60% of materials to his 10% (we’ve compromised for the remainder). DH mostly steps in when I prioritise form over function. In the end I’m happy with his contributions. His insistence on gas over induction was just one example where I’ve had to eat my words. He may have missed the mark with the curtains but so be it.

Its a marriage, I can’t always get my own way nor should I.