When I was working on the inspiration board for our bedroom I had my heart pretty set on simple drop cloth white curtains. What could be a cheaper material and a more classic look than basic white canvas?
Ahhh if they only sold basic white canvas drop cloths. I checked five hardware stores (which sort of takes away from the low-cost mission) and came up with tan/natural options only. I even considered a) ordering online and paying to have the canvas shipped to me or b) purchasing canvas fabric from the local discount fabric shop and hemming them myself. Both seemed too time consuming for what was supposed to be a basic project…
Thankfully a recent trip to Ikea revealed white panels for $14.99/pair. Perfect! Drop cloth canvases from Lowes were roughly the same price for a similar amount of material.
Drop cloth curtains would require curtain clips, so I modified my Ikea panels to create a look slightly more jazzed up look by trimming each tab off of the top of the curtains.
Then up went the rods and bamboo roman shades!
I like to hang rods slightly higher than the window frame to add a little drama.
Each curtain panel received a set of curtain clips (you can find these at your local home improvement store or home decor store) and a very thorough ironing.
I wanted the curtains to pool a bit at the bottom so I didn’t bother hemming them (that’s not a pretty pool job above, but you get the idea…). A quick application of iron-on hem tape would take care of raising the length if need be.
And there they are! Not much to holler about but a clean, basic, affordable solution to what were empty and boring windows. It also has always bothered me that the window behind the bedframe was so much smaller than the actual headboard, now the curtains help to balance out the proportions.
One more project for the master bedroom down!
Saw that someone linked to my blog in their comment! I also used the Ikea Ritva in three! of my rooms- one plain, one with turquoise trim, and one where I added Anne Selke fabric to the white panel here-http://theoldpostroadblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/green-to-gray-before-and-after.html
It really does make the windows look so much bigger and nicer. I have those same Ikea curtains in both of my sun porches – love them!
I just love when you can score something that helps transform a space for a great price! I love it, and that mirror too. May I ask where you bought your bamboo roman shades from? I’m in the market for some but am not sure where to start. Thanks!
Hi Heather,
The bamboo shades are from Lowes and Home Depot, we have an assortment throughout the house and I can’t remember which sets of shades in each room are from which – both stores have a great selection!
~Morgan
Hi Heather,
The bamboo shades are from Lowes or Home Depot, we have several different sets through out the house and I can’t remember which sets are from which store – but both have a great selection! (and you can customize the size with a quick cut)
~Morgan
I had the same problem finding white dropcloth curtains. Then I realized you can actually bleach the dropcloth – they don’t turn out completely white, but they are quite a few shades lighter which was good enough for me :).
http://theoldpostroadblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/slipcover-real-chair-yes-i-can.html
Hi Lothel,
That’s great to know! Thanks for sharing!
~Morgan
They look awesome!! I’m trying to tackle my bedroom window now. Unfortunately my window placement is horrible and doesn’t allow your sweet idea. :sigh:
They look great!
Merry Christmas.
-FringeGirl
The window looks a lot bigger! What a wonderful idea :D
Great job, especially making the window space behind your bed look bigger–it really helps to balance out the room!
Gotta love Ikea! Nothing beats their price.
they look great! Love the idea of the length