Custom window coverings or off the shelf?

[Anonymous]

Just moved into a new house and we need to change out/add window coverings and treatments. I've never had to do this before, as the window coverings in our previous home had just been replaced and we liked them. It was also a condo, so we had minimal windows. Now with a big house, we have so many windows, and odd shapes and sizes. Judging from the measurements I've been taking, it looks like I can get most of the white wood blinds in the sizes I need from JC Penney without going custom. But we have some windows that are odd and I'm not sure what kind of window covering to use on them -- roman shades? curtains? Is this something that a company like Blinds to Go (as mentioned in the other thread on this topic) would recommend for me? How much do custom coverings cost from a place like Blinds to go? I'd say we'd be looking at around 12-14 windows.

[Anonymous]

We were in a similar situation moving into a new home. If you like the look of blinds we went with levelor real wood 2in white blinds from lowes for some of the windows. They cut them to size on the spot and that helped cost wise and I love them. I did do custom drapes in the dining room, breakfast nook and great room. I went to Ethan Allen and selected the fabric and styling - french pleat and had them made. If you are going the custom route I would make sure you have an idea design wise which direction you want to go in. I purchased the drapes after the furniture was delivered and boy was I glad. The fabric i chose originally would not have been a perfect fit. In terms of cost I spent close to 3K on the custom drapes. I would check smith and noble for drapes too. Also there is calico corner. Personally, I liked some of the fabric at calico but Ethan Allen had a larger selection. Both places will come out to your home and evaluate and measure for free initially. FWIW, on the surface calico seems cheaper - but they have a lot of surcharges and little fees they add on once you are ready to order and it ends up being around the same price for a lesser fabric.

Hope this helps!

[Anonymous]

I always go custom to piss away as much of DH's money as possible.

[Anonymous]

Blinds are a pup to clean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I always go custom to piss away as much of DH's money as possible.

Thanks for this -- so helpful! If it makes any difference, I'm the breadwinner in our family so it actually matters to me what I choose.

[Anonymous]

We are cheap. And lazy.

The guest room has ancient blinds that were there when we moved in. Really need to replace them, but haven't gotten around to it.

DC has blackout honeycomb shades from Next Day Blinds or Blinds to Go, plus off-the-shelf valances from Land of Nod on hardware from... Home Depot?.

Our bedroom has semi-sheers from Target on modern hardware we did ourselves (cables, eyes and turnbuckles from the hardware store).

Living room has silk drapes from Target and sheers from Lands' End. No memory where we got the hardware.

Family room and breakfast room are casual drapes from Bed, Bath and Beyond.

My parents have had really good luck with Smith & Noble for modern roller and roman blinds for their condo. My mother is very good with a measuring tape though (not everyone is, especially my DH).

I do think that if you are doing blinds, the hardware on custom ones are generally much better and more durable than the big box, off the shelf blinds. And the fit needs to be more exact for blinds than for curtains / drapes, thus not going with custom is more apparent.

About seven years ago, I think the minimum for custom blinds was about $100 per window. But that is stretching my memory quite a bit.

[Anonymous]

check out Smith & Noble and Drapestyle.com

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I just looked into this this week. The cost for custom Roman Shades for a 33x68 window was $225. The cost for off the shelf was $19.