Monday, August 13, 2012

We FINALLY Have Curtains!!

I am SO excited to finally show you the curtains I made for our master bedroom!  I've had this all planned out in my head for forever, but it just took me a really long time to actually pull it all together.

Remember a few weeks ago I showed you this picture as a sneak peak of an upcoming project?  I shared the rustic sign that I made with some of the wood, but revealed that there was more to do be done with the rest.


Well, the other two pieces were for this area.


This barren and oh-so-boring window in particular.  Notice all the cords showing and the baby monitors so tackily in plain view?  

It needed help!


The window over the bed is much too narrow and needed some "oomph" to make it really stand out and have more presence in the room.


When I was trying to decide what I wanted to do for the curtains I knew for sure that I did NOT want the ones that went with this bedding set (not pictured).  Can we say overkill on the French country look?  Too busy and just not my style.  I thought it over for a few days and then as I was looking at the picture that came with the bedding set I realized the answer was right in front of me!

There in the background, behind the bed is some sort of burlap panels.  Burlap...of course!  It's perfect.


So, now with burlap in mind I began to try and figure out exactly how I wanted them to be hung.  I knew I didn't want them to be on a traditional black or oil rubbed bronze curtain rod, again, it would end up with more of a French country look and I wanted "farmhouse."  I thought of other rustic options like tree branches, etc. but nothing was speaking to me.

Then one day I remembered reading Michael's post, over at Inspired by Charm, about the curtains he made for one of his guest bedrooms and I instantly knew that was my answer!  I went searching on his blog and found the post again to refresh my memory.

(via Inspired by Charm)

Suddenly, I could picture just how I wanted it to be and I knew it was the perfect combination of rustic and creative that I love.

I had hubby measure and cut the boards to the sizes I needed, then I stained them with a vinegar and steel wool solution.  (I learned my lesson on the last go-round with this stuff and made sure I wore gloves this time!)


Next, I measured and marked off spots every 3 inches for the nails.


I had this box of rusty nails in my junk stash that I bought at the Habitat ReStore last year.  They were just perfect for this project!


Hubby used drywall screws to attach the boards to the wall and I colored over the shiny silver screws with a brown Sharpie permanent marker to help it blend in a little better. 


After I got the nails all hammered into the board it was time to start on the fabric.  I had already purchased the burlap months ago (used my 40% off coupon to make it cheaper) and had just been waiting for Hubs to have the time to cut the boards for me.  (He goes to school full time and works almost full time on top of that, so he's a very busy man.)

I needed to cut and trim the fabric into 4 panels.  Here's a handy little tip I came across over at Craftaholics Anonymous.  A way to easily cut a straight line in the burlap is to pull out one of the strings/fibers at the cutting point.  It leaves you with a nice little gap that serves as a cutting line.  Very handy!


I can sew some basic stitches, but I wasn't sure how difficult it would be to sew burlap and I didn't even want to try.  I just ironed a good stiff hem along the top and called it a day.


I bought curtain rings with clips to hang the panels.


Here's another great tip about burlap I came across, this time at Life to the T.  Burlap tends to be pretty stiff since it's more of a grassy type fiber rather than fabric.  To get a nice "wavey" look, shape it how you want it to look and use clothespins to hold it in place and let it hang and it will start to take on that shape.  Ideally, let it hang for a couple of days for the best results.  Personally, I'm too impatient for that and mine only stayed clipped for maybe a day.


My original intention was to let the panels hang straight like Michael did up there in my inspiration picture, and maybe add a bit of trim of some sort.  But after I got them up it just didn't look right for some reason.  Hubs wasn't impressed either.  We stood there and mulled it over and tried this and that.  (Now, he's a man's man, loves guns and hunting, he used to be a cowboy, he's currently going to school to be a diesel mechanic, his job is fixing huge semis, and in a perfect world his meals would be meat with a side of meat.  BUT...when I'm stuck and not sure what to do he's always willing to be my sounding board and I can just talk it out and run my ideas past him, and 9 times out of 10 he has great feedback.  This is reason #86 that I love him completely, all the way down to his oddly formed pinky toe.)

