It's not a problem of me taking something for granted. It's a problem of something being complete bullshit. This is the kind of thing we're talking about when we complain about stupid old people holding society back and ruining everything for us young smart people.
There's no reason these things have to be so expensive, nor is there a reason that shopping for them has to be so difficult. Why is it less expensive and easier to shop for some of the most advanced electronic devices to ever exist, but is a huge pain in the ass to get a flat piece of cloth with holes in it? Because young engineer type people, the smart people, have a large interest in one of these things and only old grandmas have a strong interest in the other. This is why us young engineer type people should be given full control over the entire world, and everyone else should have to STFU. Slow old people get out of our way.
Then make some fucking curtains yourself mister Linux Power User. ~_^
Just a note: The FRC usually refers to Scott Rubin as one of the youngest old people we know :-p
Be that as it may, if I don't see a numerical relation between "stupid old people" and the price of window treatments, I'm declaring an "old" school fail on that old geezer.
He really doesn't have a shred of self-insight, does he? He's like the stock cartoon character that's always selfish, unreasonably frustrated about things, and unreasonably critical. Usually that character is portrayed by - you guessed it - an old man.
I love making my own curtains... but that's probably because I'm a girl, I love sewing, and I love watching HGTV. :-P
I don't know why curtains are so expensive... they really are just large pieces of cloth. As far as labor, they are incredibly easy to sew (I am talking about basic modern curtains here, not crazy Gone-with-the-Wind-plantation-like curtains.)
As for hemming curtains, there is a very easy way of doing it that 1) looks nice, 2) is cheap, and 3) doesn't demasculinate men too much. Get iron-on adhesive fabric, or fusible web, from any fabric store (Wal-marts with fabric sections sell it for cheap). Fold the curtain under to the length you want, stick the fusible web inside the fold, and iron it. Voila, hemmed curtains with no pansy sewing.
and slow or resistant to adapting to the new world
Question, what do you call people who are slow and/or resistant to adapting to the real world?
Because well-made things cost money? Cloth ain't cheap, good cloth especially. You were also looking at needlessly expensive curtains. Fully-equipped windows have a blind, sheers, and insulated panels, but most people only go that far when they own a home. You can easily get away with just having panels.
Nuri is knitting me a scarf; the bulk is baby alpaca fiber, and there's some merino wool in there as well. How much do you think the yarn (just the yarn) for that project cost?
EDIT: Think about leather. Leather stuff used to be easy to get back in the times when people hunted for food, because they'd have the dead animal. These days, leather goods are wicked expensive. Why? Because someone has to go well out of their way to make it, and it takes a lot of time and energy to do so.
Scott's also ignoring the fact that the curtain businesses suffer from a way larger DIY 'market' than processor manufacturers.
I don't know why curtains are so expensive... they really are just large pieces of cloth. As far as labor, they are incredibly easy to sew (I am talking about basic modern curtains here, not crazy Gone-with-the-Wind-plantation-like curtains.)
Hard to turn a profit when there are many people who love DIY cloth projects, the few sales they make have to cover costs. Everyone else just does some labour themselves instead of paying for said labour.
Attempted to install curtain rods. The wall has metal in it. This makes it incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to install these curtain rods. Might be impossible to install any curtain rod whatsoever. Might have to return rods and curtains and get something else.
I like having these big-ass windows, but why the fuck is it so goddamn difficult to cover them? I'd rather have just normal-sized windows just so it can be easy.
Scott, why not post some pics of the windows with measurements on them? Then you can post some links to window treatments you want and those forum members who are more in touch with their interior decorating sides may be able to help you out.
Seriously, you sound like someone who is unable to adapt to anything outside of his sphere of knowledge that is also unwilling to learn new things. We are talking about tings to cover your windows not installing and hanging new windows!
Google has a sibling, it's called YouTube. Why not search it for window treatment ideas?
How old is the building? Is it a brick and mortar affair? Make sure that the metal is not associated with central heating, electricity or other plumbing. Most probably (since it is right above the window) it is a large cast iron bar to support the wall above the window, in which case just get (rent) a big ass power drill and metal drilling bits and have at it.
How old is the building? Is it a brick and mortar affair?
I'm guessing the flat is a converted soviet nuclear bunker shipped from the colds of Russia to central New York for a decadent, but now dead, billionaire.
I like having these big-ass windows, but why the fuck is it so goddamn difficult to cover them? I'd rather have just normal-sized windows just so it can be easy.
Now that you've learned such, you can think about that the next time you try to find an apartment/house.
Now that you've learned such, you can think about that the next time you try to find an apartment/house.
Every other place I've ever rented came with window treatments included. In fact, one of the window treatments in Beacon broke, and the landlord came and replaced it.
Every other place I've ever rented came with window treatments included. In fact, one of the window treatments in Beacon broke, and the landlord came and replaced it.
As I said:
Now that you've learned such, you can think about that the next time you try to find an apartment/house.
Now that you've learned such, you can think about that the next time you try to find an apartment/house.
Every other place I've ever rented came with window treatments included.
I like having these big-ass windows, but why the fuck is it so goddamn difficult to cover them? I'd rather have just normal-sized windows just so it can be easy.
You did have a look at this place before you rented it, didn't you? The size of the windows and their lack of adornment didn't come as a surprise, did it?
