108" or at least enough length for floor to ceiling plus a little puddling on the floor
chocolate brown
blackout curtains
linen or brushed silk
anything but grommets for the hooks
white painted wood curtain rod
And here's what I ended up with:
108" - sooooo hard to find, btw
white opaque curtains with chocolate sheers
not blackout
white canvas, brown linen
pole pocket top
chocolate brown wood curtain rod
I think it turned out OK, but I will definitely be pickier with my next curtain purchase for the house. Honestly, I just got tired of looking at store after store and finding nothing! Everyone seems to only carry 7 foot drapes, but I've always heard on design shows and such that if you want your space to look and feel taller/bigger, you should hang them from floor to ceiling. Our master bedroom is not all that large but it has great height, so I thought it was important to play on that.
The other thing that threw me was budget. I only reserved $150 for drapes and rods. Call me naive. The ones that I really wanted were $500 per drape. There was no way I was going to double my entire room's budget for curtains, but compromise is suuuuuuch a dirty word. After two weeks of searching with no luck, I finally surrendered and went with something else but I still went over budget. I spent a total of $285 including the rods (which is GREAT compared to a lot of stuff out there). It's just fabric, though! Why is it so dern expensive?!
One thing that I DID love in the end was the curtain rods. They are sleek, not too modern, and a perfect contrast to the white canvas. Finials are sooooo gaudy normally, but I love the simplicity of these.
OK so I have a question for you - how do you iron your curtains? We don't have a steamer and the instructions say low iron...but a low iron does nothing. I'd love to know what all you curtain experts out there are doing!
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Daniel and I had the same issues trying to find drapes for baby girl's room....and couldn't find ANYTHING. so we bought some fabric we had fallen in love with...and made our own. cost us next to nothing.... and we have now learned to sew. :) actually, Daniel has learned to sew....
ReplyDeleteWhoa, good for Daniel! Seriously, that's an amazing feet. I looked for fabric but even then my pickiness wasn't satisfied for less than $50 a yard. I may have a problem! ;)
ReplyDeletewe bought an older home so all my windows were odd sizes and lengths so curtains were really tough for me too. i have a friend that made them for me. i found a wonderful fabric that i loved and rods that i felt looked modern and really complimentary to our style of house. i ended up spending about 300 total. if i were to have tried to buy curtains for my windows it would have been around 800! making my curtains saved me a lot of money. let me know if you want to see pictures they came out really pretty.
ReplyDeleteFor the fabrics you have - I'm assuming they're cotton or cotton blend... linen and canvas... you're right, a low iron won't do anything. knock it up to at least medium (I find that high heat works best on cotton) and use a spray bottle with a little water in it. That'll help. Just don't leave the iron sitting on it or anything, especially on the white.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you're feeling adventurous, curtains are a pretty good place to start learning to sew - just rectangles. I just finished the ones for our nursery too. But dang, maybe not if your fabric is $50 a yard. What kind of fabric were you looking at??? :)
Hey Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI'd LOVE to see pics! Just send them to rachelshouseblog@gmail.com. I'm looking to save a bit of money when I start the great room. We have 9 windows in that one room including our french doors, so any little bit would help.
Hi Rebecca!
ReplyDeleteI really really really want to learn to sew, but still need to buy a sewing machine. And, yes. My taste in fabric is a little...above my budget. Have I mentioned that I'm picky? ;)
Go get a steamer (a Tobi)! They always have a good deal at Sam's Club. Best purchase you will ever make. I never use my iron anymore.
ReplyDeleteI love the curtain rods you found! They're so simple and elegant. I'm VERY picky too, but it's worth it to hold out for what you want (or what comes closest to what you want). It took me over a year to put together my bedroom when I redecorated, but I was so happy with everything when it turned out. Maybe you could find curtains or linens on ebay or overstock? I got $400 silk bedding from Bed, Bath, and Beyond on ebay for $50!
ReplyDeleteI'll take some close up pics for you and email them :)
ReplyDeleteHey Courtney, thanks for the steamer brand suggestion! We've thought about it a few times, but I think we're gonna just bite the bullet and do it. :)
ReplyDeleteHey Lindsay! Thanks, we looked forEVER for good curtain rods. I actually checked ebay and overstock, but found nothing. It's good to hear that someone else out there is picky too! We might take longer to decorate, but our houses will be cuter in the end for it. ;)
ReplyDelete