colours are so very personal so best of luck

Hi. Since you are on a tight timeline, you could visit a few curtain suppliers and look through all of their samples until you and your daughter find the fabrics that best suit you. IF you can get someone to visit you NOW and bring lots of different fabric sample books, that's even better as their advise and knowledge about fabric availability and installation dates would need to be confirmed.

The biggest issue as I see it is that whoever you choose needs access to the apartment to measure accurately so you are not stuck with curtains you paid for but don't fit correctly.

Also, inform the curtain supplier you have already met with that you want to see more fabric sample books. The more information you are able to provide her, the more likely you will see something you and your daughter love.

East facing means morning light and summer heat so insulate well and block out backings to let you sleep in some mornings. All the best '

If they are simply going to be sheers, and not essential for when you are first living in your apartment, why not take your time choosing and get them early next year? Carpenters say "measure twice, cut once". I'd be cautious in a similar spirit. Check measurements, heights, widths, drops. Get large fabric samples and hold up differing lengths and weights of fabrics on site in differing light conditions.

Given everything you say and the fact that you're not furnishing completely from scratch, in bedrooms I prefer curtains which match my walls and make the room look larger. As bed linens are replaced more frequently than curtains or blinds, additional colours will come that way and with other bits and pieces. It's hard getting what you want, I find, as you need to look at a lot of samples and do not trust the colour sense of your curtain maker until it is proven that they really understand what you want. They cost a lot and you live with them for a long time.

Bambi, are all windows floor to ceiling? Have you decided on style of curtain, pleats, etc?

hi Bambi I can see that the fabric in the photo is Stallion which we use a lot and will be a good choice irrespective of the price IMHO. I don't think it will look 'cheap'. The problem is that it usually takes about 2-3 weeks from order for a workroom to make the curtains so we are coming into cut off dates for before Christmas delivery now. most workrooms are then closed for a lot of January and of course forget it between Christmas and new Year.

Roller blinds are quicker to make and you could possibly get those done and installed in bedrooms if you needed them before Christmas for blockout.

Curtains are quite a significant investment so I would not rush. I work in the industry and would consider $25 per metre to be on the lower side of prices per metre but I believe it is possible to do something great on any budget.

a good colour consultant will be able to find the right paint to go with existing curtains so I wouldn't worry too much about picking a paint colour now. what is great is that you are not going for a boring neutral! love it!. for sheers Nettex design Cloud is quite a thick weave sheer but they have just recently come out with some great new colours and they are pretty budget friendly. Don't rush. if you have to stick some blankets up for a while just do that and get a better long term result with your textile choices

look at block out blinds and sheer drapes. blinds in the reveal can be very discreet and block out well. then you can have lovely fabric in your drapes. yes you would lose up to about 25cm with a double S fold track. we usually do knife pleat on the drape closest to the window to take up a bit less room

S-fold will look fabulous in your living room. We have one w/blockout lining covering the sliding glass doors in our theatre room, which faces north.

This is an interesting pleat.

I just noticed three of your rooms face east and wondered if part of the window covering solution might be to get film on those windows? We did that on our east facing bedrooms and found it made a considerable difference for summer, as you could open curtains rather than trying to keep all sun and heat out. It's helped in winter too, although we have heavy blockout curtains and pelmets too.

That blue is gorgeous. I had not heard of Bleeker pleat either. In fact, I'm amazed at how many different pleats there are!

yes. stallion looks like it is in a sample hanger with all or most of the various colours available. your other photo with the 6 or so swatches looks like all warwick samples. The Bleecker pleat does look interesting. I haven't seen it in Australia. Just remember any 'different' headings will substantially increase your making cost. Making cost is usually not unreasonable in Australia in my opinion as we have regulated wages etc. so making will change depending on how much labour will be involved. the most 'flexible' cost with curtains is your fabric as fabric cost can have a very wide range as you have no doubt discovered. but the making cost is the same whether the fabric cost $25 per metre or $250. the labour is the same.