Okay so it wouldn't be terrible then.

I'm just rubbish at this. I'm now thinking of vertical blinds on the big windows.

You're not rubbish
At the minute I have no curtains on either,just blinds.Awaiting delivery of the patio door pair Summer time I wouldn't care but do like them up in the winter,lovely and cosy when their pulled over

How can you possibly be rubbish at it.

Its your choice what do you want? I must admit I like the long curtains to the one window in the winter as it makes it feel warm and cosy.

I have the same set up in my lounge, patio doors at the front, and around in the L-shape I have another set of patio doors into the conservatory. I've got louvre blinds on both. I've got curtains on both too, but they're not the same, but because the room is l shaped I can get away with it, you don't see both together kind of thing I also have a side window which I've curtained in the same as the front patio doors. The pair at the back are just plain, light cream (cos I got them cheap when Dunelms first opened, like £6 for a 90"x90" that should have been £90!!!! ) At the front and side I've gone for a dark mink chocolaty kind of colour, but again plain. I like curtains and blinds at a big window like this cos it keeps in the heat in winter when they're pulled.

If you're going to have different, in the same room, as long as you have a light plain in one, which has a colour from the other pair you should get away with it, and anyways, as Pat said, it's your house you can do what you like just as I have lol!

What's the colouring of the 2 pairs then Linda?

I can't believe all this trouble you're having with their curtains, they ought to compensate you Marked curtains are classed as 2nd, which is the ones I buy when they have their sales.

I am not very adventurous with colours and designs, preferring neutral colours and fairly plain designs throughout my home. Not knowing the distance between your front window at one end and patio door/window at the other, I could not tell you what to do.

I only know what I would do and what I would feel comfortable with, and that is to have the same, matching curtains at both ends.

But that is just me so I would do what you feel most comfortable with.

As for all those new curtains you have bought and had to return because they were marked, feh. That is Not Good.

Thanks for your thoughts ladies.

Oh I feel a bit dim now. We looked at them again in the daylight and it's not as bad as we thought and you can't even see it in some lights. I'm not even sure if it's dirt or down to the fabric. Were we imagining it? We're going to keep them because if we are struggling to find the 'mark', we'd never be able to show them in the shop.

How do you get marks out of curtains though? It says a 30 degree wash but I can't see that achieving much if they get a bit grubby. Maybe white wine vinegar - is that good for stains?

I must have been mad going for cream with a dog and two kids.

The worst thing about cream with dogs, is the hairs they leave on them I found, rather than any dirt. I only ever wash curtains in the summertime when I can hang them out and hang them back up half damp, so that they don't need ironing that way. I'd be loathe to put curtains in the tumble dryer Linda, unless you have a very "gentle" setting perhaps, but even then, it could shrink the linings even if it doesn't shrink the curtain itself and you could end up worse.

What about spraying on some of that Vanish and just wiping with a damp cloth the bit that you think is stained? Problem with that sometimes is, the mark kind of spreads itself around (yes, I have had experience lol!). Can't you put the marked bit to the curtain ends either side so that even when you draw them, you won't be actually drawing that marked bit? White wine vinegar is good for cleaning dentures, but don't know about curtains lol!

Sounds to me like only you who knows it's there, but then that's bad enough I know. I'm sure Loki at one stage will end up making a few other marks on them either with his chops or tail leaving hairy marks, so why worry? I've got cream and they've stayed that colour, but that's because they're always hooked back, I never actually use them, because I've got the louvre blinds into that conservatory. Since we've lived here, I've never used the front curtains either, I've only ever closed the vertical blinds there, but now that I've got the new thermal blackouts up at the front, I do close them at night to keep in the warmth now.

Curtains can dramatically change any room, and I'm sure yours make the room look lovely now. Did you look at any of the Paul Simon ones, cos they have some nice ones now and then?

At my other house I had very dark, black and brown curtains and it wasn't until we were leaving and I wanted to give them a wash, that I noticed just how bad they were at the bottom end black hairs, white hairs, sable hair, slobber, with 2 dogs going through those patio doors lol!