<p>My mother got a bid for shutters (wood) for two french doors and the tall skylight style windows above them. It was over $3000 for those four sections, though included a remote to control the high windows.</p>
<p>She put the same wide wood style (2") blinds for $500-600 installed, tax, etc. and is very happy.</p>
<p>I used to make custom window treatments professionally (fabric ones, not shutters!!). High end fabrics ARE expensive (wider width for drapery fabrics and for upholstery) and also the weave is straighter so they will drape well. Also the labor involved is significant.</p>
<p>That being said, I would NEVER personally pay what people paid me for those treatments. And I was always amazed when people did. :)</p>
<p>I only make stuff for friends and for myself now. And many of my windows at home are bare!</p>
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<p>LOL, churchmusicmom, are you the one who sent me the bid of $6000 for the silk drapes in my living room and dining room? I almost keeled over at work when I got the fax. At least I was steps away from the ER.</p>
<p>HEHE. Nope. I have been out of that business for quite a while. Did NOT like the stress of having to charge that much $$. But you have to in order to pay yourself a reasonable amount for the time it takes to do it right. And it’s VERY tedious work!</p>
<p>If you are “crafty” at all, sewing drapes is not all that difficult. You need a LARGE rectangular surface to cut the fabric (an inexpensive door set on top of a table works); an iron to turn hems and a good sewing machine with plenty of room on both sides to allow for yards and yards of fabric as you feed it through. There are plenty of good books on the subject.</p>
<p>It’s very gratifying to make your own window treatments, IMO. The fabric by itself is NOT cheap, though. But it will make you appreciate why you pay so much to have other people make them!!! :)</p>
<p>Because our window openings are older the depth is not deep enough to fit the wider blinds that are now popular - we need to install inside the window frame (as opposed to an outside mount) and the depth is too short - the shutters would work though. </p>
<p>BunsenBurner you made me chuckle! Thanks for regarding my current unstable feelings towards Costco! But I will be there this weekend and will also check out the display they have re: window treatments. Can’t hurt to check!</p>
<p>^^abasket: I am in the midst of a late 19th c restoration. Like you I don’t have enough depth to the windows for blinds or shutters unless they come out over, or or attached, on the window facing. Since I didn’t want any of the old window trim covered up I am planning on a simple muslin curtain on a pocket rod and have it pulled back over an antique or repro brass or glass disc set into the window trim. An very old-fashioned tie back. Does that make sense? lol This is a lot less expensive way to go than what I had budgeted for interior custom shutters, which was more than $500 per window. But I have really long windows.</p>
<p>I will need to be able to control the sun and maybe drafts because I kept the original windows and am not having storms because we have the original louvered shutters and I think it may be possible to just open the interior windows and use those shutters as they were intended. Does your house have exterior shutters?</p>
<p>I make all my own by hand, no machine. I get good material. Mix and Match colors and have a great time. I now have the colors of Nice and am enjoying them. Kind of reminds me of my childhood in the early 60s. I have two colors, two rods and lots of protection and can mix and match how I feel at the time. But I live in the sun country.</p>
<p>^^ I was wondering if you could have some handyman or carpenter make these. I know there are diy sites but I know I would rather have someone else who is more skilled then I make them.</p>
<p>overseas, you are talking about fabric drapes, right? Not wooden shutters?</p>
<p>If it’s fabric, your hand sewing is WAY better than mine!!! :)</p>
<p>Try costco- they have a window treatment division [Costco</a> - Save $25 - $200 per Unit on Select Styles of Custom Blinds and Shades](<a href=“http://www.costco.com/Browse/Productgroup.aspx?prodid=11199829&whse=BC&topnav=&cat=62597&hierPath=61679*62597*&lang=en-US]Costco”>http://www.costco.com/Browse/Productgroup.aspx?prodid=11199829&whse=BC&topnav=&cat=62597&hierPath=61679*62597*&lang=en-US)</p>
<p>here is the shutters link <a href=“http://www.costco.com/Browse/Productgroup.aspx?ec=BC-EC26718-ProdID11199829&pos=0&whse=BC&topnav=&prodid=11325188&lang=en-US[/url]”>http://www.costco.com/Browse/Productgroup.aspx?ec=BC-EC26718-ProdID11199829&pos=0&whse=BC&topnav=&prodid=11325188&lang=en-US</a></p>
<p>I saw a flyer today from Next Day Blinds. Plantation shutters are $37/square foot, installed. They showed three types and they had a 10% off coupon too.</p>
<p>I must be the only one on CC who actually likes custom fabric draperies and is willing to pay for them. After completing my remodel at the end of 2009, I embarked on getting window treatments this year. The family room, 2 bedrooms, entry, and breakfast room are done, and I have only the office to complete. I didn’t spend a fortune, but I also didn’t do it ‘on the cheap’. I have mostly done roman blinds and have thoroughly enjoyed picking out the fabrics and am happy with the results.</p>
<p>Years ago I had a local decorator do honeycomb shades for the living room and dining room but roll shades or microblinds for other rooms of our then new house due to prices- many windows (a feature I love except twice a year when I clean them). Several years ago I bought from JCPenney when they had their 50 or 60% off sale in the spring- using my new JCP credit card to save even more and did all of the measuring/installation myself. For curtains/drapes- I spent so much time trying to find fabric but never liked any so I, despite hating to sew, did my own or bought cheap valences.</p>
