Window Treatments Sticker Shock!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did some rough calculations for amount of fabric and costs for pinch pleat drapes for a 65" wide window. My sewing books say to use at least double the amount of fabric to the window, ideally 2.5, but let's go with double, for 96" drapes. Add 12" to the 96" for finishing the top and the bottom of each drape. You will need extra fabric for matching print repeats, but that's specific to the print so I'll ignore that here. Most decorator fabrics are 60" wide, and that's close enough to 65" that I wouldn't add more width to each panel. Mid-price ~$50/yard. Average price for lining and interlining $10/yard each.
96+12=108=3yards per length
2 curtains/window = 6 yards per window
6 x $50 = $300
6 x $10 = $60
6 x $10 = $60
Total = $450 in material per window

That's not too terribly bad, if you're willing to do the work yourself. You can also cut the price of the fabric by tracking down sale fabrics. Joanne Fabrics carries a lot of the mid-price quality materials, and they have frequent sales.

You clearly missed the part where OP pointed out that she is a DOCTOR (ob-gyn to be exact) and has all the money but no time to DIY.

I am always surprised when people who are paid very well for their time balk at paying other people for their time, personally.

Actually, I didn't miss it, but did forget to add that if you're a physician the opportunity cost makes it not worth your while to DIY, UNLESS you enjoy the process. I'm a SAHM, and I enjoyed the process when I made my own drapes (some of them weren't perfect, others as pretty as a couture gown). It required a lot of precision and careful attention to detail. I come from a family with a few physicians, and they're cheap. Lovable, but cheap.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!

I was being slightly sarcastic about OP's protestations that she has oh-so-little time because she is a doctor. It didn't come through.

My mother is a doctor (pathologist, to be exact) and not only does she cook her own meals, clean her own house, and grow her own vegetables, she also sews her own clothes when she sees a pattern she likes, and made the drapes for our rental house when she was a resident. She is not a normal person (very very high-energy and highly disciplined, I am the opposite), and she is cheap, but she would definitely recognize that custom window treatments are going to cost $$$$$!

Lol, my sister is an OBGYN in 2019 and she is actually working right now. I'd day she puts in 60-70hrs a week and definitely does no do anything DIY, but then again she's not going for a gold in martyrdom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did some rough calculations for amount of fabric and costs for pinch pleat drapes for a 65" wide window. My sewing books say to use at least double the amount of fabric to the window, ideally 2.5, but let's go with double, for 96" drapes. Add 12" to the 96" for finishing the top and the bottom of each drape. You will need extra fabric for matching print repeats, but that's specific to the print so I'll ignore that here. Most decorator fabrics are 60" wide, and that's close enough to 65" that I wouldn't add more width to each panel. Mid-price ~$50/yard. Average price for lining and interlining $10/yard each.
96+12=108=3yards per length
2 curtains/window = 6 yards per window
6 x $50 = $300
6 x $10 = $60
6 x $10 = $60
Total = $450 in material per window

That's not too terribly bad, if you're willing to do the work yourself. You can also cut the price of the fabric by tracking down sale fabrics. Joanne Fabrics carries a lot of the mid-price quality materials, and they have frequent sales.

You clearly missed the part where OP pointed out that she is a DOCTOR (ob-gyn to be exact) and has all the money but no time to DIY.

I am always surprised when people who are paid very well for their time balk at paying other people for their time, personally.

Balk: hesitate or be unwilling to accept an idea or undertaking.

Where exactly did the OP balk? The OP was surprised.

My kitchen remodel cost 70k. I too would be surprised, no actually shocked, if I got a quote for 71k for window treatments. After that I would then balk at such a price and move on.

Is there a follow up post the OP made balking that I missed? If so please do share. Or are you hens just all bored clucking about window treatments and the outrage, the actual gall, the nerve of expressing suprise?

[Anonymous]

Aside from plantation shutters, which I think can look nice if you have really good light, I hate custom curtains/drapes. They look so dowdy and old-fashioned, like a dusty grandma’s house. I much prefer a simple Roman shade or white linen curtain with natural woven shades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there a business opportunity here? I get that a big cost of custom treatments is in the labor. What about setting up a workshop in a place with low labor costs like the midwest, and shipping the completed work to this area? Or do they already do that?

You can outfit a 3000sqft house with custom made curtains from China, costing about $200 in labor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aside from plantation shutters, which I think can look nice if you have really good light, I hate custom curtains/drapes. They look so dowdy and old-fashioned, like a dusty grandma’s house. I much prefer a simple Roman shade or white linen curtain with natural woven shades.

My house is not dowdy you white linen human.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there a business opportunity here? I get that a big cost of custom treatments is in the labor. What about setting up a workshop in a place with low labor costs like the midwest, and shipping the completed work to this area? Or do they already do that?

You can outfit a 3000sqft house with custom made curtains from China, costing about $200 in labor.

From what vendor? Share with the class, please.

