You can order fabric canvas drop cloths on Arizona that are four by fifteen four less than $16 each, many decorators use these for curtains, check them out, you can also cut them and hang them on rods with pinch clip rings

Mind you this is an affordable fix until you find a solution, but they do look nice when up

And with a little fabric glue you can do a heck of a border too. or part sheer on top. The fabric store can even cut the border strait for you. Ikea has incredibly cheap sheers and Walmart twin sheets are great and cheap for some projects.

sheers attached to fabricnote the small band at the bottom?

Also if your windows are that tall, can someone see in the top? often you do not need curtains on the whole window.

If you google "electrical conduit curtain rod" you will find many tutorials on how to make extra long curtain rods for about $10, and they totally don't look like they came from the hardware store if you paint them and insert finials! I did this for my 14' window and it saved me $130!!!!

I will also note that Joann fabrics sells curtain lining. Use a coupon and save 40%-50%

Maybe the problem was Zarin's? Try to find options in the garment district (mood may be a resource) and ask the sales people if they have references. Or look in the D&D building or A &D building for inspiration, and try finding the exact fabric online for less. Contact FIT, Parsons, or the other interior design schools and ask their job placement departments to price the work that you want to do.

Also Restoration Hardware may have length and width you are looking for. Almost positive They currently have a sale for Presidents Day 100 off 500 or more. There's a store on 23rd. And they may have installers as well, though you can price it out on Angie's list. Good luck!

we know you said you are not really crafty, but we all learned how to use glue and some of the other basics in school, hiring a seamstress and providing you own materials is often the best way.

I've had my seamstress make curtain panels for me relatively inexpensively. I think tailors have the equipment to do this so it's worth an ask. Otherwise, I would order from a catalog, Pottery Barn, West Elm. Someplace not in the city, that has to be the most expensive choice. Fabric is the cheapest part of it if you shop at Joann's or similar places.

These are not windows that need custom drapes go to any home decor store even Ikea and buy enough panels to cover windows. Make sure for each window that there are panels wide enough to look full when closed so eg if you have a 48” wide window and the panels are 50” wide you will need 2 panels which = double the width of the window you can make them a bit fuller but not narrower. As for rods they are avaiable at Home Dept. For the bigger windows same formula and take the panels to someone with a sewing machine ans sew them together to get the right size

High quality and custom made in New York City is not going to be an inexpensive combination. Try ready made 96" long curtains from JC Penney's catalog, you can have them shortened by a local dry cleaner or tailor. Cheap rods are not worth buying. Get Kirsch or another name brand. A double treatment with sheers and fashion fabric will be quite heavy. You will need to have them professionally installed. JC Penney offers custom treatments as well.

I also didn't think you needed custom based on your measurements. You also can puddle your drapes for an attractive look.

You don't have particularly high windows but you do have width...86 an 144 inches will need multiple widths of fabric and support brackets. You cannot go into Target etc and buy rods that will work effectively over those spans, especially if you want the curtains to be able to traverse. Zarins have quoted you for sheers and over drapes,,,,, I would do without one of those layers for starters. Work out which one you can do without. The only way you will get cheaper than Zarin is to go direct to a workroom but most only work with designers or shops in the NYC area. As others have stated you would be looking at multiple widths of readymades if you go non-custom.

Inexpensive/ custom/NYC are mutually exclusive.. however having seen so many bad DIY jobs over the years, if window coverings are important to you, I would absolutely say bite the bullet and do custom..and I would not recommend trying to install yourself either. It will be worth it in the short run.

omg, sometimes, we just make this too hard. You either need cheap or be prepared to shell out cash. Here is cheap, they do not come any cheaper. Ikea $5 for 2, each has the following measurements

Length: 98 "
Width: 110 "
Weight: 14 oz
Area: 75.35 sq feet
Package quantity: 2 pack

$5 one window is done.

They have what they call curtain wire, another $5 per window from ikea. or use the electrical conduit. You can even afford to double these for more privacy. Then look in thrift stores as you can for new ones if you don't like.

If you can not figure out how to do yourself, as all poor people have since time began, go hire a handy man and pray he takes mercy on you.

A four room anything in NYC.......Is already a very expensive thing. Light, and a view of anything beyond an alley filled with garbage cans in NYC is a hugely expensive thing. I'd treat the privacy and light control as one issue, and come back at the decorative panels later before I'd attempt sheers, stitched together, panels same etc. and end up with a lot of money wasted and not such a professional looking result, with uneven hemlines, wavy leading edges etc. There's a reason the custom looks custom, and it is because it is.

Thank you, everyone, for your feedback!

Maybe I shouldn't have said "inexpensive" in the original post, but rather "less expensive than where we have already checked". We'd rather pay for high quality than get an inexpensive, short-term fix we won't be happy with, especially since the windows are the major focal points of the rooms.

We'd like the drapes to traverse and to last a long time.

And we're definitely not DIYers. Everyone has different skills, and DIYing is not ours. :)

A big thank you to Julie Thume Draperies. You seemed to most understand what we're working with and answered my question about an alternative to Zarin's.

Diana, shop around...the glossier the store the more markup they will take over the labor and fabric. You do have a big choice in terms of who to ask in the city. Try Beckenstein near Union Sq...or Mood on 37 th even have a home dec dept and you may get cheaper fabric there. They will have a workroom. A lot of the workrooms are off Manhattan in Long Island city...you could try there and you may get a better deal. Fabric price will be the biggest component. Good luck!

Hi,

we are looking to get custom curtains for our bedroom. The bedroom has 2 glass doors we are covering. Do you anyone in NYC who does this?

You can't Google "custom drapery in Manhattan" : )??

Excellent/rave reviews below

https://www.nywindowfashion.com