Is it worth spending £££ on curtains?

[Saz12]

I have double glazed non-draughty windows. I love the look of thick interlined curtains. But OMG they are so expensive! Even on e-bay.

Is it worth buying poorer quality interlined curtains, or better quality ones without interlining? Or should I save my money and just go for standard normal curtains?

I don’t want to make them myself.

I, too, love interlined curtains and really do think they look so much better on large windows than other types of curtains. We have them over both our French windows.

Have you looked at Dunelm? I had ours made there and, whilst expensive, it wasn't so expensive as other places.

Using freecycle or nextdoort to see if you kind find some suitable second hand ones I bought our living room from a shop that specialised in resale several years ago but I am afraid I can't remember the name. the other place might be salesrooms after lockdown.

No-one ever notices a cheap, poor quality carpet but curtains stick out w mile. Buy the absolute best you can afford. You won't regret it.

I think curtains pay off, get the best ones you can afford. Make sure you like the pattern though, it’s a huge part of the room.

Expensive bit worth it. They are a massive focal point in the room and if good quality will last for years. Have had my bay window curtains around 25 years. Faded a bit on edges but used spray dye to revive them.

Use lots of fabric, get made to measure, get them interlined and preferably pinch pleat but the fabric doesn't need to be expensives. Curtains made with masses of cheap fabric look better than curtains made with too little expensive fabric. You want over 2x your window width to look generous. The curtains in the attached photo were made with very cheap IKEA cotton fabric but made to measure.

We’ve got cheap made-to-measure curtains from one of those online companies where you submit the dimensions and choose one of their fabrics and patterns. In the past I had some fancy ones including silk. However, I’m happy with the cheap made-to-measure stuff as they fit well and so look smart. We’re more likely to spend £££ on rugs or artwork as those really draw the eye (the curtains are neutral).

We have £££ curtains and I love them. Especially when closed they make the room so cosy.

I’m surprised at so many made-to-measure suggestions. I can hem them myself (if I must!), and does it matter if they’re 2x width of windows or 2.2x width?

I think I’d go for a neutral as we’ve nice views (but ugly windows!).

I’m not being argumentative I do appreciate the advice! I’ll be back with options....

If you’ve got the skills to hem them in, then you can get ready made ones and trim to the right length.

Twice the width of your pole is really the minimum fullness for most curtain headings @Saz12.

For triple pinch pleat it's more like three times.

If you ever intend to wash them allow a hem to let down if there is shrinkage.

I'd also try free sites - sometimes they have hotel quality ones on offer. I've seen lots of things like that when a local famous 5-star hotel was being refurbished.

Also, you might get something like Laura Ashley, OKA, Designers Guild or William Morris type ones that might be part of a house clearance.

So... I should buy wider curtains, so they look really full. That sounds good!

Interlining for smaller windows? Will they look too “padded”, is it unnecessary extra £££? Thanks all!

We bought really expensive made to measure curtains when we first moved in over 20 years ago.
We sometimes take them down if we fancy a change or we redecorate and store them in the loft.
We will keep them forever.

Because I've spent so much on curtains over the years, they ALWAYS come with me when we move. As a result, it seems to make sense to pay as much as you can afford if you'll have them forever. However, if you tend to redecorate a whole room every 5 years, then it's just too expensive. I'm still using curtains made for my second flat (my mum helped make the ones for my first flat, and now she's got them in her house!), which we bought 20+ years ago. Also I just find properly made curtains hang better, and seem to last better. But yes, eye-wateringly expensive.