The Other Curtains

So after we found the curtains for the back living room, I was ready to have curtains in the front living room. Mostly because we decided to go ahead and hang the curtain rods while all the tools were still out. And well, it looked silly to have curtain rods without curtains. During Curtain Hunt 2012 we didn't find the white curtains I was looking for, but I figured we could just pick up the IKEA ones next time we were in Dallas.

Then I remembered...

When we had our house inspected there was a LOT of stuff in the shop. People were actually there getting ready to have an estate sale to get rid of most of the items in the shop. We actually bought a few things, and then they left a few treasures behind for us. I remembered the lady saying that 'the curtains for the house' were in the shop somewhere...

So I found them. Washed (and bleached) them. And guess what?

They were pretty much the exact curtains I was looking for. They do have a subtle plaid-ish pattern, but it's more of a texture than a pattern. And you can't see it at all when they are up on the wall.  So I figured we could at least keep those until we get to IKEA (or maybe forever...).

And I really, actually love them.

So here's how it went down.

It's pretty easy to hang curtains. I collected all of Kyle's tools and took a quick picture. So I could show you what we used.

You could maybe get by with just a drill, but we used the level and the tape measure to make sure everything was centered. I wanted to hang the curtains "high and wide" in the living room, because I heard it makes rooms look taller and allows more light to come in. Remember that we already have blinds in those windows so the curtains are really just for decoration in the living room.

The sliding glass door in the back living room is another story. There are no blinds on it, and at about 5 or 6 o'clock the back living room turns into a hot box if that window is not covered. I didn't end up hanging the curtains as high on the sliding class door as I did in the living room because I wanted the curtains to skim the floor as to cover the entire glass door. But I may end up raising them just an inch or two some day...

So we held up the curtain rod, and adjusted where we wanted it placed. In the back room we hung the curtains on the rod first to make sure we had the length just right. Marked where our brackets needed to go and then Kyle got to drilling. We wanted to make sure we hit studs when we screwed these guys in so we used a stud finder to locate the studs and adjusted the bracket placement accordingly. The curtain rod box included anchors for the screws in case there wasn't a stud, but especially for the back room we wanted it secure. With paneling in that room and the curtains being opened and closed every time someone came through the door, we's rather be safe than sorry.

Don't I have such a handsome handyman? :) Screws in, rods through, curtain ring clip on, finial screwed tight...

And there they are. Back Living room first...

Note we didn't have enough ring clips for the glass door, so the curtains sag a little bit. Don't worry, we're still on the hunt for more clips of the same color (Gun Metal from Target). No luck yet. But we used these from Walmart in the living room (they're not nearly as sturdy as the ones from Target, but can't find any more of those either).

And check out these white curtains.

You may notice the placement of the brackets. We have ring clips on both the inside and the outside of the brackets. Since these will stay open the majority of the time, I chose to place the bracket on a stud rather than on the outermost end of the rod. This means not all the rings will easily slide closed. But the rings in the middle offer enough curtain to close the window if needed. I just preferred them to look how I wanted 99% of the time, even if it means it looks a little off when they are closed 1% of the time. (Is that confusing?)

I kind of love it. I really love them. I love how the white curtains look so fresh in the living room, even though they are a little shorter... the replacements from IKEA will be just long enough. (Apparently I only took pictures of the small window, I'll have to take some of the big window soon, it got curtains too). And I love how in the back living room the light still comes through the non-black out curtains on the glass door. It gives that room less of a dungeon feel than with the black sheet on the wall.

Thanks to Kyle's mom. Without her we would surely not have any curtains... especially after we found nothing in the first, oh, 7 hours of shopping...

Can't wait to see those white curtains pop when I paint the living room... we'll see.

At least we've upgraded since last Halloween and maybe the trick-or-treaters won't be scared away this year. Although I only bought 71 pieces of candy this year, figuring I'd have plenty if the numbers are anything like last year ;)

Happy Halloween!