How far in advance should I order window treatments for a NYC renovation?

Start ordering window treatments 8–12 weeks before your renovation wraps. This timeline accounts for custom fabrication, building access constraints, and the reality that most NYC renovations slip by 4–6 weeks. Waiting until the last minute is how you end up living with bare windows in a $2M apartment while your shades are still in our Brooklyn workshop.

Why 8–12 weeks isn't negotiable

Custom drapery and Roman shades require 6–8 weeks of fabrication alone. That's not padding—that's the time our in-house Brooklyn team needs to source fabric, cut, sew, line, and finish your treatments to spec. Add 2 weeks for design consultations, fabric selection, and measurement refinements, and you're already at ten weeks before installation. In Manhattan co-ops and Brooklyn Heights townhouses, you also need to factor in board approval timelines for any structural work (like motorized shade installation), which can add another 2–3 weeks. The Hamptons adds another 1–2 weeks for fabrication if you want rush service.

If you order eight weeks out and your contractor delays by six weeks—common in NYC—you'll still have your treatments ready when the walls are painted and the electrician is gone. If you order four weeks out, you're begging us for a rush fee and praying nothing delays on our end.

From our experience: The worst-case scenario we see is clients who wait until drywall is finished to order. That's week 12 of a 16-week timeline. We've had to turn down emergency orders because our fabrication calendar was full.

— Glamour Decorating, from 30 years of NYC installs

Building access and installation logistics

NYC buildings add their own friction. If you're in a Manhattan co-op or condo, the building may require advance notice for installation crews, insurance certificates, and building access windows. Most buildings want 48–72 hours notice, and many have restricted hours (9 AM to 3 PM, Monday–Friday only). In older buildings like those in Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo, elevator access may be limited, and narrow staircases mean larger installations have to be hand-carried. If your building requires a superintendent sign-off or has a waiting list for maintenance appointments, that's another 1–2 weeks.

Motorized shades from Somfy require hardwired electrical work. Your electrician needs to schedule that separately, and many are booked 3–4 weeks out during renovation season. Ordering treatments without coordinating electrical timelines is a recipe for missed deadlines.

From our experience: We once had a Manhattan penthouse renovation where the building wouldn't permit installation until all drywall was sealed. That was a two-week delay no one anticipated. The client had ordered 10 weeks out, so we still delivered on time. The client next door ordered 5 weeks out and lived with paper towels as curtains for three months.

— Glamour Decorating, from 30 years of NYC installs

Fabric and material lead times

If you're specifying a fabric that isn't in stock—which is likely if you want something refined—add 2–3 weeks to the timeline. Premium linens, custom colorways, and European weaves ship from mills with their own schedules. For woven wood shades and Phantom Screens, lead times vary by supplier and complexity. A motorized Somfy system with a custom control integration might add another week. Long Island and Connecticut clients often choose locally sourced materials, which actually shortens timelines compared to sourcing from overseas mills.

The renovation schedule reality check

Most NYC renovations slip by 30–40%. A project scheduled to finish in 16 weeks often wraps in 22. This is why ordering 8–12 weeks out matters: it builds in buffer. If you order at week 4, expecting the project to finish at week 16, and it actually finishes at week 22, your treatments won't arrive until week 20–22 (accounting for fabrication time). If you'd ordered at week 4 (which is 12 weeks before week 16), your treatments show up at week 10–12, ready and waiting.

Coordinate your order timeline with your contractor and designer. Ask directly: when will the walls be painted, the electrician done, and the final walkthrough scheduled? Then order 12 weeks before that date, not 12 weeks before the original contract date.

Measuring and design timeline

Before you can order anything, measurements have to be taken. In an active renovation, this is tricky—walls shift, window frames are being finished, and your contractor might not appreciate the interruption. We typically measure once drywall is finished and primed, but before final paint. That usually happens 3–4 weeks before the contractor's expected finish date. Plan for an in-home consultation at our Manhattan showroom or a site visit in your space. This takes 1–2 weeks to schedule and complete.

If you're choosing motorized shades, that requires an electrician present or at least a preliminary site survey to plan wiring routes. Budget another week for that coordination.

What happens if you're already behind

If your renovation is already underway and you haven't ordered treatments yet, there are options. We offer rush fabrication (add 20–30% to cost and reduce lead time to 4–5 weeks), which works if your renovation is finishing in 6–8 weeks. For Somfy motorized shades and Roman shades, the shorter timeline is more feasible than for full custom drapery. Woven wood shades have longer lead times and are less flexible for rushing.

For Hamptons or Connecticut projects, rush service can mean jumping the queue with our suppliers, but it's expensive and isn't guaranteed if multiple clients are rushing simultaneously. Don't rely on it as a strategy.