When You Can't Afford Custom

In the current times everyone can't afford custom but they can afford to hire that Interior Designer for a few hours to help them pick all the colors and tell them key pieces they need to purchase. I recently helped my niece with her Window treatments in just this way. She is engaged and the wedding is in January, she and her fiance have already purchased a home and needed my help. I spoke with the bride to be's mother (my sister) and talked in detail about the things she needed to purchase and what to look for. The blinds we purchased at Lowes and had them custom cut to fit the windows, can everyone do this of course, and they can also install them, did it help that I do professional installs all the time, of course, I knew what sizes to give them and the key questions to ask. One of the key things on installing your own blinds is to cut away the excess slates at the bottom.


The drapery treatments were purchased readymades in the master bedroom and for a wedding present I installed them for the couple. Does having the drapes installed by a professional make a difference, yes it does, just ask my sister. I have been in many homes that had ready made drapes installed and one of the first mistakes I see is they did not press them. The store clerk told them that the wrinkles will fall out, I have yet to see this happen. So always press your drapes, just check your label first for the ironing instructions. Judy, my sister made the living room drapes, I gave her a few tips and she was on her way, she did a great job. I was able to go back and take some pictures after he moved in and everything looked great.

I know most never thought to have the drapes installed by a professional, or even hiring a Designer for some of the basic information, but that is a great way to have a professional look without paying for custom drapes. When I install readymades I ask the client to have the hardware purchased and ready to install, and to have the drapes pressed, I will not install unpressed drapes.