Looking for competitively priced curtains and blinds

monkeyboyadams

Hi all,
I'm hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction. After a serious house fire last summer, I will finally be moving back home next week. I'm desperately trying to find blinds and curtains for all rooms but struggling to do it within budget. I have a total of 17 windows/doors that require curtains or blinds and I want to try and do this for less than £1,000. I would also prefer to have thicker curtains where possible, as it's a very cold property.
If anyone could point me in the direction of places that sell good quality but reasonably priced curtains or blinds, I would very much appreciate it.
Thanks in advance.

[Deleted User]

You could try these people - http://www.curtains-2go.co.uk/

We were very happy with the blinds we bought from their sister site

Ebe_Scrooge

Dunelm have a pretty good selection, and are reasonably priced. Is it your insurance company that have specified the budget ? They normally replace stuff on a like-for-like basis, so they should just arrange for new curtains of an equivalent quality to what you already had ?

monkeyboyadams

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

Dunelm have a pretty good selection, and are reasonably priced. Is it your insurance company that have specified the budget ? They normally replace stuff on a like-for-like basis, so they should just arrange for new curtains of an equivalent quality to what you already had ?

Thanks for this, I have previously purchased curtains from Dunelm but they weren't particularly good quality. I will have another look though, as their stock seems to vary massively in quality from one thing to the next.
We have had an insurance pay out, so we will be choosing and paying for our own curtains etc. We were stupidly underinsured by £30,000, so we've lost a lot of money along the way and as a result we're now on a much tighter budget for such things. I was really keen to try and refurnish the entire home on approx £15,000 but we've already spent £11,000 and the only pieces of furniture we have purchased so far are the sofa's and a table. So I'm definitely failing! Here's hoping I have more success with the curtains and blinds.

paddy's_mum

Charity shops (especially the larger ones) and ebay.

Secondhand stuff while you recover your financial balance.

trailingspouse

I can't praise Dunelm at Home highly enough - but £1000 for 17 windows wouldn't be possible through them I don't think (our, admittedly large, living room curtains cost £600, and I thought it was a bargain, quality fabulous and aftersales service second to none).

To dress 17 windows for £1000 you're talking not much more than £50 per window. I wonder if you would be better prioritising (say, bedroom, living room, bathroom) for now and doing the rest when you've had chance to save up. Charity shops might be the answer, but it doesn't make sense to me to buy something that you don't want/like just because it's cheap. Better to get it right first time, even if it takes a little longer.

Niv

Another vote for Dunelm. Their curtains especially are great quality and good and thick.


Regarding blinds - obviously Dunelm sell these too but the Range also have a decent errr range of them and may be slightly cheaper.

thescouselander

Mrs thescouselander likes posh curtains but to save money she buys the raw material and has them made up by someone local. Seems to be around a third of the price you see in the shops and you get to control the quality.

rach_k

Have you considered Ikea? Some of their curtains are nice quality and they're cheap as chips.

Hoploz

Another vote for Dunelm, as they have such a big range varying right through all price levels.

Also second Ikea. They are great for long curtains as they all come very long as standard and you can alter them to the length you want. For example I recently got a pair of floor length plain beige curtains for £20 to which I added a trim of Laura Ashley fabric to match the wallpaper - bosh - bespoke curtains for my bifolds for less than £40 all in.

I certainly think if you can't get it all done at once then prioritise, but I do understand you must be champing at the bit to get it all done after such a dramatic time.

Argos do super-cheap plain curtains as well. I've got a pair of full length thick sort of canvas ones which were about £10 in their clearance sale a few years ago.

You can always get blackout linings separately and they hang off the curtain hooks behind to create darkness.

Certainly the mainstream shops charge a bomb for curtains esp in large sizes but when you've gt a whole house to do I'd start with plain and change them later if I didn't get on with them.

I actually make my own curtains, you'd be surprised how easy it is to hem a rectangle and stitch on the header tape. It's really not rocket science - I taught myself when I couldn't find any I liked for my son's bedroom years ago - bought a double duvet set to match his bedding and simply literally sewed on the header tape and they were up! So easy! Then on my next pair I followed a YouTube tutorial to make a lined pair. Now I do my own thing! But it can still be cheaper to buy, from the right places.

monkeyboyadams

Thank you for all of the great replies. Some really helpful info to take away. It looks like a visit to Dunelm is going to happen, along with making some enquiries to have some made by a local seamstress/seamsir etc. I also think that focusing on the main rooms, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom etc as a priority and then adding to the other rooms when possible, is the best way forward.
Thanks again for all of the advice.