There are so many things you can do to improve your home without professional help to save money. You can paint the interior of your home on your own, you can sew your own throw pillow covers, create art for the walls, and more. But draperies? That’s a different story. We’re going to break it down here why you should never buy the store-bought kind, and why you should hire a professional to install them.

1. Drapery Quality

When shopping in a chain store for a ready-made set of draperies, you will find that the quality is just not there, when compared to that of a window treatment company’s materials. They are sometimes sewed wrong, have pulls in the fabric, are puckered and hang funny–you name it! Even the touch and feel of the materials isn’t always up to par.

2. Custom Sizing

Height

Not all windows, doors, and ceiling heights are created equal.

Most curtain manufacturers that sell at big box stores–and even fancy boutiques–only sell two sizes: 84-inch panels, which are too short for a room with 8-foot ceilings, or 96-inch panels, which are far too long. Buying ready-made, store-bought draperies means you most likely have to hem them to the correct height. Or add on material, which we do not recommend!

Width

Most store-bought curtain panels are between 45-54 inches wide. If you have a large window in the middle of your living room (that’s larger than say 36 inches wide), two panels will not cut it. You’re looking at three or four panels, depending on the size of your window, but who’s to be sure?

The width of your draperies should actually be about 2.5 to 3 times the width of your window to create the proper look of fullness when hung. On top of that, do you know how wide you should be hanging your hardware? If you want that room to pop, you’re going to want to hang your draperies wide, but only an Interior Designer or drapery expert will know what’s best.

3. Drapery lining

Drapery lining is the key to making your window treatment look and feel high quality. If you are buying some off-the-rack curtains, they will not come with lining, and you may be highly disappointed when you hang them.

If you’re hanging curtains in a bedroom, you likely want them to be blackout curtains, and most curtains without lining will not block out the light in order for you to get that restful sleep you are hoping for. If you’ve taken a close look at the ready-made curtains in stores that actually have drapery lining, you’ll notice that it is cheap, thin cotton lining. Custom lined drapery has the liner sewn directly into the panel and definitely has a quality weight to it.

Do we have you convinced?

Of course, here at Jabot Interiors, we are drapery snobs, and want to save you from all of the mass-produced low-quality curtains out there! We want you to have the best of the best when it comes to custom drapery, and have people be impressed when they walk into your home.

We hope you think of us when you’re planning custom draperies for your home. You can view our work, and contact us when you’re ready to start on your next home improvement project.