It's Curtains for You!
Hello! I hope you're as interested in my slow-but-steady bedroom makeover as I am, because, like Trump's candidacy for presidency, it's very classy and also still happening. When last we chatted about this room, I had "made" a headboard, and I believe I may have gifted you with a parting shot of the curtain shenanigans.
The room had a pretty nice vibe until you got to this angle. I had grown pretty tired of my DIY striped curtains, which were a little cumbersome because of the stiff paint, and which didn't feel as fresh as I wanted any more. In short, I had grown tired of them, as I am wont to do. So I clipped up a few pieces of fabric I had lying around to see how a few ideas I had noodling around might look in practice. From left to right, above, one handmade striped curtain, one white Ikea curtain panel, one very pure white table cloth, and one blue patterned Ikea tablecloth that I just really, really dug. Here's a closeup of that last one:
I had seen this at Ikea a few times and really loved it, but I don't really use tablecloths, so I never bought it - until it occurred to me that I might be able to come up with some other fun use for it. Once home, I tried it as a bedspread, and considered it to upholster my new headboard. But in the end, I thought it might make great curtains, and once I hung it up here, I was very close to sold. There is so much pattern going on in here that I thought it might be overkill, but I was completely smitten by that pretty pale blue. It reminds me of the blue you paint on the ceilings of porches to prevent wasps and other bee-like creatures from building nests. I just think it's a serene and beautiful color, and if it evokes summer days on pretty porches, it works for me. The tablecloths were wide enough that I thought buying one more would be plenty: I could cut it in two and make dummy panels for each window, for about $9 per panel. That seemed like a reasonable expenditure, so I made a quick trip to Ikea this weekend while I was visiting my sister. She has the joy/misfortune of living SIX minutes from Ikea. If that was me, I'd just have my paycheck direct-deposited there, so I guess it's good it's not.
Anyway. I got to Ikea, realized I didn't have my wallet, went back for it, returned, and they didn't have any more of those table cloths. Cue the tiny violins. I was pretty sad, but I thought that my runner up, plain white (perhaps spruced up with some pom poms?!?), would have to do. I made a run through the curtain department, where I spotted plain light blue curtain panels for $10/pair. That's a pretty good darn deal, and it seemed like the perfect solution: that color I was after, but without adding any more possibly needless pattern to the party. I brought them home, hung them up, and here they are.
I think they're really pretty. There's not a ton of that color going on in this room, but I think they read almost as a neutral. And I don't really need my curtains to perfectly match anyway, as amply demonstrated in other areas of my home. So I'm feeling pretty good about the situation, and also very safe from errant wasp nests. We're not done yet, but as a reminder, here's where we started:
That's what I call progress. The checklist still contains new hardware for my wardrobe and dresser, a new closet organization system, and some more plants, because I won't be happy until we live in an actual jungle. What do you think? Are you picking up what I'm putting down about the blue porch roofs? Share in the comments and see ya soon.