Budget Busting Curtains

Now the days are cooling down and evenings are drawing in, as a Nation we're spending more time indoors and starting to hunker down for the Autumn and Winter. You might have closed your curtains for the first time in months over the last week and found that they have seen better days...

(Adolf von Menzel - View from a window in the Marienstrasse (1867) Gouache over chalk)

You've spent some time looking at curtains online and have found the perfect pair of curtains but there's a problem: You've recently bought school uniforms and with Christmas looming on the horizon, you don't have a limitless budget to spend on curtains.

Fear not, I'm here to help! With a huge selection of ready made curtains there may be a cheaper alternative. Obviously the quality is not the same, hence the price difference, but with ready made curtains costing approximately two thirds less than made to measure options, you can save a huge amount of money without having to greatly compromise on style.

Take, for example, one of our new made to measure curtains, Chatelain; a beautifully woven, richly textured warming design. A pair of 228cm x 228cm (90" x 90") pencil pleat headed, lined curtains will cost £321. A similar ready-made design called Ellie (Clara) in the same size will cost £128. That's a huge saving of £193! If you choses a similar printed rather than woven ready-made design, such as Rosemont, this will only cost £56. You can see from the photos above how similar the designs are.

The two designs shown above both come from the same supplier so the design is very similar. The colours are slightly more sophisticated in the made to measure option and the fabric is heavier and more substantial but the prices also reflect these differences and so could be a more attractive option to those on a tighter budget. Capel (on the left) will cost £314 for a pair of 228 cm x 228cm eyelet headed made to measure curtains, while Issy (on the right) will only cost £60!

Umbria is a densely woven, rich, heavy chenillle fabric which makes up into sumptuous curtains. The quality is unquestionably head and shoulders above ready-made curtain option Heather. However, at the same time, Heather is a great quality ready-made curtain, the fabric is beautifully woven and has a very good finish. It is also worth bearing in mind that ready made curtains are typically delivered within 1 to 5 working days while made to measure curtains generally take 5 to 10 working days. Umbria will cost £290 for 228 x 228cm pencil pleat, lined curtains, whereas Heather can be yours in half the time, for just £100!

The two fabrics pictured above are hard to tell apart: Amazon, on the left is a heavy weight, cotton damask. So is Eton, the ready made curtain design on the right. Both are good quality fabrics and it must be remembered that the made to measure option has a much better quality finish with great attention paid to detail, but the Amazon pair of 228 x 228cm curtains will cost £250 whilst the Eton ready mades will only cost £99.

So you needn't stay home every night, eating bread and water trying to save the money for your new curtains, there are lower cost alternatives, equally stylish and appealing, which can transform your home.