After talking it out with him an idea hit me and he liked the sound of it, too.  I wanted to make tiebacks, so I bought a couple of yards of jute webbing and some sticky velcro tabs.  Funny story - the lady who was cutting the webbing for me asked me what I was going to do with it and I told her "curtain tiebacks."  She responded with an, "Ohhhhhhh...." in a tone of voice like, "Here's a trophy for participating Sweetie, but next time you might wanna just stay home."  I got the same reaction when I bought the burlap.  Oh well, you can't let naysayers and criticism get in the way of a vision.  : )


I cut each tieback about 18 inches long, applied the Velcro, then I just wrapped them around the gathered burlap and pinched them together to hold them in place.

** Update - the velcro just did not stand up to the stiff burlap and they fell off after about 3 days.  I ended up using Aleen's Tacky Glue to permanently hold them in place. **

Cute, but still needs something.........


Ahhh...much better!
I found these adorable red wooden buttons at JoAnn's Fabrics and used my 40% off Hobby Lobby coupons on them.


SO.....are you ready to see the full reveal?  

The stack of tan patterned boxes are ones I've had for years.  They hold excess old photos and I put them there to help cover up the unsightly A/C cord.



I frayed the bottom edges of them by simply removing a few rows of fibers.  


So, let's compare a few "before" and "afters."


Notice how the baby monitors are well hidden now?  We can still hear them, but we don't have to stare at them all the time.


Ahhhh...such an improvement!!  And it only took me 1 year and 7 months to do something about it.


Why in the world did it take me so long to finish this project?  Oh well, at least it's done now.


I'm still lovin' my ladder bedside "table."


In this close up you can see the tiebacks peeking out over the top of the bed.


It's all coming along quite nicely, and I'm very pleased so far.  


So...I've done plenty of talkin', now it's your turn.  

What do you think of my "rustic farmhouse" curtains?  Would you give me a consolation trophy like Fabric Cutting Lady or do you think my "vision" was a success?

(If you want to see any of the previous posts about the master bedroom just find my list of previous posts over in the side bar and click on "Master Bedroom.")



Linking up to:

48 comments:

  1. They are just the right touch! Adds so much to your room!

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  2. You already know my opinion. Lol!
    They are quite lovely!

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  3. OH WOW!!!....i LOVE the curtains!!!....now i may have to copy yet another of your ideas!!!...lol...if that's ok?

    shelley

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    Replies
    1. Of course I don't mind Shelley, what's that saying? "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?" : )

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  4. I love the simplicity and the pairing of the very busy quilt with the calming effect of the curtains. If you really want to see the tie-backs that are behind the bed, just move them up, there is not rule to say they have to be down there. But, if you are happy with them, leave them where they are. Very nice project. and, I love how your husband chimes in with great solutions, mine does too.

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  5. I LOVE them!!!!! I might just have to do that in the room I just posted about. I might hang some tack from it..... Oh my mind is going..... Awesome!

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  6. Very, very cool! They turned out so well, and I love the vibe in your bedroom. What a great space you get to curl up in at the end of the day!!!

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  7. OMGosh I LOVE your whole bedroom! The curtains turned out amazing, love the ladder, the suitcase side table, the bedding...love it all!! Great job :)
    Susan

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  8. Very creative with the rusty nails and wood, yes you achieved the Farmhouse Look, well done!

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  9. Your curtains are perfect, and you did a great job on them. Just beautiful. Love your whole room.

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  10. I LOVE your curtains!! Good goin' girl (and hubby). What would you think of moving the tiebacks up a foot or so on the curtain. I think it would look neat, and they would show better! :^)
    Either way, you are just pretty smart!!
    Love the room,
    J

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  11. Absolutely wonderful, my sweet friend! I love making things with clever around home items. What a great idea! I just love this...and, oh, your beautiful red quilt and pillows!
    Blessings,
    Carolynn xo

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  12. They're perfect in your room! I love the way it's shaping up. :) Great job!

