Can you come and talk curtains with me?

[ClaudiaSchiffer]

We are looking to finally replace our hideous venetian blinds in our bedroom with lovely swish curtains. Huzzah!

I like groovy modern floral stuff (NOT Chinzy old people home flowers tho), dh is more dreary brown. But lets ignore him for now.

Our bedroom is painted white with a LOT of dark brown furniture (2 chests of drawers, one wooden sideboard), it has pale wooden floors and unpainted doors and window frames etc - see LOTS of wood.

The main window is a large set of French doors, then a large window on an adjacent wall - which I'm thinking of getting a matching blind made as its an awkward shape.

Obv they are going to be $$$$s so I don't want to make an expensive mistake, but I don't want to compromise on dreary earth tones either.

I like a lot of this Harlequin range and also some of these Romo ones which I think are lovely but quite $$$

Does anyone have any ideas? Anything I should be thinking about?

If you like groovy modern floral, check out Marimekko fabrics.

Awesome thanks Rhubarbgarden - off to look now

Oooh I like this blossomy one

AND this pretty pink one

Have a look on ebay for the specific prints you like and also generic Harlequin fabric and Romo fabric searches, they have lots of people selling large quantities of fabric (end of line etc) and you can get some amazing bargains on there, worth a look!

I think with the white and dark brown, the lime green miya from the harlequin range would work best. I think you need something bright to lighten it up - but not pale, the pale colours look as though they are a step to close to chintz! I didn't care for the pattern on the Romo site.
There are enough colours in the miya curtains to give you some flexibility for other colour schemes in the future!

Thanks Oreocrumbs, I was thinking Maya or Kiku.

Great tip re ebay I hadn't thought of that. Do you get any quality guarantees? I don't want to shell out heaps of money to find damaged fabric.

They will normally state if it's seconds or not, but I always find that even if it's seconds then the flaw is so minor that you'd never be able to find it anyway!

Hi there i'm a curtain maker and have used lots of Romo prints in my house - good quality for the price. Good tips about checking out seconds on ebay, and you may also find a discount retailer online who will give you a deal - it is worth ringing round once you have a certain fabric in mind.

Another idea is if you have one of those fabric warehouses near you (there is a giant one in Finchley if you are in London) you can often find a bargain there - but you need to know how much you need and be prepared to buy there and then - it goes fast. One client of mine bought fabric from a local interiors shop and negotiated a discount from them - you just have to have the nerve to ask!

Get a local curtain maker to give you a quote so you know how much you need and ask about extra to match patterns...that can really add up.

I have a couple of clients who use Marrimekko - some of it is quite fine compared to usual curtain fabric, you can rectify by adding interlining but be aware of that when doing your sums.

HTH

For cheaper fabrics, look in Laura Ashley (they frequently have a 30% off all fabrics sale) or Dunelm as you can buy by the metre there.

Know the measurements of your window (pole/track width and drop) for curtains, and ask what the repeat is on the fabric. Then your curtain maker can tell you how much fabric you need to buy.

I always find it far cheaper to buy the fabric somewhere and have a local curtain maker to make the curtains and blinds.

I would suggest getting them interlined as it makes for a much better quality of curtain. You should also consider some sort of blackout back if it is a bedroom.
I have always bought the fabric and got my curtain lady to make them up - or she has suggested fabric within my price range and has ordered for me.
I have both curtains and roman blinds all over my house.
I'm sure you wouldn't but don't get short curtains!! ie even if the window is just a window either get curtains that fall to the floor or get a roman blind

1 other tip - think about a border in a darker colour - my blinds al have a U shape dark brown border around them (you could go all the way round) and my curtains have a border around them too - it make them look very nice if you have a plain light coloured curtain/ blind

Ooh you've picked out two of my favourite Marimekko prints there. I'm currently trying to decide between that blossomy one and Unikko (classic big bold flowers) for dd's room at the moment. I've got Marimekko in the kitchen and lounge already - I'm starting to worry I may be going overboard!

Sorry for hijacking the post. We are in Ashtead, Surrey, and in need of a curtain maker nearby - can anyone recommend one please? Thanks

Shimbo, you could try CB Wright, we have used them for very tricky blinds (enormous two-storey high windows) and they were good. About to use them for curtains now.

Shimbo, you could try CB Wright, we have used them for very tricky blinds (enormous two-storey high windows) and they were good. About to use them for curtains now.