Our sunroom was voted as the winner of Readers.com's DIY Book Nook Contest! Thank you all SO much for your support, I'm shocked at the number of votes that came in! You guys are the best. And more good news goes out to voter #342, Carol Thibodeaux, who wins $150 in Amazon and home improvement gift cards and a kindle paperwhite! Thanks again to everyone who participated, I can't wait to put my Lowe's gift card to good use in our next project.
Now, let's get back to the master makeover.
There's just a few more things to do after tackling one of my favorite parts last night—window treatments.
Here's the space a few days ago:
It was feeling a little cold and empty. I needed to bring some softness to the space, and flowy curtain panels are always great for that. Not only that, but this room has zero pattern (aside from subtle striped sheets). Everything is a solid color. Boring!
I knew from the very beginning that I wanted navy toile. I considered using it in the bedding but decided that it would be more commanding on curtains. Remember my mood board?
Yep, they were in there.
After scouring the internet for the best deals and coming up short (literally) when trying to find curtains long enough in the right fabric, I commissioned a seller on Etsy to sew some custom panels for me. I went with two 50x94" panels and it came to $96 shipped (which is actually not bad compared to other places online). It was worth it.
Then I had to figure out how to mount these. I couldn't use a traditional curtain rod because there was a wardrobe in the way, and the top of the door is 2" from the ceiling. That meant I had to come up with a ceiling mounted solution. I found tons of tutorials on Pinterest using galvanized metal pipes and fittings, but even those methods would make the curtain rod stick out too far.
So I went to Lowe's and found this 1/2" copper pipe (in the plumbing section) for around $10:
It came in 10' sections which was perfect, I didn't even need it trimmed down. I preferred this over the 1/2" galvanized pipe because a) it was $5 cheaper, and b) it was super light weight (the galvanized steel is so heavy!)
To hold it up to the ceiling, I grabbed a bag of these plastic U shaped brackets for a couple bucks (that makes this 10' curtain rod around $12 total... nice!) I couldn't find any metal brackets (I think those are in the electrical section) but the copper pipe is so light, and everything would be spray painted black so the material didn't matter.
After giving the pipe a good buff with steel wool, it was time to paint.
I used a satin black for both the pipe and brackets (it's shiny here but dries satin).
Once dry, it was time to hang!
Since we weren't drilling into studs (just bead board & drywall) and didn't want to deal with inserts, we used wall dog screws (best invention ever) which grip the drywall so well that you don't need inserts.
We attached the first clamp all the way up to the corner of the crown...
Then a clamp in the middle to keep it from bowing...
Then a third a the end. The first end was in a corner and would be completely hidden by the bracket/curtains, and I used a small glass cabinet knob to plug the visible end.
When I was at Ikea earlier in the year, I picked up a couple packs of these curtain rings. I thought I might need them for the living room but that didn't happen—luckily they were perfect for this occasion:
After trying out a few possible ways to hang them, I decided to clip them in the back so you wouldn't see the clips.
It makes for a nice, clean look when hung. And I'm happy to report that the paint doesn't chip off when the rings slide across (I think buffing with steel wool helped).
And here they are!
I snapped a couple shots after we finished up as the sun was setting...
And then a few more this morning at sunrise...
There's just something about navy and toile...
It adds the perfect touch of french farmhouse.
And also a bit of romance next to the chandelier.
Here's a shot looking into the mirror...
Sigh. I'm just in love. Curtains make such a difference. Every week this room takes on a slightly different feeling with every change we make. It's so fun watching it evolve. In less than two weeks it will be complete!
And on that note... I'm planning ahead for our next remodel: the living room. And I need your help.
The layout has been a challenge for me to solve because it's not a very big space, and there's a lot to design around (a wall of windows/walkway on one side, a fireplace and sliding door on another, stair railing/walkway on a third, and a really short wall on the fourth).
When we moved in, we just threw our furniture down and it has been this way ever since (excuse the really old photo):
Well, we decided to relocate the TV to above the fireplace, and after much consideration, I've finally settled upon our new layout...
Here's where you come in. The couches are all getting re-slipcovered. I think I've decided on white linen for the chaise lounge and chair, and a gray linen for the loveseat.
I'm trying to decide if I should keep the chair & ottoman or replace it with a matching chaise. I would prefer them to match, but it's an extra $250 or so (taking into account the cost of the slipcovers) and I'd have to make a 4 hour round trip drive to Ikea to pick it up (not a huge deal, but still...). Also, I can't think of any other place to use the chair/ottoman (though it was a $30 craigslist find so not a big loss).
It's a really comfy chair but then again so is the chaise. I mean, I don't think they look bad together, and they'll certainly look more like a set once they are slipcovered in the same fabric, but ideally they'd be the same.
Do you agree? Is it worth the extra $250 and trip to Ikea? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. I'm anxious to order my slipcovers within the next few days and get this living room remodel underway!
0 comments:
Post a Comment