Hello 2011! No resolutions from me…we were still out of town over New Years so I feel like the yearly start afresh date came and went and I didn’t think much about it. Maybe February will be my New Years. 
Since being back home in M’ssippi, I’ve wrapped up a few projects around the house. The most recent? Our living room curtains!
You probably spied the curtains when I shared my Christmas decorations, but they were only half done. I’m classy like that. Sheets for window coverings for months, then curtain rods hung for a month (no curtains), then only 2 windows with curtains hung,… But they’re now done!
the living room is done!
It just feels so finished now. I love finishing projects!!!
Contrary to how the curtains look, they’re not linen. I did the famous DIY blogger trick of using….drop cloths! Yes, cheapo drop cloths from Home Depot. I did this for a few reasons:
- I wanted to try using drop cloths since I’ve seen it done so many places in blogland (both successfully and not so successfully).
- There are four, yes four, windows in that room. Check out Pottery Barn and the like for how much a 96″ panel costs – and I needed eight! No way I was going to drop $200+/window for curtains. I like $800 in my bank account much better.
- I’m always up for (and sometimes finishing) a new project!
I bought two 9 x 15 ft drop cloths from Home Depot for $19.99 each and was able to make all eight panels out of the two drop cloths! $40 < $800 = Happy Leila.
So my mom tells me, for draw-able and really full curtains, each panel should be 1.5 times the width of the window + trim (so about 5 ft for each of my panels); however, my curtains are more for aesthetics than function, so I made each panel a somewhat anemic 3 ft wide. I felt that doing them much fuller (plus requiring me to take another trip to Home Depot for two more drop cloths, let’s be honest) would just overwhelm the space given how much of each wall the windows alone already cover! What do you think? Are they okay or should I have made them fuller?
curtains hung above the midget chair
My original plan was to gussy up the drop cloths by doing a triple pinch pleat finish on the top. I found a website that claimed “triple pinch pleats in a snap!”, but I first ordered the wrong curtain hooks to go with the curtain tape, then ordered the correct curtain hooks only to realize I originally ordered the wrong curtain tape, etc etc etc. So I returned it all and just sewed basic rectangular curtains, using the clips that are attached to the curtain rings to hang the curtains. Not exactly what I wanted, but they look fine and are DONE!
curtains hung above the sofa
I decided to buy a bay window hardware set from CountryCurtains.com: the Sheffield style with small ball finials, all in the antique brass finish. I LOVE them. They look much more expensive than they were and were easy to install and are pretty sturdy. For the bay window set, the 4th window, the finials, and seven sets of curtain rings, the total was around $230, which is pretty good for four windows worth of brass hardware.
I love how the bay window hardware turned out! – it makes the room feel really cohesive and finished.
the bay window curtains
I don’t have a tutorial for you, because it was basically just cutting the fabric the right size, ironing forever and hemming the unfinished edges! I highly recommend that you wash the drop cloths before sewing, as they have a funky smell, shrink quite a bit in the wash, and are a lot softer once washed.
So there you have it, my finished curtains! Have any of you ever made curtains out of drop cloths? I’d love to see your projects! – leave a link in your comment!
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice work! I love the look of really full curtains, but I don’t mind yours at all. I think they’re fine if you don’t need to draw them closed.
I too like the look of really, really full curtains. Great job and even better in the savings department.
These look excellent! I have a similar predicament in my home because the windows are 108″ high, plus we can’t mount into the windows because its a rental, so its either tension rods or mounting to the drywall above. So basically, I have to do custom if I want window treatments. It gets expensive quickly! I have seen burlap fabric turned into window treatments, but its a little too rustic for my home. I will have to go look at the drop cloths at Home Depot and see if any strike my fancy!
Quick question… I’ve purchased drop cloths in the past for painting purposes and sometimes I’ve noticed that there are small discolorations in the material. Did you run across that at all with the drop cloths that you purchased? Also, did you line your curtains?
Thanks for all the inspiration! I love reading your blog and keeping up with your remodel!
Thanks Elizabeth! Tall ceilings are both a blessing and a curse, aren’t they?
To answer your question, there are definitely little discolorations in the fabric – more like the threads have nubs of brown, blue or pink. The discolorations didn’t bother me enough to dissuade me from drop cloths though…I was pretty desperate for a cheap option to just get the project done! I’ll also mention that there were occasionally parts of the drop cloths where the fabric had pulls; I just tried not to use them where possible.
I didn’t line the curtains; had I sewn them with the intent of actually drawing them closed, I definitely would have lined them, but it wasn’t worth the effort to me! Drapery lining is pretty cheap at the fabric store, so it’s worth it if you plan to close your curtains!
Thanks for the kind words – I am totally slacking on the “after” pics of the reno…more to come!
Those look great! I feel like more fullness would be more proportionate to the height of the windows, but you did a great job.
Your living room looks fabulous!! and thanks for the tip on your bay window hardware – I have a super funky window in my breakfast room and I’d love to add curtains – maybe they’ll have something that will work.
Thanks, Liz! Totally check out the curtain rods – I hope they work out for you!
I’m going to tell the older son about the drop cloth use and he’ll get a kick out of that. You did a great job and they look FABULOUS! You did them just right as they fit the room perfectly. It all goes together and looks like a great magazine spread! Keep going strong.
Thanks Nancy! E probably will shake his head. I wish I had some mint chocolate cookies to spur me on as I worked on this project!
I love how it turned out! They look fabulous! I tried to do that in my guest room. I purchased the drop clothes from THD, but they had some plastic lining on the opposite side. I thought I purchased the wrong ones. II did notice a weird smell to the ones I purchased, but I figured it was due to the plastic. I didn’t think to wash them. Prhaps, I will have to return to THD and see if they have unlined drop clothes for me to use.
