Another quote shock...

[The Captain]

So I've posted about the kitchen quote shock.  Got a window coverings quote shock yesterday.

*Sigh*

The house we moved into was rented before it was put on the market.  Most of the windows have no coverings (except for the bedrooms, which have wood blinds that I hate and the hardware doesn't work on them).

First went to a local drapery company who started the quote with $3700 just for the picture window in the living room.

Oh.hell.no.

Then we went with JCPenney which was more reasonable I guess?   Still, $9400 for the picture window, one sliding glass door, and 9 other windows.

Still oh.hell.no.

Now I'm taking my cheap ass to Home Depot to see what I can do.  The windows are 72" tall so a bit past industry standard.

Any suggestions or am I being unreasonable? 

[swamp]

tack up a fleece blanket over each window?

[Jaguar]

Good Luck.

[saveinla]

What are you getting estimates for - we went with the double blind shades and HD was the cheapest, but their installation was not good. Except for 2 windows, none of the blinds are working anymore.

We had custom drapes made at a local place 3 years before that, but my DH did not like them. I am thinking of putting them back again, since he is not home most of the time anyway

[The Captain]

For the picture window we originally went with drapes with a valence.  Since that was too expensive we then went to roman shades.

For the bedrooms we're gong with honeycomb shades except for the Master where I'd like Roman Shades

So:

Picture Window (actually three sections) Roman Shades
Sliding glass patio doors Vertical Roman Shades
Two 24'X74' inch windows in the hallway Roman Shades

Two 24'X74' windows in Master Bedroom - Roman Shades
Five 24'X74' windows in the other three Bedrooms - honeycomb shades.

[The Captain]

Aug 12, 2015 13:41:46 GMT -5 swamp said:

tack up a fleece blanket over each window?

I guess that's a step up from the sheets that are there now...

[bean29]

Are you doing draperies or blinds?

I have vertical blinds on most of my windows.

I have purchased some from JC Penneys, Lowes, and Homedepot. 

I would have done the Roman Shades but DH told me he hated them, so I stayed away from them.

I shopped around every time I was buying blinds and you get a sense for the clerks that really know what they are doing.  Sometimes I know their material/resources better than they do.  All of them offer some form of price match.  And I think almost all these stores have reduced salaries to the point they no longer have clerks who have sold blinds for 10-20 years.

My Dining room and Kitchen verticals are a Home Depot house brand - they have held up well...but I am not sure HD still has their own brand in window coverings.  Kitchen has a Vertical on the patio door and matching horizontal blinds on the windows in the dinette.  Living Room and one in the basement are Levelor - they are a higher end product.  My fabric verticals are weighted to hold them down.  I prefer the cord draw, and usually get a center split, reverse stack if the option is available (Levelor has it).  If you don't get reverse stack the blinds will stack in the center of the window, and if you don't draw them 100% to the side it will look odd.

We also have some blinds in the basement that were ready cuts.  They really were not cheaper.  DH told me he was "ready to hang them this weekend" then let them sit in the basement for a few months before he hung them.

Plastic vertical blinds can be cut with a scissors in a pinch.  DH cut the blinds that came with our 1st house and were the wrong length for some reason with a scissors.  He decided one of the windows in this house swelled up a little so he cut those with the scissors too. 

eta:  collect your quotes, but if you can, hold off on placing your order until Labor Day - I think it is one of the times JC Penneys has a "Sale" on window coverings.

[The Captain]

I started with drapes, which was really pricey, then moved to shades because they were cheaper.

I may move back to drapes if I can find lengths/widths in stock that fit our windows. 

[Blonde Granny]

We didn't use them, but most of our neighbors have dealt with a company called Budget Blinds. I don't know if they're just local or nationwide.

[Opti]

Aug 12, 2015 13:36:26 GMT -5 The Captain said:

So I've posted about the kitchen quote shock.  Got a window coverings quote shock yesterday.

*Sigh*

The house we moved into was rented before it was put on the market.  Most of the windows have no coverings (except for the bedrooms, which have wood blinds that I hate and the hardware doesn't work on them).

First went to a local drapery company who started the quote with $3700 just for the picture window in the living room.

Oh.hell.no.

Then we went with JCPenney which was more reasonable I guess?   Still, $9400 for the picture window, one sliding glass door, and 9 other windows.

Still oh.hell.no.

Now I'm taking my cheap ass to Home Depot to see what I can do.  The windows are 72" tall so a bit past industry standard.

Any suggestions or am I being unreasonable? 

Well... I do have some custom window treatments I have with me. I'm trying to put two up in the LR.

Much of it depends if you are a do it yourself type and what kind of decorating you plan to do. Plus how long you plan to be there, etc. I had curtains made that are not floor to ceiling, I forget the length, but I chose it because it means the curtains will fall above the vents in certain houses, apartments. Mine is a custom fabric, which you can sometimes get on sale. Yes the good stuff is pricey, and installation included is money as well. For me it is worth it, especially since my cordless drill appeared to not make the last move.