[Anonymous]

Target curtains. Cuz I want to retire early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did some rough calculations for amount of fabric and costs for pinch pleat drapes for a 65" wide window. My sewing books say to use at least double the amount of fabric to the window, ideally 2.5, but let's go with double, for 96" drapes. Add 12" to the 96" for finishing the top and the bottom of each drape. You will need extra fabric for matching print repeats, but that's specific to the print so I'll ignore that here. Most decorator fabrics are 60" wide, and that's close enough to 65" that I wouldn't add more width to each panel. Mid-price ~$50/yard. Average price for lining and interlining $10/yard each.
96+12=108=3yards per length
2 curtains/window = 6 yards per window
6 x $50 = $300
6 x $10 = $60
6 x $10 = $60
Total = $450 in material per window

That's not too terribly bad, if you're willing to do the work yourself. You can also cut the price of the fabric by tracking down sale fabrics. Joanne Fabrics carries a lot of the mid-price quality materials, and they have frequent sales.

You clearly missed the part where OP pointed out that she is a DOCTOR (ob-gyn to be exact) and has all the money but no time to DIY.

I am always surprised when people who are paid very well for their time balk at paying other people for their time, personally.

Balk: hesitate or be unwilling to accept an idea or undertaking.

Where exactly did the OP balk? The OP was surprised.

My kitchen remodel cost 70k. I too would be surprised, no actually shocked, if I got a quote for 71k for window treatments. After that I would then balk at such a price and move on.

Is there a follow up post the OP made balking that I missed? If so please do share. Or are you hens just all bored clucking about window treatments and the outrage, the actual gall, the nerve of expressing suprise?

Did you actually waste time on Christmas Day posting insults about hens you don’t know expressing dismay at someone expressing dismay over window treatments? Wouldn’t it be best in this case not to add to the fray?

It’s 2019 and American labor costs real money. It’s ok insurance to pay on-gyns eat half of our salaries’ anyway!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aside from plantation shutters, which I think can look nice if you have really good light, I hate custom curtains/drapes. They look so dowdy and old-fashioned, like a dusty grandma’s house. I much prefer a simple Roman shade or white linen curtain with natural woven shades.

I sort of agree that custom window treatments tend to be dowdy, although I’m sure everyone on DCUM has the absolute best non-dowdy curtains.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there a business opportunity here? I get that a big cost of custom treatments is in the labor. What about setting up a workshop in a place with low labor costs like the midwest, and shipping the completed work to this area? Or do they already do that?

You can outfit a 3000sqft house with custom made curtains from China, costing about $200 in labor.

And both the fabric and the labor quality will be crap, and it will show.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aside from plantation shutters, which I think can look nice if you have really good light, I hate custom curtains/drapes. They look so dowdy and old-fashioned, like a dusty grandma’s house. I much prefer a simple Roman shade or white linen curtain with natural woven shades.

I sort of agree that custom window treatments tend to be dowdy, although I’m sure everyone on DCUM has the absolute best non-dowdy curtains.

What makes custom window treatments dowdy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did some rough calculations for amount of fabric and costs for pinch pleat drapes for a 65" wide window. My sewing books say to use at least double the amount of fabric to the window, ideally 2.5, but let's go with double, for 96" drapes. Add 12" to the 96" for finishing the top and the bottom of each drape. You will need extra fabric for matching print repeats, but that's specific to the print so I'll ignore that here. Most decorator fabrics are 60" wide, and that's close enough to 65" that I wouldn't add more width to each panel. Mid-price ~$50/yard. Average price for lining and interlining $10/yard each.
96+12=108=3yards per length
2 curtains/window = 6 yards per window
6 x $50 = $300
6 x $10 = $60
6 x $10 = $60
Total = $450 in material per window

That's not too terribly bad, if you're willing to do the work yourself. You can also cut the price of the fabric by tracking down sale fabrics. Joanne Fabrics carries a lot of the mid-price quality materials, and they have frequent sales.

You clearly missed the part where OP pointed out that she is a DOCTOR (ob-gyn to be exact) and has all the money but no time to DIY.

I am always surprised when people who are paid very well for their time balk at paying other people for their time, personally.

Actually, I didn't miss it, but did forget to add that if you're a physician the opportunity cost makes it not worth your while to DIY, UNLESS you enjoy the process. I'm a SAHM, and I enjoyed the process when I made my own drapes (some of them weren't perfect, others as pretty as a couture gown). It required a lot of precision and careful attention to detail. I come from a family with a few physicians, and they're cheap. Lovable, but cheap.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!

I was being slightly sarcastic about OP's protestations that she has oh-so-little time because she is a doctor. It didn't come through.

My mother is a doctor (pathologist, to be exact) and not only does she cook her own meals, clean her own house, and grow her own vegetables, she also sews her own clothes when she sees a pattern she likes, and made the drapes for our rental house when she was a resident. She is not a normal person (very very high-energy and highly disciplined, I am the opposite), and she is cheap, but she would definitely recognize that custom window treatments are going to cost $$$$$!