Thanks again for the post. And again, the room looks stunning! Bravo!
Thanks so much, Liz! The drop cloths I got were just the basic cloth cheapies…they didn’t have any plastic, but I’m not surprised that HD carries plastic-lined drop cloths. Best of luck on your next go-around!
It looks awesome! I love how your home is coming together. The triple pleat thing scares me, so I’ve always gone with basic rectangular ones. I don’t blame you for doing the same!
Thanks! I thought this would be my opportunity to truly figure out the triple pinch pleat, but alas, I threw my hands up in the air and gave up. Maybe next time.
LOVE the way this project came out! Basically I love everything about your house so far, you’ve done an amazing job! Although (and dont hate me for this) I might have to agree with your mom, I think maybe adding a little more fullness to each panel might make the scale of them go better with the height of the ceilings. Maybe try photoshopping fuller curtains from these pics just to see before you do anything. Then again they are only $40, you cant beat that price
PS- I’m obsessed with that curtain rod! I wish my bay window had flat walls like yours, but its a curved bay window, talk about a pain in the BUTT for curtain rods haha
No hate! I think you guys are right – I should have made the curtains fuller! If I get some free time and motivation I may remedy the wimpy-ness. The windows are so dang high and huge!
And thanks for the kind words – I’m blushing.
PPS- I mean BUT, not BUTT- hahaha sorry for that slip
LOVE how your curtains turned out! And thanks so much for the link to the bay window hardware–I was in need for an affordable source for this. My next project is my LR with a big boxy bay. So your link just might get me going to get started on it!
I just found your blog after clicking around and love your decorating style. I do have a question though -Did you paint your ceiling fan, or was it already white? I ask because it looks very similar to fans my parents have in their home that are a brass color and they are NOT appealing to look at. If so, did you post about it because I couldn’t find anything in the search. Thanks!
Hi Kristin! Thanks so much! Actually, we installed the fan new. It is the generic white 52″ Harbor Breeze fan from Lowes – only ~$40. I’m sure that you could spraypaint your parents’ fan though; I’d remove it from the ceiling and disassemble the parts for even coverage. Happy spraypainting!
While around 40 bucks a pop isnt bad, I guess it would be cheaper to spray paint since we have a few! Since I don’t have my own house to paint around, I always try to do these little projects at their house, heh
Thanks for the suggestion!
Wow, this is a great idea! Thanks for the inspiration. My husband and I live in a 100+ year old shotgun in New Orleans, and our front room has 6 huge windows. For two years we have been living with cheap paper drapes from Wal Mart because I would have a panic attack each time I thought about how much I would have to spend on proper window treatments. I’m heading to Home Depot this weekend!
I hear ya!!! I couldn’t stomach the idea of spending so much on our windows!!! I actually purchased blackout roller blinds from IKEA, and they were the perfect width and length for our oversized windows. Then adding the drop cloth for finishing touches – perfect and cheap. I hope you have success on your own project!
I wanted to ask you about the roller shades, but I forgot in my first e-mail…I was too excited about the drop cloth drapes.
Are your roller shades cloth? I have an ancient roller shade in my bathroom (hasn’t been renovated yet), but it’s not as attactive as yours! It’s plastic and pretty gnarly. I found cloth shades on country curtain’s website and they look great.
The roller blinds I got were from IKEA. They’re the blackout versions called TUPPLUR. They’re fabric on the front and vinyl on the back. It comes in a variety of widths, and all are 77″ long. I got the 32″ wide versions and they were only $19.99 a pop. We had some trim on the windows that I had to rout out so they’d fit, but it worked out well for us! Even if a width isn’t perfect for you, you can saw the metal roller and cut the width of the panel. A pain, but doable! My only beef with them is the cheap cord (it’s like little plastic balls), but for $19.99 I can overlook it.
OH – and the fact that they don’t sell the TUPPLURs online…I had to drive 5.5 hours to Dallas to purchase! I hope you live closer to an IKEA than I do! 
The closest IKEA is in Houston, so that’s at least a 6 hour haul. Thankfully, New Orleans is home to a FANTASTIC delivery service called Blue Bag. They drive to Houston and shop for you and deliver it to your door for a very reasonable fee. You should definately check it out. I’ve heard a rumor that they have expanded into Mississippi.
http://www.lovebluebag.com/
Thanks again for the inspiration. I also wanted to tell you that I passed your blog onto a close friend that is a Vicksburg, Mississippi gal. Her parents just finished a huge restoration project in the downtown area. They had been restoring an old victorian for years and just recently moved in.
I hopped over from a link you shared on My friend Laura Casey’s blog and am so impressed with your economical DIY curtains! I finally bit the bullet and went with custom in my front two rooms and nearly choked on the price. I’m loving the sound of drop cloth more and more!
I do think fuller would be nice someday for you, but don’t beat yourself up about it. What you’ve done to cozy up the room is wonderful!
Blessings,
Linsey
Welcome Linsey! Laura’s blog is great – and so is yours! Thanks so much for stopping by and for your kind words.
Hi! I just stumbled across your blog from another blog I read… and this is great! I actually have drop cloths as curtains in almost every room of our house! I would love to send you some pictures but I don’t have a blog myself. I can’t wait to share! Yours look great! And I just ordered your curtain rods, so thank you for the inspiration!! –Lindsey
That shopping service is GENIUS! I’ll have to look into it for sure – I love Dallas and all, but it sure is a commitment just to go to IKEA.
I think I know who your friend’s parents are! And I think I know just the house. I’ve been dying to see what they’ve done as I do slow drive-bys to see the progress. I’ll message you separately to see if I’m right!