Bedroom Curtains: Complete

Last week I finished hanging up the bedroom curtains. It took me awhile (surprise) in part because I had to spray paint the curtain rod, brackets, and finials. (Oh, look at that. I spray painted the curtain rod back in February. February 10th. Haha.)

They were oil rubbed bronze. That's dark brown. Now they're satin nickel. Just like many other things in my house, including a light fixture and a toilet roll holder. 

Ta-da!

And here's the other, larger window, too. 

From Bed to Window

This weekend my mom helped me make curtains from an Ikea duvet set for my dining room. I can't find the name of the set online. It was queen size and I got it on sale for $19.99. The set included one duvet and two pillowcases. My job was to iron while my mom did the more complex measuring, cutting, and sewing.  

We used the pillowcases to give the duvet a little more length since I like my curtains to reach the floor. My mom had an old sheet that we used to line the backs of the pillowcases to better match the rest of the duvet (it had a front and a back due to the nature of it being a duvet - you have to have somewhere to put the comforter!).

Here's my mom's sewing setup. Fancy!

This is what the finished product looked like. We ended up putting the pillowcase fabric horizontal against the vertical pattern of the main duvet fabric. I was really happy to find this fabric (even though it was in duvet format originally). I couldn't find any affordable fabric or pre-made curtains that I wanted in the dining room (which is connected to the kitchen). But when I saw this set, I knew it was perfect.

My job, once I got the curtains home, was to figure out how to put the curtain rod in the wall. Easier said than done! I found these Pop-Toggle screws at Home Depot that did the trick:

I drilled three holds (for the three curtain rod brackets), pushed the toggles into the holes, and then screwed in the screws by hand with a screwdriver. Not bad. I don't think I'll have to struggle anymore with putting anything into my plaster & lathe walls. That's good news.

As you can see, with the finials, it was a bit of a tight squeeze. 

And the finished results! I ended up putting the horizontal "pillowcase" part at the bottom. It looks better that way, I promise.

I also used clip rings from Lowe's instead of a rod pocket. I like the look. The clip rings were $5.97 per pack with seven rings/pack. I had to buy two.

Style Selections 7-Pack Metal Clip Rings 

It's such a relief to be done with this project. Thanks to my mom for all her help!

Bedroom Curtains, (Almost) Complete

I decided on the curtains! My boyfriend and I stopped by Ikea this weekend and picked them out. He knew right away which ones would look best. I had to see for myself.

The Ikea curtains with the dots looked a lot different in person than I expected. So I narrowed down my choices to the black & white Eivor, which I had already decided I liked based on the website, and the Matilda, which I hadn't noticed on the website. Here are the Matildas:

Ikea Matilda, $24.99 for a two panel pack

Once I got them home I put one up on one side, and one on the other to compare.

I found the Matildas to be too flimsy and see-through. I love the look of the Eivors. I can't really explain it except that most of the furniture in the room is white which really seems to look good against the black and white of the curtains.

I ended up going with the Eivors which rang in at only $14.99 per two pack panel, $10 less than Matilda.

  

The room looks much closer to being complete with this addition. What I haven't told you is that I still have to put up the other curtain rod in the bedroom. I'll save that for another weekend!

Bedroom Curtain Quest

I finally put up one out of two of the curtain rods in the bedroom, so I am on a hunt for curtains. You're probably thinking, oh, lazy! But my walls are made of plaster so putting anything into them is an epic battle.

My quest started at, surprise, Anthropologie. But even their curtains on sale are set at cringe-worthy prices. I do have to credit them with having looooong curtains at a max length of 108". The Colossal Dots curtains below are $198. That's $198 per panel. Let me do the math for you. $198 x 2 windows x 2 panels per window = $792. Ha. Ha.

Colossal Dots Curtain

The curtains below are a measly $208 per panel.

Mod Honeycomb Curtain

Another look I liked was pom-poms along the edges, as in these curtains:

Toorie Curtain

And they are only, ONLY $108 per panel. Ha. Ha. Here's a close-up of the pom-poms:

Luckily we have such a place as Ikea from which we can buy affordable curtains that do not simultaneously delight and frighten us with their beauty and price level. I was imagining buying these plain curtains at $24.99 for a set and sewing some pom-poms on them.

Ikea RITVA Pair of curtains with tie-backs in white

Here are a few of the pom-pom color ideas I found on Etsy:

3 Yards Of The Sweetest Little Pom Pom Fringe In Pink Sunset

3 Yards Of The Sweetest Little Pom Pom Fringe Edging In Seafoam Green

12mm Baby Blue Pom Pom Fringe Sweater Dangle Sew Lace 18 Yards

epic JUMBO pom pom ball fringe in Asparagus GREEN

I'm estimating that I could get the curtains and pom-pom supplies for about $75 for all four curtain panels. I'm also considering these printed curtains from Ikea, which are only $14.99 for a pack of two panels:

Ikea Evior, Pair of Curtains, white/black

I even photoshopped them into my bedroom so I could see what they might look like.

I also found these dot curtains at $29.99 per set at Ikea. I like the polka dots. They remind me of the giant dot curtains from Anthropologie (except in white of course) that I posted very first, above.

Ikea Ninni Figur, Pair of Curtains, white

Now I just have to decide. Oh, and put up the second curtain rod. 

Five Year Old Curtains

The new rental is starting to come together. This week we put up an old Target (from the Global Home line - they don't make it anymore) curtain from my dorm at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. (I was there for a summer for a research program.) Here's the bare window (can you tell it's a rental house?):

And now the window with the curtain:

It looks so much more homey in there now that the window has a curtain. The curtain is cream colored with gold accents. It's sorta hard to tell in the picture due to the lighting. Also, the design on the bedspread matches the curtain's design. It has a Moroccan inspired feel to it.

I really love the blue/green color scheme that just happened by accident. The green pillow and green-topped piano bench look great with my boyfriend's Anthropologie comforter on the bed.

Eventually I want to squish the bed over away from the window a bit so I can fit another nightstand in there. Not having a nightstand is a drag!

I Heart Spray Paint!

What's that I spy down below?

Wait, could it be...

Something to spray paint?!

Absolutely!

I cannot resist the spray paint.

More details to come.

Lenda Hand With These Curtains, Will Ya?

Bad Ikea puns aside, I figured it was high time I talked a little bit about the window curtains in the living room! You can see them in this picture:

They're from Ikea and they're called Lenda. They cost $29.99 for a two pack and include hem tape and tie backs. The tops of the curtains are tabbed and look like this:

I didn't want the living room curtains to look that way, so I just folded under each tab and sewed all the way along the curtains in a straight line. Easy-peasy. I also didn't use the hem tape because I don't own an iron. (Ew, ironing is boring!) So I sewed the hems up too.

Ikea curtains are a pretty stinkin' good deal because they're so long. These curtains come in lengths as long as 118"! The drawbacks are probably what you'd expect - the fabric quality is so-so and there isn't a fantastic choice of designer patterns. You'll mostly find solid colors.

Here is what the curtains look in the daylight:

And here is a better view that includes the curtain rod and tops of the curtains:

The curtain rod is from Target and its color is oil rubbed bronze. I recommend curtains from Ikea because they're cheap, of adequate length for tall ceilings and big windows, and they get the job done! Looking at the picture above makes me realize how badly I need to add art to the walls...the to-do list never ends!