The Window Treatments Racket

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I worked with a decorator who explained to me just how complex the construction of a roman blind is. There are something like 400 pieces that all have to be assembled, so it is genuinely a lot of labor. One good trick: if you want panels of some gorgeous, expensive fabric across a wide space, do juuuust enough so they look full and fluffy when hanging at the sides and then get blinds, shutters, etc. for the center windows for the actual light blocking.

I made my Roman blinds (nicely!) and they’re not that hard. But they do have a lot more steps and components than panels. Panels are super fast for a big workshop even with pattern matching.

[Anonymous]

We just bought our blinds and curtains at The Home Depot. They're easy to put up. All you need is a tape measure, a level, a pencil, and a screw driver (or power drill). And a ladder or step ladder (or dining room chair). It doesn't take too long once you've done one or two of them. We put up blinds on an entire house.

[Anonymous]

If you read this thread with a skeptical eye, you start to notice the appearance of shills for Steve’s Blinds and Select Blinds.

An anonymous poster says how great they are, the next day another anonymous poster confirms this and offers additional info about their service can connect us with local installers. Neither poster has any post history.

I didn’t notice this until someone on page 3 pointed out the odd preponderance of pro-Steve’s posts. Now the scales have fallen from my eyes (gross). Micromarketing has come to DC Urban Moms & I don’t like it.

[Anonymous]

I have gotten remote controlled shades and blinds from Amazon. You have to measure it all and install but it is not hard at all. They are incredibly nice and a good deal less in money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you read this thread with a skeptical eye, you start to notice the appearance of shills for Steve’s Blinds and Select Blinds.

An anonymous poster says how great they are, the next day another anonymous poster confirms this and offers additional info about their service can connect us with local installers. Neither poster has any post history.

I didn’t notice this until someone on page 3 pointed out the odd preponderance of pro-Steve’s posts. Now the scales have fallen from my eyes (gross). Micromarketing has come to DC Urban Moms & I don’t like it.

I dunno, I think most of us just like giving our little recommendations.

That said, I used Select blinds and it was fine. They’re all the same imo.

[Anonymous]

I used Select Blinds. Twice worked great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you read this thread with a skeptical eye, you start to notice the appearance of shills for Steve’s Blinds and Select Blinds.

An anonymous poster says how great they are, the next day another anonymous poster confirms this and offers additional info about their service can connect us with local installers. Neither poster has any post history.

I didn’t notice this until someone on page 3 pointed out the odd preponderance of pro-Steve’s posts. Now the scales have fallen from my eyes (gross). Micromarketing has come to DC Urban Moms & I don’t like it.

Oh FFS. this is an old thread and I’m probably the poster who recommended Steve’s in this thread, maybe repeatedly over the years, because we live in a modern house in Colorado with a two story wall of windows that gets late afternoon sun and they were the most affordable place to get blinds.

You’re really not half as clever as you think you are. And nobody has a post history here, it’s not Reddit. You’re the one who must be new if you don’t know that.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, the vast majority of that charge is for installation. We bought expensive honeycomb shades for our first floor and cheap ones from Home Depot for our second floor and the quality difference is negligible. The price, on the other hand...

[Anonymous]

I just got a quote for a roman shade from shade store. It was $1300 without installation for one shade for a kitchen window—so it’s not the installation that’s cranking up the cost. I think I paid around $600 10 years ago for a similar sized roman shade from them. (It was probably a little smaller.) I was willing to pay that then, and it was a nice shade that I loved, but now I’m balking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone please enlighten me - why does a simple roller shade from, say, the Shade Store or Next Day Blinds or Hunter Douglas cost a minimum of $400 for a normal sized window? If you want a cassette to hide the plastic at the top you're easily at $600+ per window. That's $1200-$1800 for a normal, colonial bedroom, I'm not talking about a floor to ceiling wall of glass here. And then if you want anything fancier like roman shades or woven wood blinds, you're at $1000+ per window. How can the industry get away with that? What does everyone here do for window treatments?

Believe it or not, you can make your own roller shades! I followed instructions in a book, but you can probably find You Tube tutorials.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just got a quote for a roman shade from shade store. It was $1300 without installation for one shade for a kitchen window—so it’s not the installation that’s cranking up the cost. I think I paid around $600 10 years ago for a similar sized roman shade from them. (It was probably a little smaller.) I was willing to pay that then, and it was a nice shade that I loved, but now I’m balking.

They should teach sewing in school. Home Ec was pretty much required in middle school when I was a kid. Life long skill. I made my own roman shades, and they were professional quality. Not hard, if you follow instructions and proceed with care at each step.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try Costco!

Not OP but Costco has Graber that quoted me twice the price of other retailers!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I just got a quote for a roman shade from shade store. It was $1300 without installation for one shade for a kitchen window—so it’s not the installation that’s cranking up the cost. I think I paid around $600 10 years ago for a similar sized roman shade from them. (It was probably a little smaller.) I was willing to pay that then, and it was a nice shade that I loved, but now I’m balking.


They should teach sewing in school. Home Ec was pretty much required in middle school when I was a kid. Life long skill. I made my own roman shades, and they were professional quality. Not hard, if you follow instructions and proceed with care at each step.

+1 I have made roman shades and regular curtains. But, yes, I am old enough to have taken "Home Ec" in middle school. There's no need to buy expensive window coverings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone please enlighten me - why does a simple roller shade from, say, the Shade Store or Next Day Blinds or Hunter Douglas cost a minimum of $400 for a normal sized window? If you want a cassette to hide the plastic at the top you're easily at $600+ per window. That's $1200-$1800 for a normal, colonial bedroom, I'm not talking about a floor to ceiling wall of glass here. And then if you want anything fancier like roman shades or woven wood blinds, you're at $1000+ per window. How can the industry get away with that? What does everyone here do for window treatments?

Believe it or not, you can make your own roller shades! I followed instructions in a book, but you can probably find You Tube tutorials.

What book did you use?

[Anonymous]

Cellulars will be your cheapest shade options. JC Penny's and Amazon will have their big sales a few times a year.shop early for styles and colors and be ready to pounce when the Amazon sale day is announced.

Sewing your own Romans is different than purchasing. The commercially made Romans have hidden cords for child safety.

I have successfully made drapes by starting with IKEA Ritva panels ($40/pair). I remove hems and header, line and pleat. Lots of labor, but they look good. Once pleated, I hang on a rod with rings