Lol, my sister is an OBGYN in 2019 and she is actually working right now. I'd day she puts in 60-70hrs a week and definitely does no do anything DIY, but then again she's not going for a gold in martyrdom.

I am a busy professional, and a mom, but I don’t consider DIY tasks that I like and choose to do to be martyrdom, even if I consider my time valuable. There is something really joyful about making something or fixing something for yourself that I think a lot of busy people miss out on because they are working “70 hour weeks.” It’s kind of sad that there some sort of either/or dichotomy, like if I DIY my time must not be valuable. It is valuable but working with my hands instead of my brain once in awhile feels lovely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aside from plantation shutters, which I think can look nice if you have really good light, I hate custom curtains/drapes. They look so dowdy and old-fashioned, like a dusty grandma’s house. I much prefer a simple Roman shade or white linen curtain with natural woven shades.

I sort of agree that custom window treatments tend to be dowdy, although I’m sure everyone on DCUM has the absolute best non-dowdy curtains.

What makes custom window treatments dowdy?

They tend to be heavy fabrics, often damask, and they block light, which often makes the room darker, and the fabrics tend to look dated because they are usually a custom type of pattern, and no one is going to replace window treatments that cost thousands of dollars when they were installed.

And I am someone who is very much against trends and the blight of same-ness that seems to be everywhere, but even in my mom’s house I don’t like the custom window treatments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aside from plantation shutters, which I think can look nice if you have really good light, I hate custom curtains/drapes. They look so dowdy and old-fashioned, like a dusty grandma’s house. I much prefer a simple Roman shade or white linen curtain with natural woven shades.

I sort of agree that custom window treatments tend to be dowdy, although I’m sure everyone on DCUM has the absolute best non-dowdy curtains.

What makes custom window treatments dowdy?

They tend to be heavy fabrics, often damask, and they block light, which often makes the room darker, and the fabrics tend to look dated because they are usually a custom type of pattern, and no one is going to replace window treatments that cost thousands of dollars when they were installed.

And I am someone who is very much against trends and the blight of same-ness that seems to be everywhere, but even in my mom’s house I don’t like the custom window treatments.

If you’re looking at window treatments from the 90s, of course they will look dated (and dowdy). What you described is nothing like typical modern custom window treatments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did some rough calculations for amount of fabric and costs for pinch pleat drapes for a 65" wide window. My sewing books say to use at least double the amount of fabric to the window, ideally 2.5, but let's go with double, for 96" drapes. Add 12" to the 96" for finishing the top and the bottom of each drape. You will need extra fabric for matching print repeats, but that's specific to the print so I'll ignore that here. Most decorator fabrics are 60" wide, and that's close enough to 65" that I wouldn't add more width to each panel. Mid-price ~$50/yard. Average price for lining and interlining $10/yard each.
96+12=108=3yards per length
2 curtains/window = 6 yards per window
6 x $50 = $300
6 x $10 = $60
6 x $10 = $60
Total = $450 in material per window

That's not too terribly bad, if you're willing to do the work yourself. You can also cut the price of the fabric by tracking down sale fabrics. Joanne Fabrics carries a lot of the mid-price quality materials, and they have frequent sales.

You clearly missed the part where OP pointed out that she is a DOCTOR (ob-gyn to be exact) and has all the money but no time to DIY.

I am always surprised when people who are paid very well for their time balk at paying other people for their time, personally.

Actually, I didn't miss it, but did forget to add that if you're a physician the opportunity cost makes it not worth your while to DIY, UNLESS you enjoy the process. I'm a SAHM, and I enjoyed the process when I made my own drapes (some of them weren't perfect, others as pretty as a couture gown). It required a lot of precision and careful attention to detail. I come from a family with a few physicians, and they're cheap. Lovable, but cheap.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!

I was being slightly sarcastic about OP's protestations that she has oh-so-little time because she is a doctor. It didn't come through.

My mother is a doctor (pathologist, to be exact) and not only does she cook her own meals, clean her own house, and grow her own vegetables, she also sews her own clothes when she sees a pattern she likes, and made the drapes for our rental house when she was a resident. She is not a normal person (very very high-energy and highly disciplined, I am the opposite), and she is cheap, but she would definitely recognize that custom window treatments are going to cost $$$$$!

Lol, my sister is an OBGYN in 2019 and she is actually working right now. I'd day she puts in 60-70hrs a week and definitely does no do anything DIY, but then again she's not going for a gold in martyrdom.

I am a busy professional, and a mom, but I don’t consider DIY tasks that I like and choose to do to be martyrdom, even if I consider my time valuable. There is something really joyful about making something or fixing something for yourself that I think a lot of busy people miss out on because they are working “70 hour weeks.” It’s kind of sad that there some sort of either/or dichotomy, like if I DIY my time must not be valuable. It is valuable but working with my hands instead of my brain once in awhile feels lovely.

I hate DIY tasks, but good for you. The beauty is that people are all different and enjoy different things. Maybe one day when you grow up you will realize this.