<p>Just finding window coverings is a huge headache, the costs, sigh. There may be semiannual sales. Good Luck.</p>
<p>I must be the only CCer without any kind of blinds on the first floor of the house. Eons ago, every cord on the blinds in our old house was chewed off by one of my cats. Do you know how expensively impossible to replace a cord in those blinds? We called every place possible, and they all told us to ship the blinds to Hunter Douglas and Levolor (:eek:) for repair. It was cheaper to buy new blinds! So in the current house with my current kitties, we take no chances. Drapes are easier to replace than any kind of shades or blinds :)</p>
<p>I think the expense is partly explained by the term “window treatments.” When I hear “treatment” I think of something long term and costly (and usually medical). </p>
<p>I took the cheap way out. I wove my own fabric (on my floor loom) and then sewed the curtains. It was very, very time consuming and involved a little outlay of cash for the yarns and thread. For the poster renovating the 19th c. home, think what the original owner would have done - and then do it yourself. </p>
<p>Has it occurred to anyone else that, at least traditionally, of all the elements of home renovation the one that is likely to have been done by a woman (sewing curtains) is the one whose cost scandalizes us? People pay obscene amounts of money for appliances, plumbing fixtures, flooring, countertops, cabinets, etc. But curtains? I think that’s why the industry foisted the term ‘window treatment’ on the public. To make it seem reasonable to pay the prices demanded. And why shouldn’t a skilled seamstress be paid a living wage? As with all the other elements of renovation, there are various price points and options. I’d be curious to know by whom and where the ‘treatments’ are being made.</p>
<p>We have Levolor blinds we got from Rhodda years ago- not a color that I like anymore- soI am thinking of either painting them when I decide on the color for the living room, or taking them down and just using curtains. ( bungalow with double hung )</p>
<p>My husband has a phobia of anyone looking in our house- he is always pulling the blinds so that it is dark- reminds me of my great aunt who lived in fear of her furniture fading.</p>
<p>lefthandofdog: love the post! Wow, weaving your own fabric. - cheap way out only if you aren’t counting your labor, right? 
I absolutely agree with your point about valuing womens work. I wish we could see what you created. :)</p>
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I am not sure this house ever had window coverings. A rather unusual scenario. Wooden blinds are correct but would never have been used in this house as there isn’t enough enough space for them inside the window. Heavy drapes with cornices? Appropriate but not appealing to me since I want to see the woodwork (window and baseboards) Plantation shutters mimic the exterior shutters so I would be comfortable with that look, if it worked, but it would cover woodwork. I don’t object to doing something “wrong” if it doesn’t damage the house and can be easily undone. So I do look to what is period appropriate for the date and locale. I “need” window coverings, at least in the bathrooms and prefer a consistent look for the windows when viewed from outside. However, in my last, much much earlier house I had no window coverings except in the bathrooms. Which was absolutely period correct for that house. H thinks we need no window coverings in this house and argues it is private enough. Continuing discussion lol I think the muslin curtains are period and locale appropriate but, at the least, they do no damage to the house itself one way or another. Sorry - Off topic. Rather obsessed with window coverings at the moment.</p>
<p>When we bought our current home all the lovely windows were covered by plastic mini-blinds. Every thru-pane, beveled glass french door, even the bay window. One of the first things I did was take them all down. You couldn’t get out the french doors because of those blinds and it made the rooms very dark (on the plus side, it was one of the reasons the house didn’t sell…so our lower bid was accepted). The living room and dining room had fabric swagged cornice boxes with heavy pleated drapes (and mini blinds)…those had to go.</p>
<p>Currently the bedrooms have drapes, the dining room and living room have wood cornice boxes DH built to match the wainscotting on the walls. Everything else is uncovered on the inside (drop down shades outside the kitchen/den to control the sun). The whole house is much brighter, and you can use the doors.</p>
<p>You might consider cornice boxes with roman shades. You can leave them up when you want, and your DH could drop them when he wants. You will be able to see the woodwork and the baseboards. They don’t take much to hold hold them in place, so minimal damage to the walls.</p>
<p>Lefthandofdog: excellent point. And a good reminder. Some of the same people complaining about the loss of the middle class seem to be unwilling to pay middle class wages to get work done.</p>
<p>BB- I read your post and thought you were just like me, until I realised you meant no blind, but you do have drapes. In our entire house the only window covering is on the French doors of the guest room which opens on the front of the house. Otherwise we feel private enough, and cheap enough, that we have no window coverings.</p>
<p>Our rear wall of the house is essentially 100% windows, no room to stack drapes, and I would not want to pull blinds in every single window nook as there are big windows with small ones above and below them. It is all view oriented. But in the winter it is cold, you can feel the cold air coming from the glass when it snows outside and I would love something to insulate in those times.</p>
<p>Any one ever tried those outdoor shades? They seem to be designed for sun protection, which we don’t need in the PNW, but would they help with warmth?</p>