Custom Made vs Ready-Made - Which Do you Choose?
Window furnishings allow you to present your home in a certain style and fashion, but they also offer a range of benefits in terms of privacy, light and temperature control.
The question is, do you buy ready-made blinds from retailers like Bunnings & Spotlight, and choose to fit them yourself?
or, do you choose custom-made blinds that are made to measure and have them professionally installed?
Well here at Mr Blinds, we’ll hopefully be able to help you with the pro’s and cons of Custom Blinds versus those of a ready-made product and steer you in the right direction!
The pros of custom made blinds.
- Choosing the custom-made route, means you’ll benefit firsthand from personalised advice from an experience blinds professional who can recommend the colour, style and type of blinds product best suited to your room and home.
- The consultant carries with them colour and fabric samples so you can see and feel the textures before making a more confident and informed decision.
- Blinds that are custom made will be manufactured to fit the exact measurements of the window or opening. This just looks clean and more professional, and when your home is your biggest asset, you’ll want this to show by having correctly fitting window treatments.
- Windows of all shapes and sizes can be accounted for.
- They are higher quality and more durable in terms of the materials & componentry used. Some even come with guarantees for installation and materials.
- The installation process is done by qualified and experienced tradespeople so no extra holes drilled in the wall, loose fitting or tracks not being parallel or aligned!
- There is a much wider choice of colours, fabrics, opening and closing options so you’ll be sure to match your personal tastes and preferences.
So what are the cons of custom made blinds?
- Well, you can’t just walk in and take them straight away. So if you cant wait, a ready-made product might be a better option. Here at Mr Blinds, we manufacture all of our products, so can generally work to pretty tight time frames, with most custom made blinds taking about 2 weeks between the time of measure, to the time of installation depending on the type of blinds.
- Custom made blinds are often a more expensive option. Better quality fabrics, more durable components, localised labour and quality installers all mean that the product is going to be the more expensive option of the two.
Now read on to see the pros of ready-made blinds .
- Firstly, if you have your own measurements, you can find a retailer, walk through the doors, choose a colour you like and purchase the product right there and then. If the product is available, it’s a fairly instant process.
- If you consider yourself a bit of a DIY-er, you can follow the supplied instructions and/or a couple of YouTube videos and install the blinds yourself. Meaning, the moment you bring them home, you can have them up in no time.
- Finally, ready-made blinds are generally a cheaper option which may suit your back pocket. If they’re for a room like a children’s playroom, small bathroom window or an investment property where they’ll be potentially exposed to harsh treatment, then a ready-made product may be sufficient.
Here at Mr Blinds, we manufacture, so it’s always worth getting us to offer you a Free measure quote on a custom-made product for you to compare. You might be pleasantly surprised and find our factory direct pricing quite attractive!
Now, with a cheaper ready-made product, generally comes a range of cons. These are the following;
- Unless your window sizes are a fairly sized standard window, you will be limited to the size and style of blinds you can select. And if you’re limited in size and style, you may also have trouble finding a colour to suit your home’s décor. Popular colours sell out fast, which may require you to visit several stores to find the one you like is available.
- Ready-Made blinds will also require someone in your household to install them. And guess what? This process doesn’t come with any guarantees.
- The quality of materials aren’t always up to scratch. Lets not forget that blinds are forever being opened and closed, exposing them to frequent wear and tear, so if the wand or chain breaks, or the fixations fall off the wall, it may force you to be looking for a replacement.
- So remember how we said that ready-made blinds were a cheaper option to begin with? Well you may find yourself having a few regrets from not paying the extra dollars up front to getting a quality custom made product instead.
So there you have it!
We hope we’ve given you a few balanced arguments between custom-made and ready-made blinds.
With over 30 years experience in the blinds industry, we like to offer our customers the best possible advice as to what blinds will best suit their home and situation.
If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch on 08 281 9366 to discuss your window furnishings requirements.
