Curtains, Curtains, Curtains

Sometimes, curtains can be the most problematic part of designing your room and house. You want something that is functional, but, if you're like me, you also want it to flow with the design of a room. Today, I'm going to share some tips and tricks that I have used in designing curtains for my rooms.
First of all, I HATE sewing!!! My mom is really good at it and has made some incredibly beautiful window hangings in the past. But, I'm just not good at it, so I want to be able to make beautiful window hangings without sewing. The above picture is of the bay window in our bedroom. I did not sew any of that!!!! Here's what I did (it's really simple and inexpensive!). I checked the clearance section of cloth material at Wal-Mart in the craft section. I found this beautiful black sheer fabric for only a $1 a yard. I don't recall exactly how many yards it was, but I believe it was around 15. So, about $15. Then, I bought some inexpensive cafe rods, which can be found in the window hangings sections of any store that carries window hangings. They were $3 for the smaller ones and $5 for the big one. Then, with the help of my very gifted mother (warning, this does take two sets of hands), I steamed the material and we hung it up in the way that you see in the picture, swagging it over the now hung cafe rods. Tadaa! We used pins to pin folds in place and help anchor the sheer material to the wall. At the bottom of the material, we tied large knots to give it the ballooning effect. Very simple, and with a little ingenuity, very inexpensive ($23).


Now, sometimes, you will find exactly what you are looking for in already made curtains that you just have to piece together and hang. You will have to pay a little bit more, but it could save you time and stress. Great places to check are Wal-Mart (who just started carrying Better Homes and Gardens products), Target (if you're willing to spend a little extra for some quality), or Bed, Bath and Beyond (use their 20% off coupon!). The ones in the above picture are in my kitchen and were exactly what I had been searching for. I found these at Wal-Mart (they're from the Better Homes and Garden collection). I had to buy the three pieces and then I bought $1.88 curtain rods and hung them as you see in the picture. I used some ribbon that I had to tie the two outside ones as you see to give them a little bit more interest. These are a great option for those of you who are willing to spend a little bit extra and want something simple. It took me about 5 minutes to get them hung. If you want to find a good deal, check the endcaps at Target and the clearance sections at Wal-Mart and Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and you may just find what you were looking for for a lower price! In fact, if you notice the table cloth in the picture, that was a curtain that I found on clearance at Target! I didn't have anywhere to hang it when we moved to our house and I just loved the design of it and it works as our kitchen table cloth! So, don't let the intended purpose of a curtain limit you from using it in a different way! Just be creative.


Which leads me to my last curtain idea for you. This I saw in a Southern Living magazine. Sometimes you are going to have the oddly shaped window that you would have to pay a designer to make curtains for you. The one over my sink is like that. It's too small for any of the premade curtains in stores, but it looks over my neighbor's yard and I wanted a little privacy. So, I bought a very inexpensive wooden cafe rod ($1.88), white linen napkins that were on sale ($4 total), and curtain rings with clips on them ($3.88). I then hung the rod about half way up the window, clipped the napkins to the curtain rings, hung the rings on the rod, and hung the rod up! Max time :$5 minutes. Max money: $10. Much better than paying a designer. And, the fun part is, I can change the napkins out for different colors if I want to.

That's it for curtains for today. If you have any ideas that you would like to share, I still have more windows that need curtains. Please feel free to post it on here!