So the one element of putting together a room that totally stresses me out are window treatments. They're tricky. Am I right? What kind of curtain rod? Blinds? Roman shades? Window panels? Curtain rings? Rod pocket? TOO MANY OPTIONS FOR MY BRAIN TO HANDLE. I know lots of people lose sleep over important things like the health of their loved ones, or their performance at work; well I lose sleep over window treatments. Just kidding, I worry about meaningful things too, like my hair color.
So I have a confession; this was my first attempt at the sliding glass door - after I took down the evil vertical blinds.
Yikes. Cheap sagging curtain rod that had already broken at this point, check. Cheap curtains that hang really boxy and straight, check. Awkwardly located window right next to the sliding glass door that I had no idea what to do with, check. Something had to be done obviously, despite Zach's assesment that this set-up was "fine."
The answer came to me as in epiphany in the form of green curtains - more on that in a minute. First, my secret on budget friendly curtain rods. If you're still with me at this point and you're not my mom; well then we are kindred spirits.
So curtain rods are baller expensive. Especially for a big window like my sliding glass door which is 70 inches in length; the cheapest rods I found for that size were about 50 bucks, and I needed two. Instead this is what you should do if you are a genius like me (i.e. if you are poor like me). You go to the lumber section of Home Depot where they have 1 3/8" wooden poles that they sell for about a dollar a foot. You pick up a pole and have them trim it down to the size you need, then you take it home and spray paint it white like so:
Then you add finials, which I happened to already have and you've got two curtain rods for about 12 bucks; plus the hardware to hang them. And that concludes my tangent on curtain rods.
So, here are the after pictures!
I have a green couch that I bought second-hand from a co-worker and I recently began to despise it. But I bought these curtains that are the same color as the couch to kind of tie the green sofa into the rest of the space and I think it worked! The panels were on sale for 20 bucks each at Pier One. If you can get through all the wicker and weird metal wall sculptures at Pier One, they actually have a lot of cute stuff.
Now I dare you to go find a longer post about curtains.
10 comments:
Uhm, I read this post while SEWING curtains.
Awesome idea!!! I have had the same dilemma as of late, so I too will be patronizing our local Lowe's for curtain rod dowel thingies. Thanks for the inspiring idea. Perfect for us girls that are broke but will not let our houses go ugly!
UH MAZING!!! Erica, seriously I am blown away. And where was this post when I was purchasing my curtain rod at Ikea and felt like I was holding a lance through the checkout, not an easy feat. It looks SO good!!
If you don't mind having to go to a few Ross stores you can get their curtain panels super cheap... mine were $8 a pair! Another good tip for rods... Big Lots! I am kinda embarrassed to admit that but I got a ton of them for a few bucks a piece!
um. big fan of the blog. i LOVE what you've done with your house. it looks great!
question if ya dont mind answering: where'd you get that brown chair? ive been looking around for something similar
thanks!
jack+alli : Thanks! I got the brown chairs at a local furniture store in Mesa, AZ called Octopus Barn. It's on McKellips and Higley.
you have the cutest style! love it.
Those curtains look fantastic. And yes, window treatments are daunting and I never seem to like mine once I go through the rigamarole. Yours look great!
Kindred spirits indeed! Bravo, Erica. You have got some skills.
Uh...could I email you pictures of mi casa and you can consult me on what to do to save my family room???
awesome! thanks!
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