Picture windows, and non standard windows are not cheap to cover unless you like tacking up blankets. You can also try various stick on window films. Home Depot has Artscape which I have not tried yet, but want to for the very bright room I am in now.

[Opti]

Aug 12, 2015 13:50:35 GMT -5 The Captain said:

For the picture window we originally went with drapes with a valence.  Since that was too expensive we then went to roman shades.

For the bedrooms we're gong with honeycomb shades except for the Master where I'd like Roman Shades

So:

Picture Window (actually three sections) Roman Shades
Sliding glass patio doors Vertical Roman Shades
Two 24'X74' inch windows in the hallway Roman Shades

Two 24'X74' windows in Master Bedroom - Roman Shades
Five 24'X74' windows in the other three Bedrooms - honeycomb shades.

Several things to remember if you haven't already. Window coverings affect your heating and cooling bills. They will affect the light you get into each room. Drapes block more light and keep more cold out than shades.

Generally.

[The Captain]

Ohh, I'm on the Home Depot website and I can have custom made Hampton Bay woven blinds. 

My problem with stock is my windows are 741/4" tall and most stock only goes up to 72"

The reviews are pretty good.  I've made an in store appointment for Saturday.   Only three weeks lead time which is better than the 6-8 weeks the other two places quoted me as well.

I can go drapes, roman shades, woven blinds.  Just whatever works, looks decent, and doesn't break the bank.

[The Captain]

Yea, Opti - we have custom woven blinds at the old house and loved them.  IIRC we paid about $5K for 16 windows but that was about 12 years ago.

The windows in the house are double pane with storm windows.  I was really pleased with how they did with insulation this past winter.  I prefer to have some light come through so total blackout isn't really my thing.

One of the other reasons we like our house is how the windows face N,S,E,W and where there are trees planted.  Really, it couldn't get more perfect.  The picture window faces east and there are trees on the west side that provide shade but still let natural light in.

[Bluerobin]

Cheap bedsheets work just great and only require a curtain rod!    Save the good stuff for the important rooms.

[Artemis Windsong]

halfpriceddrapes.com or the online auction sites.

My DH bought new drapes for our front window online.  They are not near the quality that I took down but a reasonable dollar amount.

[saveinla]

We went with the "Cordless Blackout Cellular Shade in Deep Blue" for most of the windows, since we live in So Cal and it's hot and light a lot. It looks good and blocks a lot of the light and heat.

For the bathrooms and kitchen we went with the Light Filtering Roller Shades.

For the huge window for the patio, we did the Fabric vertical Blind in a dark blue shade with a pattern.

[Tiny]

Aug 12, 2015 13:50:35 GMT -5 The Captain said:

For the picture window we originally went with drapes with a valence.  Since that was too expensive we then went to roman shades.

For the bedrooms we're gong with honeycomb shades except for the Master where I'd like Roman Shades

So:

Picture Window (actually three sections) Roman Shades
Sliding glass patio doors Vertical Roman Shades
Two 24'X74' inch windows in the hallway Roman Shades

Two 24'X74' windows in Master Bedroom - Roman Shades
Five 24'X74' windows in the other three Bedrooms - honeycomb shades.

Have you gone to the Google?  and looked for prices?    Overstock.com has a wide variety - not sure how good/bad their pricing is... what about someplace like ::gasp:: Ikea?   

Can you do less expensive treatments in some rooms?

[Deleted]

I buy two fabric table clothes for my sliding glass door.

I'm reeeeaaaaaly cheap bout that stuff though

[The Captain]

Aug 12, 2015 15:37:34 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Aug 12, 2015 13:50:35 GMT -5 The Captain said:

For the picture window we originally went with drapes with a valence.  Since that was too expensive we then went to roman shades.

For the bedrooms we're gong with honeycomb shades except for the Master where I'd like Roman Shades

So:

Picture Window (actually three sections) Roman Shades
Sliding glass patio doors Vertical Roman Shades
Two 24'X74' inch windows in the hallway Roman Shades

Two 24'X74' windows in Master Bedroom - Roman Shades
Five 24'X74' windows in the other three Bedrooms - honeycomb shades.

Have you gone to the Google?  and looked for prices?    Overstock.com has a wide variety - not sure how good/bad their pricing is... what about someplace like ::gasp:: Ikea?   

Can you do less expensive treatments in some rooms?

My home and furnishings are traditional. Ikea is a bit too modern for our tastes.  Our first house together was a Victorian style farmhouse and we've kind of carried that theme and color scheme (deep reds, warm colors) through to this house.  That being said, almost all of our lower level furniture is from Ikea. I think their stuff is pretty decent for the price and wish it wasn't so modern.

I'm Googling stuff right now.  Problem with a lot of stock (pre-made) items is that the windows are over 40 years old and not really in standard sizes.

The family room, living room, and hallway windows are all kind of in a common area so to my untrained eye it would look odd if we went with different treatments.  I'm likely wrong here but I don't have the vision for it.

We are going cheaper in the bedrooms.

Home Depot is looking pretty promising. 

