True story: When Peter and I first moved in together one of the first things we did was hang the curtains that I brought with me. I hated the curtains to begin with (they had some weird print on them) but Peter was so thrilled to have them because the space looked “homier.” I wish I had a picture of this. Anyway, the curtains were WAYYY too long for the windows, but Peter was so excited that we decided that we would leave them until we had time to hem them. Fast-forward a couple of nights. I woke up to go to the bathroom, my foot got caught on the huge pool of curtains that were laying on the ground, I tripped and pulled the half the curtain rod out of the wall. Peter woke up and immediately asked if I was OK. In the morning he had absolutely no recollection of this happening and wondered why the curtain rod was hanging from the wall.
It was a discouraging moment. We took the rod down and pretended that it never happened. Instead we focused our decorating efforts on the living room. But when Peter bought me my Mongstad, it was painfully obvious that we needed curtains.
(Do you see all those white spots? Those were from the previous owner and then from my aforementioned experience.)
We wanted something that felt airy but could still block out some light if we wanted to sleep in. The first curtains that I found were made of a beautiful white piqued fabric but as Peter quickly pointed out, they wouldn’t block out any sunlight. Then he came up with the brilliant idea to layer a thicker white fabric with my pretty light one. For less than $30 we were out of the store and on our way home.
IKEA’s curtains are great because they come with that special iron on hem. I’m interested in learning to sew but sometimes it’s just nice to do things the simple way. All we had to do was pin each curtain to the desired length.
Then iron an even crease. In my opinion this helps avoid ironing in the hem and then figuring out that you folded the curtain kattywompus. Lay the ironing tape toward the base of the crease, fold the fabric back over, and iron.
After you’ve finished ironing, trim the excess fabric above the crease.
Peter and I then hung both curtains together by alternating loops as we put them on the curtain rod.
Here’s the much more refined after. Yes, I realize that we need to find some matching paint and paint over the little white spots.
(It is easiest to see the pique if you look toward the bottom of the photo.)
I think the curtains add a bit of textural interest and without a doubt make the room look homier. What do you think? Do you like the white or would you have gone airier?
Fantastic!! Your story made a laugh, though – sounds like something that would happen in our house!
Thanks Heather! I’m glad we’re not alone in our craziness. I think I could probably host a circus in our house and Peter wouldn’t remember when he woke up. Crazy boy! Thanks for stopping by!
I think they look great! I especially love that rod you went with.
Thanks! I was worried that the ends of the rod would look too large, but I think it goes well with the structure of the bed.