So do you remember back a few weeks ago when I shared my “vision” for my office/craft room space? Well I have some posts to share this week about how I’ve been making my vision happen..and there’s a lot of DIY in the mix!!
First on the agenda was the curtains. My inspiration was this West Elm Striped Shower Curtain.
While I probably could have swallowed the $39 price for each curtain…the 72″ length wasn’t going to work for me-I’m a huge fan of the “puddled” look for my curtains!
So what’s a blogger to do?
Paint my own!
I ordered a pair of IKEA Vivan curtains on eBay… they are normally $9.99 for TWO panels at IKEA but I paid $20 including shipping due to getting them from a reseller. {Incidentally I’m doing an IKEA roadtrip this week in conjunction with a family vacation-eek!-so excited!}
I then picked up about 4 Grey Valspar paint samples from the local hardware store. (To be completely honest I picked up one paint sample can at first and quickly realized that fabric absorbs paint like crazy and had to quickly run back to the store and get more samples!)
I measured my curtains and divided by seven to determine the stripe thickeness I wanted…it ended up being 14″ for each stripe with my extra long curtains. Being careful to tape OUTSIDE of the lines of the painted portions I used painters tape to mark off my stripes. I was also extra careful to really press and seal the tape to the cloth as I put it down.
Then came the moment of commitment…I won’t lie, I was nervous. Did I just waste $35 in supplies?
What do you think?
I am absolutely 100% in love with them!!! I couldn’t be happier. Yes, before you ask, they are more stiff than normal curtains (I didn’t use fabric medium) but I don’t ever plan on using mine for actual window covering, just for decor so I think it was $35 well spent!
Would you ever paint curtains? Have you tried it before?
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Lindsey says
Oh I def would paint my own curtains! I actually want to do a similar thing for the dining room, but do gold polka dots somehow. We’ll see how that goes! Did you find that buying the paint samples vs a small can of paint was less economical? Just wondering!
Melissa says
I’m not sure if it worked out cheaper Lindsey but it was a fast fix-I usually shop with three little ones in tow so I probably just grabbed them on the go (It was almost 2 years ago!)
Lindsey says
Totally get that! Time is a commodity! Lol
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Rachel Bell says
So creative and well done! Love the look.
-Rachel
Curtain Shop
Kestrel says
Sorry I’m late to the commenting party but I just found you via (what else?) Pinterest.
I have the good fortune of having Ikea 20 minutes away. I’m in Charlotte so it’s really clean and organized (love those Sutherners) as opposed to the one in Eizabeth, NJ. We lived in Manhattan so it was a short jump to get ever but …not safe. Icky, too.
Anyways, I just bought 6 pairs of the Lydia curtains which were $34/pair of 58×108 for my family room. I have enormous windows and super-high ceilings so I’ll use every bit of that length. I ALWAYS make my own curtains because I like a really customized look and the sizes are too difficult to find normally PLUS it’s soooooo much cheaper! One of the times I’ve made a smart move furniture-wise – and there are some real screw-ups too – was having my couch custom made and making its “underwear” out of muslin but a beautiful cotton worn-in apple green and then the fitted slipcover on top is a mushroom color and feels like 100 year old jeans. So I rotate the colors with the seasons and throw new curtains/decorative stuff up so it really does make it seem like a whole different room.
The 3 colors I’m using to make thin-ish stripes horizontally will be spaced every 16″. The lightest stripe is a golden yellow which I am going to add wording onto with a Sharpie. The other colors are apple green and a darker orange atop linen colored drapes. These are my autumn drapes so I’m thinking of sayings and words like leaf, giving thanks, pumpkins, apples, gather, etc.
All of this sounds great but we shall see. I’m using the textile medium so I can wash the panels before they get packed for next year. I hope these come out well because I have some good ideas for winter! 🙂
Melissa Riker says
I’d love to see. Pic of your curtains when you’re finished! Charlotte is my closest IKEA but I’m still over 2 hours away!
Brittany says
This is awesome! I’ve been wanting curtains, but haven’t wanted to pay the steep price for cute ones. Thanks!
Melissa says
You’re so welcome Brittany! I love them-they make me happy every time I walk in the room!
Suzie says
These look GREAT. I’m redoing our living room into a beach themed room & need to do something with the bay window, these might just do the trick. Except the pooling at the bottom. I have dogs & I could just see the Jack Russell napping on them and all the Border Collie’s fur caught up in them!
Melissa says
Ah yes, I’m a huge fan of puddling curtains and I was a little excessive with these since they were in my office which is a pet and kid free zone!!
Bonita says
I love the curtains! How long does it take to dry and do you hang them to dry? It seems they would stick to whatever you were laying them.
Melissa says
Hi Bonita, I painted mine laid out on a disposable plastic drop cloth in my garage. I let them dry a full 24 hours and had no problem with them sticking. Hope that helps!
Lindsey says
These curtains are fabulous! Thanks for sharing!!
I would like to invite you to link up to my linky party, Thrifty Thursday!
You would fit right in and we would love to have you!
appleofmamaseye.blogspot.com
Hope to see you there!
-Lindsey
Melissa says
Thanks Lindsey, I’m making a note in my planner to hop over tomorrow to link up!
melissa says
These are awesome! What a cool idea! Can’t wait to try it!
Melanie{reasons to skip the housework} says
Totally pinning these. I’ve been dying to try striped curtains! I’d love for you to come link this up at my Tuesday Time Out!
Melanie Reasons To Skip The Housework
Marty Walden says
Melissa, you are just rocking the projects! Don’t you ever sleep?!
Joanie Holder says
Your curtains turned out really nice. For thirty five bucks you did good. I love painting on fabric. I always use a medium though and then iron over it the next day to set it and soften it a bit.
Melissa says
You know I couldn’t find fabric medium at my craft store and I was too impatient to wait to order it! I’ll have to try it next time though to see the difference.
Carissa says
i painted mine and i don’t like how they turned out at all! i don’t like the splotchy look–now i’m back to the drawing board. did you notice that same problem with yours?
Melissa says
Mine weren’t splotchy on the front but they were on the back. It worked for me though because they are just hanging there got decor and no one would see the back.
Lucy says
L. O. V. E.
Melissa says
Aw, thanks so much Lucy!!
Ruth says
Your curtains are fabulous.
Ruth
Sarah says
I love this! The nearest IKEA is about 1.5-2 hours from us and I have been mentally planning a trip for weeks. You’ve inspired me to get down there! I’m so glad to have found your lovely blog.
Melissa says
Thanks so much for stopping by! Definitely make the trip to IKEA-there is just so much there!