Our Living Room Curtain Makeover (Part 1)

Several years ago when we first moved in our house, the “back room” (as it was not-so-fondly called) was the most problematic room in our house. It had shipboard linoleum floors, dark wooden walls that blended into equally dark and heavy built-in shelving, fluorescent-lit window valances (yep, you read that correctly), and the heaviest, most-allergy provoking drapes you have ever encountered. The day we removed the drapes and valance, the weight of the wood and fabric got the best of me and as they fell to my feet, I was engulfed in a poof of dust that included, but was not limited to the following contents: dog hair, smoke, and a graveyard of dust-bunnies that had disintegrated into tiny grey particles. It was a bad day. 

Fortunately, after a thorough cleaning, four different shades of paint on the wall, painted woodwork, carpeting, and new curtains, the room has become our favorite, most-beloved room in the house. It’s the room we spend all of our time in, a room that begs to be lounged in. The living room has been through several updates and transformations over the last eight years. Some of them have made us proud, and others have just helped us get by. The curtain situation definitely falls into the latter category. 

Currently, our curtains look like this:

They are definitely a little short, and a little sparse.  Note Ayla watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade on her beanbag; I tried to get her to pose for the shot but it was like talking to an oak tree.

Our curtains are impossible to fully close, because they don’t quite fill up the windows they are meant to cover. This was the result of poor workmanship on my part, and terrible shrinkage in the washer and dryer.They started out filling the windows, and were even a bit billowy, but upon first wash, they pretty much looked like this and we’ve just sort of ignored them.

Here’s what Ayla thinks about that:
 

Despite all our curtains’ problems, there is one thing we love about them. They are light and airy, and filter the morning light beautifully. 

But when the folks at Fabric Direct got in touch and offered to help us do some fun fabric projects this season, we jumped at the chance to try to make new ones. Tomorrow, I’ll show you what we decided to do and how we went about it, so stay tuned!

(Hint: it involved a lot of this thing)