[Make Your Own] Curtains and Drapes

One of the many perks to moving is – if you’re willing – you cancompletely revamp your surroundings in a unique way with just a dash of DIY. At my old apartment, my plastic faux-shade curtains were deemed more of a nuisance than a necessity, so one morning as I meandered through the living room I decided to rip them off, one by one. Which caused a very obvious issue for those out there that enjoy sleeping in; because, let’s face it, you couldn’t. Because I was so close to moving out, we didn’t want to invest too much in anything for my windows so as a quick fix we took some tacks and a few flowing tapestries and voila – instashade. After I moved a few weeks ago, we decided to go “one deeper” and really get into crafting some curtains and I have to say, the end result is absolutely awesome. Now, I’ve got to admit that I can’t take complete credit for the idea; back when I first moved to LA, my stepmom crafted a small divider to separate my living room from the bedroom…and I’ve loved it so damn much that found a place for it at each apartment since then.

It’s worked exceptionally well as a room divider, but I’ve also had it over my closet and in a walkway through my apartment; each and every way I tried it, I fell back in love with the idea. So, when it came time to get down to brass tax about our new room curtains, I was all too game. Ever since I ventured to Hawaii on my 18th birthday, I’ve had an affinity for sarongs and other light, flowing materials – so I’ve kept a small collection that I can now proudly display with a delightful glimmer of sunlight behind them.

You can make this as simple or as complicated as you want; for more options than you needed – just hop over to your local JoAnne’s Fabrics and they’ll have literally any and every pattern you could think of. Last time I checked, they also had drape clips, but if not head over to the home section of a WalMart or Target and you’ll find them; most likely right next to the curtain rods.

Soundtrack

At lunch today, I found myself completely lost and dancing by myself to the new mix from Aeroplane; it just sounds like Summer is enveloping your ears – so good!

Window Rods and Drape Clips, so necessary!

Supplies

– 4+ x Festive and Flowing Fabric; and enough fabric per piece to cover the length of the window

– Tension Rod or Window Rod (measure your space!)

– 2-3 packs of Drape Clip Rings (7 a pack), or roughly 20 clips

I’d give out instructions for this one, but let’s face it – totally straight forward once the thought’s in your head, isn’t it? Here’s the end results from my new room – I’m absolutely in love!