DIY Painted Curtains
Our family room, kitchen, and dining room are all connected and I wanted the décor to flow seamlessly from one room to the next. One way I did it? Curtains. We have two bay windows and a slider among the rooms so we’re talking A.Lot.of.Curtains. Not a lot of extra cash available to shell out for floor to ceiling curtains? No problem! Let’s get creative.
I’d seen a lot of people use drop cloths for yardage and I quickly realized why: $10 for a pack of 2, 6’X9′ drop cloths. (you can order your own here). A roll of painters tape and some off the shelf white paint (also from Home Depot) were all it took to get rolling. Since it was winter when I decided to tackle this project I had to find a big area to spread out the drop cloths. I also used an old blanket to put under the drop cloth to avoid the paint seeping through and ruining my carpet. I would suggest if you decide to give this a try, do it outside. Take a measuring tape and measure out how thick you want your stripes. Mine are about 12″ each. Make sure to consider the width of the painters tape itself when doing this. The beige “stripe” is just the raw drop cloth color. So two of the “inches” of the raw drop cloth are taped. Keep this in mind or your stripes will not be even. Once everything is taped up, its time for paint. I tried rolling but quickly realized just a cutting in brush is the easiest to control. Another tip: When painting near the tape, make sure to quickly swipe the paint from the tape, inwards or horizontal (not vertically along the tape line because the paint will seep through). As soon as you are done painting your first line, remove tape to avoid the paint seeping through. Repeat until you have finished your first panel. From here on out you’re golden: just line up your other panels and eyeball where to tape the stripes, making sure they are level. Now paint, paint, paint. Allow at least a few hours to dry. Now you can hang your curtains with ring clips or if you don’t have any on hand (and have a sewing machine), measure out a seam thick enough for your rod to fit inside, and sew across. I have zero sewing talent so that is all I decided to do before hanging up, but feel free to make a fancier hem!
There you have it – A rustic look, relatively easy, and you didn’t break the bank! Enjoy!
Such a great idea!!!