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  13. The vinegar stained wooden board with rusty nails to hang the curtain is a brilliant idea...love the concept of the wooden ladder too:)

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  14. Fabric lady must know the Hobby Lobby lady in Birmingham who raised her eyebrows when she (also) asked what I was doing with the webbing. I told her I was making something with it and burlap and she told me burlap was no good. Too rough. I told her I was covering an ottoman. Didn't matter. No good, and she shook her head at me.

    Your curtains are the BEST! Love the wood with the rusty nails and the webbing tie backs couldn't better. Those buttons totally rock! Then you have to go and add that ladder in there with all the coolest stuff. I hate to be jealous but I've been looking for a ladder like that for years!! I love what you did with yours. I'm pinning that.

    Now, as for you coming over and telling me you got a Florida tablecloth for 10 cents...what!? Crazy. But that just shows you the beauty of a garage sale. Some people don't see their stuff as valuable to anyone because they're just done with it. Good for you making some money on it.

    Good work on this curtain. Tremendous before and after. I just did my own chintzy version of burlap curtains. I had some of the same issues as you.
    Liz

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  15. Incredibly creative project. I love the rusty nails in the board!! Who'd have known....
    I'm your newest follower :)

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  16. Great look! the ladder is fabulous:) It doesn't matter how long it took, it matters that it is what you like now and that you had fun along the way (even educating fabric cutters about rustic charm!).
    Hugs from Iowa,
    Michelle at Pine Needle Hill

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  17. They look perfect in your room! I just made a burlap curtain for my laundry room, too.

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  18. Very lovely! Nice transformation... no, not nice, more like awesome!! ~Pernilla

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  19. I am LOVING, SERIOUSLY LOVING your blog!!

    I am book marking this post-I think I'm going to give this a shot in our bedroom. It looks great! Makes the room all that much more cozy...and it was an awesome room to begin with.

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  20. WOW! Love!! It seems the simplest of ideas are always the best ones :) This is beautiful, you did a really great job!

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  21. Wow....
    Yor are so smart!
    Good Idea!

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  22. The no sew burlap curtains are wonderful. Have a look at it

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  23. Seriously the cutest curtains ever! I might have to borrow your idea =)

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  24. Your curtains look fabulous! Loving the look!! Thanks for linking me in your post. :)

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  25. If you came up with this all by your lonesome I want to congratulate you right now. The curtains are adorable. Your idea is original and you deserve kudos. Thirty years ago I moved into a two story Victorian in Auburn, CA. It was freshly painted and newly carpeted. I had to come up with an inexpensive way to drape/curtain all the many windows. I used oatmeal colored muslin, 1.99 a yd., with brown ribbon tie backs. This is another wonderful way to be creative and use what others would say in unconventional. Sheryl Kirk @ in_the_tall_pines@yahoo.com

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  26. Creatively crafty, young lady; kudo's!!

    Found you while searching for ideas for the 40 feet of burlap I bought for our garden pergola, then changed my mind. 'Guess there will be a lot of burlap 'stuff' around my little house soon...

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  27. Hello,

    My name is Gen, I publish a free online magazine that features bloggers such as yourself who contribute recipes, decor, crafts etc. I'd love to feature your burlap curtains n bedroom Post and your blog in the upcoming Fall Issue. As a thank you all contributors to the magazine get a live link back to their blogs in the magazine. If this is something you'd be interested in participating in, please email me and let me know. All i need to proceed is your okay to use your photos and post and a link back to your blog so our readers can find you. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you. ~Gen www.eweniquetreasures.

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  28. Where did you get the gorgeous bedding???

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    Replies
    1. The comforter, pillows, and pillow shams are made by Chaps and came from Kohls, the sheets are from Walmart.

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  29. Fantastic. Wonderful. I truly love the curtains. I can"t wait to find some burlap to do this. Thank you so much.

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  30. Oh I so love your curtains with the cute red tie backs and buttons. What a great idea, next spring I will be moving and that will be something I need to do, make cute curtains out of burlap. And I love that ladder in your BR, now I have to find one like that.......perfect!

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