Have Curtains Always Been Expensive?

[Jacaqueen]

After the sub zero temperatures of last winter I have decided to get organised and get myself some decent curtains.

I live in an 1850's house with single glazed sash windows. At the moment I have interlined roman blinds on the windows, which upto last year were fairly good at keeping out the draughts.

Due to the height of the windows off the peg curtains dont fit so I will have to get some made.

Is £800 for double width interlined curtains for a bay window the amount I'm going to have to pay? Plus goodness knows how much for a curtain pole.

I know - it's horrible isn't it? I could not believe the prices I was quoted for a blind in our old house. Thankfully our new house (been here 2 years but still feels newish) had all the curtains left. I will replace them in about 5 years......
I have a family member who got divorced over curtains. New ones were bought and one party refused to pay towards them - was the final straw. I can well believe that. My own parents had a row before I was born about curtains too - big row in John Lewis when Dad said the shop assisstant was selling them too much fabric for the style they were having and that the pleats wouldn't hang right. Huge row apparently - and he was right annoyingly enough. Curtains are Trouble.

Sounds fairly standard (and cheaper than some of mine) I'm afraid. I've finally got the fourth set of bay window curtains done three years after moving into my victorian house and putting up with bedroom curtains from my old house which didn't quite reach the window sills, but after paying for the main living room curtains I had to wait a while....

Two rooms I did a bit cheaper as the largest John Lewis ready-made ones were just big enough for DS's room, and I struck lucky with some velvet curtains the right size for the family room on Ebay for about £120, but the ones I had to get made specially were hugely expensive. Make sure you get ones you can live with for a good long while and which won't need replacing if you decide to repaint the room....

And curtain rails for bay windows are horribly pricy too as decent ones have to be bent to shape. I had to replace all the existing cheap plastic ones after one lot fell down and I could see the others were about to.

have you looked at ikea curtains? they won't be as nice as your £800 ones (or as expensive!) they do come in a massively long length and they usually have some fairly heavy weight ones.

For good quality, made to measure and lined, then yes. Equally i got some long thick curtains for my first flat for £60 from Homebase. However they would need lining to have any insulating properties.

Last time I looked at curtains in Ikea they were horrible unlined tab top things. But that was some time ago so I shall take a look.

£800 is for standard plain curtains. If I want a fancy heading, tie backs or a lovely material it's going to be at least £1000.

I did but a lovely vintage green velvet curtain from Ebay. I'm going to use that as a door curtain. Mind you the portiere rod to hang it on cost a fair bit.

I think I would be cheaper just turning the heating up!

I got mine from Paul Simon and they were pretty reasonable (i think 2 sets of curtains for 800). I have also had John Lewis made to measure and they are lovely quality

Make them yourself much cheaper

Yes, make yourself if you can...or buy material yourself and find someone that will sew them for you rather than doing the whole thing through one shop or company.

Have you looked at Dunelm?

Unfortunately I dont have a sewing machine and wouldn't know what to do with one if I did.

There is a place in town that does alterations and I think they also make curtains. I will ask how much it will cost if I supply the material.

Thanks

I would either look on ebay for a used set(once you know the exact size curtains you need) or find an independent local curtain maker and get a quote for both supply and making up and making up only.
If you can find a fabric you want you can sometimes find good amounts on ebay or you can order direct from one of the discount fabric shops you find on-line who will oftern do up to 30-40% off the rrp.

This place offers free making up if you order fabric from them
www.greatcurtains.co.uk/

but I dont know what the quality is like.

Have also read that BHS does a good making up service.
I woudl avoid JOhn Lewis if you are on a budget, they charge a lot more than going direct to a curtain maker.

Oh I was goiong to start a thread like this, my bay window curtain pole is going to be £250, don't even want to think about curtains

I have seen alovely pair but they are pin tuck curtains, so I would need 2 90x90 so was wondering if I could get someone to put eyelets in them therefore only need 1 90 x90, would that work?

PlumBum you could use a track instead of a pole, it's much cheaper.

There are some nice looking tracks out there now or you could cover it with a fabric pelmet which can look stylish if nicely done (ie very plain), like in this pic
www.firmdale.com/index.php?page_id=9&sub_page_id=27&copy_page_id=44

£350 for our living room (2 pairs)curtains, ceiling to floor, lined, thick curtains.Made to measure from our local market.

Curtain rails were just B&Q.

Pannacotta dh insists on a pole, so might look at fabric and convince MIL to resurrect her sewing machine

material is expensive. i could easily spend that on the material of my dreams even if i made them myself.

is there a curtain exchange near you? they are great.

do your windows have shutters? i think they are the best thing for warmth tbh.

You can iron on a border of coordinating fabric to lengthen a readymade curtain like this

My curtains over my front door were ex- display and reduced from £265 to £52. They are in perfect condition

We had similar quotes for curtains for our windows, but as hobbgoblin suggested we went to Dunelm Mill and got curtains made to measure with heavy lining for a third of the price.

our curtains for similar age house bay windows were (coughs to cover it up and make it sound not so bad) £2500. that was including constructing and installing the pelmet.

Try Dunelm Mill for really good priced fabrics.When i want to do windows cheaply i use calico - interlined so it hangs nicely and use a lot of material so the curtains are full.Use a cheap material but in large quantities.Dunelm also do a making-up service i think.Failing that try factory shops for materials or e bay.

I have had a nosey on Dunelms website have seen some fabric, going to call tomorrow to see if it is as nice in RL,
Although they don't state what width it is? Is that a stupid question? Is this something I should just know?
Am I going to look a right idiot when I go in?

Dunelm. But visit it a few times while you get the vibe. Even go to different stores if you have access to >1. Work out when they have their sales. Check out the fabrics adnd laugh as you price the same thing up at J Lewis. Their dispays are nightmarish, so you have to spend a long time familiarising yourself with what they sell, don't be put off too easily.

If you're going to check out fabrics, something like this curtain fabric estimator is useful to do before you go.

Measure your track, work out how long the curtains need to be, put fullness ratio as 2 for normal curtains (can be more if you are doing any fancy headings). UK furnishing fabrics are usually 130-140cm wide. Enter 0 for fabric repeat, and that will give you the minimum amount of fabric you will need to buy if you go for plain curtains - it will be more if you have to match up patterns. HTH.

Thanks for all these suggestons. I have been to Dunelm to buy duvets etc but have never really looked at the fabric.

I think curtains can really make a room iykwim so would rather spend and get something I really like rather than spend less (BUT PROBABLY STILL A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT) and be irritated everytime I looked at them.

I made mine with new fabric from ikea for £25 and it was piss easy. Honestly, make your own