To Buy or Not to Buy? Which Window Coverings are Most Affordable?
Categorised in: Drapery Trends
Oct 26, 2021
Oh. The drama. What would Hamlet instead have said, had he known they were listening, if the ‘ius’s, Polonius and Claudius, hadn’t had a drapery behind which to spy? But, oh. The drapery. For Shakespeare’s choice to even use a textile was HUGE given its incredible expense.
The commissioning of even one drapery panel for a theatre production during Shakespeare’s time, the period of 1560 – 1610, would have meant paying an extreme amount of money to whoever hand-wove the natural flax threads into a theatre prop. An incredible amount of labour was required to transform a field of cotton or flax plants into threads and yarns with handlooms.
The benefits of drapery fabrics were enjoyed more easily with the introduction of power looms during the industrial age of the 1800s, while polyester, a plastic derivative invented during the 1920s, further allowed drapes to become an integral part of all of our homes.
Fabric houses can create miles of exquisite drapery materials efficiently using a product employed worldwide; polyester.
Natural fabrics are still sought-after materials for their authentic spirit, but polyester can perfectly mimic those organics. All international fashion designers employ polyester in many of their creations because of its versatility and artistic stylings.
There are only three components that dictate the price of everything.
With our love of the beautiful and the practical, it’s judicial to look at what makes one window covering less expensive than another. Consumers’ cost is lowered when a supplier can lessen three elements; material cost, labour cost, and supply and demand. Therefore the most affordable window covering for the astute consumer is whose materials can be sourced in volume, manufactured through negotiated wage reduction, and is of lesser uniqueness. And this means a drapery constructed of adaptable polyester, further refined to one unlined is the most affordable.
And so, we manufacture our own Covers Signature and Prestige brands, offering you that value-priced component in an array of high-quality, unique, and popular stylings.
Please see all the familiar brands you know and love here. Take a look through our Gallery of inspiring Designers Edge window coverings and read our help article ‘How to Choose Window Treatments.’
If we were to be economist-minded, buying anything now may save you the supply chain increase of 2022.
To ensure the safety of our children, the government is introducing safety controls for blinds and shades in regards to cords which may result in further cost increases or even product loss. Prices have already increased 8 -15% in almost all industries because the supply chain challenge is still being felt. Shipping costs have risen more than 10%, and another cost increase of 10% for some products is imminent in 2022 to offset the changes. Even with supply chain costs rising everywhere across all industries, there are ways to balance increasing prices.
We know you love a bit of indulgence with your custom window treatments. Whether for functionality, privacy or aesthetic reasons, a chic window-covering knows how to inspire.
Covers Canada carries sumptuous brands and economical, quality labels that work in unison for savvy savings. Talk with any of our decorating transformation specialists. (See our locations below)
Since 1987, Covers Canada, a 100% proudly Canadian-owned company, has been a leader in custom window covering design and the sale of quality products, no matter your budget.
We love drapery, even dare we say, with a nod to The Bard, for their theatrical effect.
There are bougie design reasons to have window coverings for your home beyond the practical rationale of temperature and light control. We’ve put together an article, ‘Our Picks for Trending Drapery Styles for 2022, and Ordering Times’, to help you get a jump on your design ideas.
Draperies act as the framing of a beautiful outdoor view, a backdrop to a cozy conversational area, and as a visual vehicle that draws the eye up to the full height of a large window.
Who doesn’t instantly think texture when they think of drapery? There is no easier way to show masterful design in a large room showcasing hard flooring, hard walls, and oversized windows than to engage a textural and natural fabric as an understated drapery panel.
You expect window treatments to perform with workhorse practicality. (sorry if you are a horse reading this)
Window coverings insulate your home from outside temperatures. It is easy to reduce cooling costs in the summer by drawing a drape against the heat and similarly warming your room in the winter months. The insulative qualities of new glass have improved from its days of single paned-ness. However, a window covering still adds a degree of thermal padding and a much-appreciated feeling of coziness.
Window treatments hide a home’s occupants from elements of the outdoors. During the Elizabethan era, those who could afford draperies used them opulently; a drape’s heavy brocade showed off the homeowner’s wealth.
But, more importantly, these thickly woven coverings framed their bedsteads, protecting them at bedtime from the cold of their uninsulated homes. These warm loomed fabrics were often regularly stolen through the windows they covered; drapery was financially out of reach for all but the wealthy. Read this cozy UK article about the evolution of curtains.
Window coverings embody the phrase: whether to keep the moonlight out of your eyes, hide an unfortunate view, or help with noise reduction. We cannot imagine a bedroom window without some type of covering. Read our article ‘Bedroom Blinds With Different Light Control for Two People’ if you have occasionally wished for a room to yourself, away from your honey boo’s complaint of your beloved sparkling moonlight.
Please contact one of our trained and professional decorators at any of Covers Canada Window Covering Design Stores to begin considering your window treatments. We have five sunny locations for your convenience:
Sarnia, 1362 Lambton Rd, Unit 12 (519) 542 0960
London Southwest, 297 Exeter Rd. (519) 652 0222
London North, 1950 Hyde Park Rd. (519) 660 3661
Kitchener, 500 Fairway Rd. (519) 894 3455
Burlington, 2500 Appleby Line (905) 333 8121