I am a wee bit of a fabric hoarder. There is an unknown quantity available at any time, to people I like. Thank goodness my friend Nicky needed curtains. It gave me an opportunity to hone those rusty sewing skills and bring some beautiful fabric out of the dungeon and into the light. I had 50 yards of this glorious fabric that brought all the colors of her dining room and living room together. We decided to use the same in both spaces, not only because I already had it, but we thought it would look more cohesive and cozy when you entered the front door and your eyes scanned the rooms.
She just happened to buy a house built in the 50’s, which is my favorite type of home. I had a difficult time not decorating it for her in my every waking moment, so I jumped at the chance to custom make some window coverings. The bedroom and the dining room were simple. Subtle decorative rods were easily installed, and a quick eyeball fold, press and sew method was used to create panel curtains that add warmth and depth. We employed my very technical technique of using the stripes on the ironing board to measure the hems. This by the way is the most awesome iron ever.
The living room was a bit more of a challenge because of the size and angles of the windows.
These curtains were to be decorative, non operable and pretty to fit Nicky’s evolving style which I would describe as feminine elegance. A long curtain rod was not going to work because it would be ugly even if we did consider Lucite. I did the research on curtain rods for this type of angle, and not only were they expensive they required precise measurements which I don’t do. I wish I did, but alas I do not. So instead I wandered around the home improvement store (the blue one) and spent a whopping 11 dollars on the smallest, most basic rod you can buy.
I bent the rod until the metal broke and fit the ends back together to create a 10 inch rod for either end window. The center angles presented a challenge and I bent the rods right in the middle to fit the angle of the window. I had to shorten the other half of the rod so they could fit back together, and added a center support that were leftover from the bedroom. We used four panels for the center window to add a bit more luxury, and weighed them down with curtain weights so they hung straight, and felt more tailored.
Nicky, my basement thanks you. Enjoy!!!