Now that you've learned such, you can think about that the next time you try to find an apartment/house.
Every other place I've ever rented came with window treatments included. In fact, one of the window treatments in Beacon broke, and the landlord came and replaced it.
Some places do, but many do not. The place we currently rent did not include any blinds or drapes. Our last townhouse included blinds, but blinds are so useless that if I ever rent a place that has them again, I will put up curtains instead.
The size of the windows and their lack of adornment didn't come as a surprise, did it?
This was not a surprise. The difficult of acquiring and installing adornments was the surprise.
Have you tried asking the landlord about window treatments? Are there any holes in the walls around the windows indicating where previous window treatments may have hung?
Have you tried asking the landlord about window treatments? Are there any holes in the walls around the windows indicating where previous window treatments may have hung?
There were no holes. Also, asking the landlord is not as easy as these things usually are because the landlord is a whole company, not just one friendly person.
Have you asked other people in the block of flats what they're doing for window coverings?
I haven't seen many of them. I've met two so far. I met an older (but not elderly) couple who lives on the top floor, they don't speak much English. I also met a cool dude in the elevator once, don't know what floor he's on. Didn't have a chance to ask him about windows, though.
The living room window is 94" wide and 66.5" tall. The three separate windows are 31" wide. The window sill is 11.5" deep, and the windows are 9.5" deep from the wall.
The bedroom is the same as the living room except that it is 77.5" wide in total and each of the two windows are individually 38 and 3/4" wide.
You can either go with tension rods braced between opposite walls of the recessed area, or you can try mounting brackets on the casing just above the actual glass, either magnetically or with strong double-sided tape.
If you can hang them just right, you might get away with 63" tall curtains.
If you can hang them just right, you might get away with 63" tall curtains.
Well, I've already bought some 84" curtains. I think I'm definitely going to hang them, then shorten them. The thing is, the bars I've bought clearly are not going to work. I'll have to return them and get a different sort of bar. I was thinking of a tension rod, but do you really think it will support the weight of four curtains at 94" wide?
EDIT: I found a tension rod online that goes from 50"-90", so that should handle the bedroom. Of course, I won't really know if it will work until I get it and try it out. It might just fall down under the weight. The living room is still an issue, though.
EDIT AGAIN: Apparently they have tension rod "joiners" that allow you to connect multiple tension rods together. This could work, however, the joiner requires being, sigh, screwed into the wall.
I believe you can also find magnetic hooks, so you could give that a shot. Might work better for the living room.
EDIT: I'm pretty sure tension rods will be good enough. I've used them for shower curtains, and while those are generally lighter, they're huge compared to window coverings, so I'm sure it balances out.
It does look as though you could get some hooks and screw them into the "ceiling" part of the recessed window area.
Comments
He really doesn't have a shred of self-insight, does he? He's like the stock cartoon character that's always selfish, unreasonably frustrated about things, and unreasonably critical. Usually that character is portrayed by - you guessed it - an old man.
I don't know why curtains are so expensive... they really are just large pieces of cloth. As far as labor, they are incredibly easy to sew (I am talking about basic modern curtains here, not crazy Gone-with-the-Wind-plantation-like curtains.)
As for hemming curtains, there is a very easy way of doing it that 1) looks nice, 2) is cheap, and 3) doesn't demasculinate men too much. Get iron-on adhesive fabric, or fusible web, from any fabric store (Wal-marts with fabric sections sell it for cheap). Fold the curtain under to the length you want, stick the fusible web inside the fold, and iron it. Voila, hemmed curtains with no pansy sewing.
Attempted to install curtain rods. The wall has metal in it. This makes it incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to install these curtain rods. Might be impossible to install any curtain rod whatsoever. Might have to return rods and curtains and get something else.
I like having these big-ass windows, but why the fuck is it so goddamn difficult to cover them? I'd rather have just normal-sized windows just so it can be easy.
http://www.renovation-headquarters.com/drywall-anchors.htm
Your actually making it harder on yourself in this case Scott. You can also get wood curtain rods at any length you need.
http://www.curtainrodsandbrackets.com/products.cfm
Seriously, you sound like someone who is unable to adapt to anything outside of his sphere of knowledge that is also unwilling to learn new things. We are talking about tings to cover your windows not installing and hanging new windows!
Google has a sibling, it's called YouTube. Why not search it for window treatment ideas?
The living room window is 94" wide and 66.5" tall. The three separate windows are 31" wide. The window sill is 11.5" deep, and the windows are 9.5" deep from the wall.
The bedroom is the same as the living room except that it is 77.5" wide in total and each of the two windows are individually 38 and 3/4" wide.
If you can hang them just right, you might get away with 63" tall curtains.
EDIT: I found a tension rod online that goes from 50"-90", so that should handle the bedroom. Of course, I won't really know if it will work until I get it and try it out. It might just fall down under the weight. The living room is still an issue, though.
EDIT AGAIN: Apparently they have tension rod "joiners" that allow you to connect multiple tension rods together. This could work, however, the joiner requires being, sigh, screwed into the wall.
EDIT: I'm pretty sure tension rods will be good enough. I've used them for shower curtains, and while those are generally lighter, they're huge compared to window coverings, so I'm sure it balances out.
It does look as though you could get some hooks and screw them into the "ceiling" part of the recessed window area.