Working out Budget Requirements for Curtain Selection
It is important in any decision making process to be aware of your curtain budget.
Whether you are redecorating an entire home or just a single room.
A budget is required for all items so that you keep within your monetary limits.
The type of curtain or drape, the style, the fabric, the track, the heading selection, the size and the lining, the installation, all influence the cost of your curtains.
For example – you select a beautiful silk fabric for your bedroom, it is expensive and you have to forgo the lining and use a simple gathered heading tape on a hand drawn track.
The result is disappointing as the heading tape does not allow for nice even gathers and the fabric does not drape as well as it should because it would have been better with a larger fullness (more fabric) and the use of a cheaper pleated header tape.
By drawing them by hand everyday the front edges soil quickly from the natural oils on your hands which the dirt is the attracted to. Quickly the fabric breaks down from the sunlight as it is not lined and natural fibres are more susceptible to UV damage. Therefore you end up with faded shabby looking curtains that you wish weren’t yours.
If you had used the correct accessories the price would have been too much for your budget. Sometimes we are better to select a less expensive fabric and use more of it to get the fullness and be able to purchase the appropriate tracks, header tapes and use a lining.
Often the little bits and pieces can add up to more than what we think will be the major expense. So investigate how you are going to hang the curtains – with tracks or poles, how you will hold them back if you need to, what type of lining and the type of heading as well as the obvious fabric selection and making costs and who is going to install them? From this investigation make a curtain budget first, then you have a good idea of what expenses you will be expecting.
You may find it more cost effective to buy “ready made panels ” or standard curtains from the store rather than having your curtains custom made. This does work well if you have standard sized windows, but does limit your fabric selection options.
Tab Top Curtains are now a modern popular form of ready made curtains that you can by in most department stores or online decorating stores. They are fun and usually in trendy colors and designs, they are inexpensive as they don’t have much fullness and are basically designed as a decorative curtain and are ideal if you want to jazz up an area for a small amount of money and you can then afford to change it with the seasons!
Interested in taking your love of fabrics and curtains further? Only watch if you are ready for change!
