Drop Cloth Curtain Panels

Window treatments are like the wardrobe of a room. They have to fit and be appropriate, otherwise they ruin the entire look. You know, like on “What not To Wear” with Stacy & Clinton.

Yes, sometimes they need to serve a purpose, like privacy or room darkening. Other times they are used to enhance the framework that is already there.

Like our drop cloth curtain panels gathered on short DIY rods on both sides of the windows. Hung close to the ceiling, they add height, drama and dimension and you don’t have to spend a fortune to get this look! Can we say Woo Hoo!

I pondered how to dress these old windows the entire time I was working on the office.

My first idea was to go with a wild modern print on the office chair with curtains to match. After much searching and seeking and bringing home countless swatches that idea was tossed out the window. Nothing I brought home looked right.  Then…

burlap entered the process of elimination. What about a cute burlap valance with some vintage lace on it? I worked up a prototype and hung it. At first, I thought I was a design genius. Several days later, I began to realize that the cute valance looked like a giant head piece on top of the window. Every time I walked into the room, my eye went straight to them and stayed there wondering if I liked them or not. Something was “off” and it actually under played the high ceilings and took away from the windows. Who would have thought?

Then one day while thrifting, I scored this $3.00 chenille bedspread. I had just finished covering the office chair with a drop cloth and I had the idea to use the bottom of the bedspread on the bottom of curtain panels.

It was a match made in heaven.

The windows in this room needed more than an over sized head piece, they needed a long dress. Not a fancy formal evening gown. More like an informal long “vintagey” looking dress.

This worked! How did I know? Because after hanging them when I walked into the room, I instantly KNEW that I like them. My brain did not stay stuck on them trying to figure them out and make them work.

In addition to looking awesome, they are very inexpensive. These 4 panels were made from one $20.00 drop cloth! Yep, that is $5.00 a panel!

The width of each panel was determined by the amount of the chenille bedspread trim that I had to work with.

They were fairly easy to make as well. The drop cloth was washed, dried and pressed.

The top & bottom of the panel are already finished as well as both the sides. Once the panels were cut, the long sides had to be folded over and hemmed and the top was folded over and sewn to form the casing.

Then I hand stitched the pieces of the bedspread on the bottom.

Now, how to hang them…

Have you noticed how expensive window hardware has gotten? Seriously! Everything I looked at was ringing up to the tune of a 100 bucks!

Not happening…

These DIY decorative rods where made with one $10.00 2 inch dowel rod from Lowes cut into 4 pieces. 8 metal brackets from the plumbing department that were less that $1.00 each. Some screws with threading on both ends and some old pieces of table legs left over from past projects. Oh, and some white paint.

They worked out to be about $6.00 each.

Here are a few take aways from what I learned during this project…

1. Most of the time, decorating is trial and error. It is NOT an exact science. Don’t beat yourself up if your first idea doesn’t work out. Keep experimenting and trying until you get it right.

2. You CAN get the look for less! Go thrifting or shopping and use your imagination. If you see something that you love that “looks” like a good fit for the area you are decorating, think of ways it can be incorporated.

3. Don’t under estimate the power of traditional design. My first inclination is to think outside the box, but sometimes going back to the basics has the greatest impact.

Thanks so much for stopping by!