Measure once, drill 8 times.

And you showed them you could do it not just once, but seven times! Good work, carry on!

Nailed it! First try.

"If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy." -- Red Green

Speed holes. They make the house go faster.

careful, those are load-bearing post-it notes

You need to get a stud finder. Mostly so you can point it at yourself and say, "Hey, look! I found a stud!". Also because they're handy when you need to locate a structural stud within a wall.

I’ve never hung curtains anything less than perfectly level, but I always struggle with the height and width. Aesthetics for curtains are weirdly challenging

You can be honest. You hung it perfectly multiple times and were then told it wasn't where they told you to put it (but it was). The last time was when they finally accepted it, and it's not perfect like before, but it's up, and you're done.

TL;DR... Basically if you have correctly measured where things need to be but it's old/weak plaster/wall covering and there's a big void between plaster and wall, then go out and buy a timber batten and attach that to the studs above the reveal. Then attach brackets to that.
If the wall is strong, or newer plasterboard, then using the correct fixings is all you need.

Long version:
I used to fit curtain poles and, well, wow ... where do I start?

Ok, usually there's about 100 to 150mm (4-6 inch) from the window side reveals to the brackets. And about 75 to 100mm from the window top reveal to the curtain pole.

The eyelet of the curtain should be over the bracket, covering it. And using it to anchor when you close the curtains.
There should be about 50mm (2 inch) of curtain pole showing beyond the bracket to the finial. This is to allow different curtains to be used, you'll get away with how you've done it with those eyelet curtains, but if you ever change to something like tag tops etc you'll probably need to re-do the brackets.

Fitment:
There are two basic ways. Attaching directly, like you've done. Or adding a wooden batten to the wall above the window reveal and screwing everything to that.
The wooden batten route is the far, far stronger method because you can attach the batten to the timber studs/blockwork all along the above part of the window reveal.
Going directly looks a bit 'cleaner' but is weaker. Now with that said if you use the correct fasteners and screws then that's usually more than good enough. However the usual wall plugs are usually not the best thing to use. With newer plasterboard then using good quality 7mm plugs will be great.
For older plasterboard, or lath and plaster type walls then even using great quality wall plugs may not last that long. So if you can't drill in to the wall behind said plaster work to get a good hold with the screws then go with the batten method.

There are other methods. Such as acrylic resin chemical fixing, which is basically fast drying 'concrete' in a tube that can be squeezed in to brickwork holes etc. But this is only for the most unusual jobs due to the expense and tools needed.

Ah. The old adage, measure once, cut eight times.

My wife just ordered some new curtains and poles about two minutes ago, and I’ve used it as an excuse to buy a laser level. Finding this post a few seconds later is surely a good sign.

Would be so satisfying to spread some spackle over all that

Reminds me of all those times my drill couldn't penetrate deep enough for the screws to fit and I had to try a new position.

My god this hits home.

I’ve even had a situation where she wants it in a certain place but there isn’t anything there to drill into because of all the previous holes. So I’d drill a huge hole, fill it with a short piece of a fat dowel that I glue in, wait several hours, get the Drydex to fill the gaps, wait another hour, match the wall paint, wait another hour and then finally be able to hang the fucking curtain. Of course she wants it in a different place after I’ve done all this….. 😔

Easy to fix. Wall is white. Get some wall filler and water based paint. Nobody will ever notice. It will stay your secret that only you (and us, hehe) know.

Nothing a little spackle can’t fully handle.

Nothing wrong with hanging a curtain and changing your mind once you see it.

My kids aren’t reasonable so all mine are secured strongly enough to hold about 110 pounds

Just use a few more post-it notes to hide the additional holes!

The holes just shows everyone how dedicated you are to your work

So couple of points of confusion I'm seeing in this picture and comments below,

1. a wall stud (2x4) is 1-1/2 inch wide, most builders use the cheaper sheetrock which is 3/8inch. A post-it is about 3 inches meaning those first marks/holes are at about 2 inches which is just barely past the window stud (1-7/8inch). Looks like you successfully found the next stud though. Fyi, those drywall fasteners that expand are more than enough to hold a curtain/rod and would probably fit into those previous holes if you want to move everything.

2. A curtain being aesthetically pleasing is it's 2nd job. Historically, it's primary reason for existence is temperature regulation. A curtain should tuck against the wall on the sides and reach all the way to the floor to stop cold air from escaping. You can have the best of both worlds with a cheaper "to the wall" rod underneath your decorative setup (like 3$).

3. You should be technically measuring, then purchasing the curtain for it's intended length dependent on the style you want (from floor to ceiling is considered more "grand"). It's not mandatory though as you can adjust the rod height and also the curtain length with simple hemming like with "iron-on stitching".

Hey, cool wall hole collection. Can I show my wife so I can start one? (also I almost chose those curtain rods, good choice. We went with the knots)

Also let me scare you: peacock blue

I should post my partially finished curtain rod project tomorrow

The wall is bleeeeeeding!

I see you know the trick - it's a lot easier to drill a bunch of random holes, use the ones that work, and then fill in the ones you didn't.

wife and aunt out while my brother and I try to figure out this couch. We figure it must come apart. Spend a lot of time trying to dissemble it in a ton of different ways unsuccessfully when we find that the feet basically hide some screws. I say to my brother. Boy I wish we would have done that first. His reply. As far as the women folk are concerned. We did!

I love me some good wall holes. Perfect places to store things

It’s mainly about airflow see theses holes add extra 02 to the ac unit. It burns twice as fast

@Aeaocurtains are the worst

They might a had a point.