By Jake Slowinski, Co-Publisher
If I am spending thousands of dollars on custom drapery, I have one question that matters more than almost anything else:
What happens if the measurements are wrong?
Not who measured.
Not whose tape measure was used.
Not whether the order form says “custom,” “bespoke” or “made to measure.”
Who pays to fix it?
That is the question.
Because homeowners hear words like “custom” and “made to measure” and assume they mean roughly the same thing.
They do not always.
And the most important difference may have very little to do with the fabric itself.
I talked with Nishan Madawala of Regal Drapes, a drapery workroom in Morristown, New Jersey, about how homeowners should think about that distinction.
His explanation was very straightforward:
“made to measure is generally the onus is on the customer. You measured it, you got it wrong. We made it and that’s it”
That sentence is worth understanding before you place an order.
Made to your measurements is not the same as someone taking responsibility for the finished result.
The label matters less than the risk
Let’s say you need drapes for a large living room window.
You measure the space yourself.
Maybe you are given instructions online. Maybe someone tells you where to measure from. Maybe you measure the existing curtains because that seems easiest.
You submit:
108 inches wide.
96 inches long.
The drapes are made exactly to those specifications.
Then they arrive.
They are two inches too short.
Or the hardware sits higher than you realized.
Or the panels are not wide enough to close properly.
Or they technically fit the window but do not account for the way the hardware actually works.
Now what?
If the arrangement is truly made to measure in the most literal sense, the workroom may have done exactly what it was hired to do.
You provided measurements.
They manufactured to those measurements.
The finished product does not work in your room, but the product itself was made correctly according to the information supplied.
That means you can end up buying it twice.
That is the part I would want to understand before handing over a deposit.
Because the important distinction for a buyer is not:
Is this custom?
The better question is:
Who owns the measurement?
There is a big difference.
The expensive two-inch mistake
Two inches does not sound like a major mistake until you are talking about custom fabric.
Imagine you order drapery that is supposed to skim the floor.
Instead, it stops two inches above it.
You cannot stretch it.
You cannot lower the floor.
And if the hardware was already installed at the correct location, moving the rod down may create an entirely different problem.
So now you are looking at remaking the panels.
That could mean new fabric.
New lining.
New labor.
Potentially new shipping.
Another installation.
And depending on the material, you may not even be able to reuse what was already made.
That is a very expensive way to discover who carried the measurement risk.
The same thing can happen with width.
Maybe the panels close but barely meet in the middle.
Maybe they are supposed to cover an opening at night and leave a gap.
Maybe nobody accounted for fullness.
Maybe the drapes block much more of the window than expected when open.
These are not theoretical details once the order is hanging in your house.
They are the difference between “this looks great” and “we have a problem.”
Who actually measured?
Before ordering, I would want to know exactly how the process works.
Did the homeowner measure?
Did a salesperson measure?
Did an installer measure?
Did the workroom send someone?
Does someone come back and verify those measurements before production?
And most importantly:
Who is responsible if those numbers turn out to be wrong?
That answer should not live in a casual conversation.
Get it in writing.
If someone tells you, “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it,” great.
Ask what “take care of it” actually means.
Do they adjust the existing product?
Do they remake it?
Do you pay for labor?
Do you pay for fabric?
Do you pay shipping?
Is there a fee?
What if the product cannot be altered?
This is one of those situations where a five-minute conversation before ordering can save a lot of arguing afterward.
And I am very pro five-minute conversation over arguing afterward.
“Custom” can describe a lot of things
This is why I would not put too much weight on the word itself.
A product may be custom because you choose the fabric.
It may be custom because it is manufactured to a specific width and length.
It may be custom because the header, lining and hardware are selected for your project.
All of those things can be true.
None of them automatically tells you who absorbs the cost of an incorrect measurement.
That is a separate business policy.
And it is a very important one.
If you are comparing providers, our Custom Drapery Workrooms in New Jersey guide can help you identify workrooms to consider.
Then ask each one the same question.
Do not assume the policies are identical just because the products sound similar.
Compare the risk along with the quote
Homeowners naturally compare prices.
We should.
If one quote is $4,000 and another is $6,000, I want to know why.
Maybe the more expensive quote uses more fabric.
Maybe it includes lining.
Maybe the hardware is different.
Maybe installation is included.
Maybe the construction is different.
The measurement policy belongs in that comparison too.
A lower price can look very different if a measurement error requires the entire order to be purchased again.
That does not mean every workroom needs to absorb every mistake.
It means you should know the terms before you decide.
There is nothing wrong with a made-to-measure model where the customer provides the measurements and accepts the risk.
That can be a perfectly legitimate transaction.
The problem is assuming you bought one type of service when you actually bought another.
So ask.
One company’s answer: Regal Drapes
For clarity, the following policies are Regal Drapes’ stated policies, as described by Nishan Madawala.
Madawala says the policy starts with what happens when something is off: “If there’s a measuring issue, we’ll help make it right, we will alter your drapery at no charge depending on the design and adjustment needed.” He says Regal pays shipping in both directions, at no cost to the client.
He is specific that a mismeasurement is not what triggers a charge. In his account they never have to add fabric because of a mismeasure. The only time they add fabric and charge for it is when the order itself came up short — a panel forgotten, or one width ordered where two were needed — and he says those are now caught before production.
On refunds, he says Regal offers a full refund on every product it manufactures. Regal makes the same claim on its own website.
That is the shape of answer worth asking anyone for: not “do you guarantee it,” but “what exactly happens, and what is the one case where I pay?”
They should be evaluated the same way you would evaluate any other company’s terms: ask for the details, understand what is covered and get the policy in writing before ordering.
The point is not that every workroom follows the same model.
The point is that every homeowner should know the answer before the fabric gets cut.
The question to ask before you buy
There are a lot of questions you can ask when ordering drapery.
What fabric should I use?
How full should the panels be?
What pleat style works in this room?
Do I need blackout lining?
Where should the rod sit?
All good questions.
I would add one more near the top of the list:
If the measurements are wrong and the drapes do not fit, who pays to make it right?
Then get the answer in writing.
Because once someone starts cutting yards and yards of fabric to fit your windows, that is not the moment to discover who eats the mistake.
Jake Slowinski, co-publisher of Garden State Circle, was previously a partner in Regal Drapes. He holds no ownership interest in the company.