[wyouser]

Well, it could be worse. You could be quoting a new kitchen......Damn, some single cabinets are up in the widow range....each!!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Replacing window coverings is on the long list of what I want to do.  The ones currently up were put up by the builder's wife when they moved into this house ~20 years ago.  Some are definitely showing their wear, but others are still new only because they've been left up and very rarely lowered.

In this house, there are 4 sliders, a set of French doors and around 19 windows of various sizes.  It'll be ugly.

First went to a local drapery company who started the quote with $3700 just for the picture window in the living room.

When you posted this, I had to laugh.  A friend of mine was out visiting when I got out of the hospital.  She had just gotten the quote from the designer that she was using for the window treatment for their bedroom.  It was a sliding glass door.  Curtains alone were $5400.  My friend told the designer that she needed to put those on hold, as she needed to discuss this with her husband when she returned from her trip.  When she got back from WA 10 days later, she found out that the designer had played her off against her husband and the curtains were on order.  They weren't happy, but paid for them.

Last New Years, we went up to see those $5400 curtains.  They HAD to be spectacular - right?  They looked like bed sheets.  I guess my expression of "please tell me you didn't pay $5400 for bed sheets" showed on my face, as she agreed with me.  The fired the designer after that fiasco.

[busymom]

Do you know someone good with a sewing machine? You can have drapes/curtains sewn for the kitchen & kid's bedrooms, & save the expensive stuff for the livingroom & patio window. We put room darkening honeycomb blinds in the kids bedrooms, & our own, which actually wasn't too expensive.

[NastyWoman]

Doesn't Costco also offer window coverings? I seem to remember having seen that, but I have no experience with them.

I have wanted to order curtains for mt MBR, but after reading this thread it looks like my sewing machine will have to be put to good use again. Now if I only could find the time and energy needed...

[The Captain]

Aug 12, 2015 16:46:42 GMT -5 wyouser said:

Well, it could be worse. You could be quoting a new kitchen......Damn, some single cabinets are up in the widow range....each!!

You obviously missed this:

ymam.proboards.com/thread/46288/kitchen-project

See post #17

We moved into this house a year ago.  It was a rental in a nicer area, so yea - the worst house in the best neighborhood.

Going in we knew we wanted to:

1.  Redo the Kitchen
2.  Redo the master bath and get a soaker tub put in
3.  Re-finish the basement (the tenant/prior owner tore off ceiling drywall, panelingis missing in places - the basement is a bit of a wreck.
4.  (Dream but it will happen) put on a sunroom.

[The Captain]

Aug 12, 2015 21:14:24 GMT -5 busymom said:

Do you know someone good with a sewing machine? You can have drapes/curtains sewn for the kitchen & kid's bedrooms, & save the expensive stuff for the livingroom & patio window. We put room darkening honeycomb blinds in the kids bedrooms, & our own, which actually wasn't too expensive.

I actually am pretty good with a sewing machine which is what is making this all the much harder.  I just.don't.have.time!

Maybe I'll check out yelp...

[Peace77]

Have you checked out Blinds.com?

[The Captain]

Aug 13, 2015 8:47:05 GMT -5 Peace77 said:

Have you checked out Blinds.com?

No, will do so during lunch - have you worked with them?

[Deleted]

Aug 12, 2015 13:55:39 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

We didn't use them, but most of our neighbors have dealt with a company called Budget Blinds. I don't know if they're just local or nationwide.

I used Budget Blinds a few years ago for the vertical blinds at my patio door. A friend used them when she had her house built and she recommended them to me. They have all kinds of window coverings. I prefer blinds there instead of drapes because with blinds, I have more options for how much exposure I want. They came out with the materials and samples, I made my choice. He measured and came back to install them when they were ready. They look kind of like cloth, linen I guess, but they're not. I think I paid around $300 for the blinds and installation. I don't know if that's too much for what I got or if it's cheap, but I never had to leave my house to get it done or do any work besides choosing what I wanted and I'm still satisfied with my blinds. 

If I ever get around to replacing my other blinds, I'm going to call them again.

[The Captain]

Aug 13, 2015 8:59:01 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Aug 12, 2015 13:55:39 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

We didn't use them, but most of our neighbors have dealt with a company called Budget Blinds. I don't know if they're just local or nationwide.

I used Budget Blinds a few years ago for the vertical blinds at my patio door. A friend used them when she had her house built and she recommended them to me. They have all kinds of window coverings. I prefer blinds there instead of drapes because with blinds, I have more options for how much exposure I want. They came out with the materials and samples, I made my choice. He measured and came back to install them when they were ready. They look kind of like cloth, linen I guess, but they're not. I think I paid around $300 for the blinds and installation. I don't know if that's too much for what I got or if it's cheap, but I never had to leave my house to get it done or do any work besides choosing what I wanted and I'm still satisfied with my blinds. 

If I ever get around to replacing my other blinds, I'm going to call them again.

Pink - thanks for this.  How is the hardware (raising/lowering mechanism) holding up?  That's the area that I see fail more often than not.

[Deleted]

They're vertical blinds, so they go sideways instead of raising/lowering. But nothing's failed or broken on them so far.