Lounge Curtains

It is terribly expensive to have nice curtains made but if you are going to love for years to come and not move house I'm sure they will be lovely. I have moved house a lot and will probably be moving again so I buy ready-made ones from Dunelm and have always been satisfied with the quality if not necessarily the choice.

Thank you again for your advice…there is an 8 week wait for delivery… so hopefully I will be happy with them!

Hetty* they look nice - and they are cotton velvet too.

My expensive, made to measure ones didn't last very long - and cost a fortune in dry cleaning. They were heavy and awkward to pull as well. The bay windows are 3 metres wide and 2.5 tall, so a lot of fabric's involved. I replaced them with two (£60) pairs of Ikea Sanela velvet ones, along with their separate thermal liners. They're the right size, very cheap and look really good too!

This is the reason I went to curtain making classes years ago 😊

We were needing curtains for five rooms and were prepared for some expense. We went to a fabric warehouse where the fabrics were displayed in long drops. It was actually really easy to choose as the ones we went for just 'spoke' to us. Luckily we both seem to have the same taste. They are all beautiful ten years on.
We have the same wall and floor colours and use the patterned fabric as the main decorative feature. No regrets.

Just had a look. They are more expensive at the moment and not many patterns to choose from.
Neither of mine are there

I didn't want synthetic curtains and for one large bay I was quoted "silly money".
In the end I bought from the Voyage Maison outlet website. as I needed a 3m drop.
They are fully lined ready-made cotton/linen (though I think the lining is a cotton/poly mix).

Mine were £120 a pair. I had 2 pairs.

If you want to look them up you will find they do keep changing the offer (different patterns/colours) and the prices are up and down all the time! I had another set for another room which cost £109 and went up to £179 a few weeks later!
You can usually get a sample of the fabrics on other websites so you know what to expect.
Mine are really lovely and I think were a bargain. I have acres of fabric in them!

www.voyageoutlet.com/collections/shop-all-curtains

I've recently had curtains made by these people:

www.curtainsmadeforfree.co.uk/collections/made-to-measure-curtains

I was impressed with the service. It was slow, unless you are prepared to pay £65 for expedited delivery, but they made up thermal lined triple pinch pleat curtains, and even put the hooks in, so I just had to fit them through the rings when they arrived.

Obviously the price depends on the fabric, the style and the size of the window, but I didn't think it was too bad, and they look really good.

Thank goodness I live in a Victorian cottage with smallish windows, and I love blinds😀

Goodness me! I haven't bought curtains for years but when we cleared out Mum's house a couple of years ago I gave away her curtains. Had I realised the price they cost I would have kept them or sold them! We now need curtains having recently moved house. I am wondering what to do now and may even consider making them.

Makes my wooden blinds seem cheap!

I'm always seeing lots of lovely curtains in charity shops..... I've bought them, and so have other family members/friends.

I would get a few more quotes.

I think it is about right, because my friend who has paid £3k for hers. We josh each other as we both have to pay decent labour costs for things that our not in our skill-set!
I don't know how wide your patio windows are - but at least 2m length. Adding together sun proof lining and bump for insulation, you are looking at about £30 a metre for decent fabric, and more for posh.
I am about to make curtains for one of my children's new homes. I don't know long it will take - my arthritis means I work in fits and starts, but proper measuring & cutting takes a lot of time, before you start on sewing.
But also never doubt the investment. I have finally given away 45 year old curtains that were in our sitting room for 35 years, and have done the round of relatives ever since. The fabric has not faded, they still offer good insulation, and look great.
I type this in front of curtains that are 20 years old and that I remade 10 years ago to fit this window.

I was in the same situation as you Glenfinnan. Haven’t bought curtains for about 15 years but refurbishing lounge so had a local firm out to measure. I’ve got 2 full length windows and the quote was £2320. They are hand made pinch pleat fully lined curtains and the fabric is beautiful. I’ve ordered them and I’m sure you will be very happy with your choice.

Go for them, if you like them and they do the job and save you the hassle they are worth it.
You will feel satisfied every time you look at them.
My DH's mantra is "buy cheap or not quite right and you buy twice", ending up spending more than you would have. I've not always listened only to be proved he is right.
You know your budget so enjoy your choice.

That’s about right! Paid over £1k for the same size windows 10 years ago from Laura Ashley.

I had curtains made and fitted by Dunelm last year.
One pair for front straight bay and one pair wall to wall and floor to ceiling at the back.
All brass fittings and superb installation, £1600.
They are lovely and will definitely “see me out”

Does seem rather a lot, but if you can afford it, def. worth it IMO. It’s going to depend also to some extent on the cost of the material - some are ££££.

For dd and SiL’s first house - 2 smallish rooms knocked into one, each with patio doors - I made 2 pairs of floor length curtains. Plain fabric came from John Lewis and was also within their ‘made to order in 7 days’ range.

Cost of all materials, inc. tape and lining etc., came to about £300 then - this was in maybe 2011. The ‘made to order’ cost - I did work it out - would have been double.
Never again, though - all that hemming by hand! 😱. But transformed the room - previous owners had horrible black vertical blinds!

Pressed too soon , my curtains didn’t cost anything near that !

Well, I wouldn't pay that for curtains - I'd be horrified at £300 and would be busy making them myself!

However, the important factors are whether they're excellent quality, whether you really like them, and whether you can can afford them. In which case, as others have said, enjoy them!

May we see a photo when they're fitted so that we can all admire them, please?

I feel so claustrophobic if I close my patio curtains , I do like them framing the doors , I got mine , fully lined , in M+S three years ago

yes a bargain glenfinnan, enjoy them

Thank you everyone! I ordered them yesterday…then woke up this morning and started to worry!!! I’m reassured now…wonderful group… so good to be able to ask like minded people x