2.07.2012

Possibly the Cheapest Extra-Wide Curtains Ever

After months of trying to figure out what kind of curtains I wanted in our master bedroom, I finally made a bold and courageous decision:

White curtains.

Lame. Safe. Expected. Boring. Yada yada.

Guess what, though?

I sort of really like them.

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I ended up with easy-on-the-eye white for the following reasons:

1. I’ve learned that I do not personally like to live in rooms with more than two graphic/patterned curtain panels. It’s too much for my personal taste and I’d prefer to bring in pattern in smaller doses, like a pillow or two or ten. Don’t get me wrong—I enjoy looking at rooms with multiple bold and graphic curtains. But living in a room like that—no thanks. It’s sort of like how I’ve figured out that I love to look at rooms with a lot of fun color, but not live in rooms with a lot of fun color.

2. Because of #1, I knew I wanted something solid, and we’ve already got blue in the ceiling and on the chair, and gray on the walls and comforter. White it is.

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The best part about these curtains is that they cost me a grand total of $35 for all four panels. They’re made out of 90” muslin, which was on sale for $5 a yard and I had an additional 30% off coupon. Thank you, Joann Fabrics. I also only had to hem the top and bottom of each panel because the sides were already finished. Thank you again, Joann Fabrics.

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I’m not entirely sure what muslin is supposed to be used for, but when I googled it, I found the following idea:

One of the less well known uses of muslin is as a filter for fine wine or port to prevent sediment from getting into the decanter. Typically this is accomplished by pouring the wine through a funnel with muslin stretched over the smaller end.

Who knew? Here I’ve been choking down all that plankton and sludge in my homemade wine.

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In addition to being a great sediment-buster, though, the fact that muslin comes in extra-wide widths (it actually went up to 120” but that seemed a bit excessive for my purposes) makes it especially good for DIYing curtains. I looked at other cotton fabrics that were around the same price per yard, but they were 45” wide, and would have made for pretty skimpy and super lame-o window treatments. The muslin is fairly thin, but there’s so much bunching and scrunching going on that you can’t even tell.

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As a final touch, we replaced the original finals with finials from curtain rods that we took down because they wouldn’t extend wide enough.

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Hooray!

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Do you remember what this room used to look like? All I remember is something about birdhouses, a boob light, and a textured ceiling. Let’s take a look.

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This next one isn’t the same angle, (if only you knew when you moved in what angles of the room you’d want to capture for before-after purposes) but it’s the same window. The wall to the right of the window in the birdhouse picture is the closet that we removed.

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You can read about the madness of our master bedroom renovation here.

So…that’s all I’ve got for my cheapest extra-wide curtains ever (possibly). Who else has made some cheap curtains? Share links if you’d like to! And what besides home-décor-aisle-fabric have you made curtains out of? Have you ever strained your plankton with muslin? Better yet, have you ever made curtains out of plankton? Do tell. :)

***Linking this up to Serenity Now and the Tater Tots & Jello Weekend Wrap-Up Party!***

26 comments :

  1. the room looks so soft and pretty! lovely!

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  2. sewing scares me. YOU are amazing. You room is really shaping up to be just wonderful!

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  3. Justin & I have been looking for affordable white curtains for our bedroom for a while. If only I could sew!

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    1. This is seriously the easiest sewing you'll ever do: a seam at the top and a seam at the bottom. It can't get any easier! You can do it! :)

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  4. I like the way the white curtains look! For our living room, I made some bold curtains (You can see the fabric we chose here)but when it comes to the bedroom, I would like something more calm.

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  5. I'm with Katie. Sewing scares me too...even if it sounds easy. I love how these look though...and the deal. Gaw. Can you write a book please? Educate the masses. We need you.

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    1. It doesn't just sound easy....it IS easy! These just required two hems, one at the top and one of the bottom. You can do it! I'm cheering you on!

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  6. Ohhhh, I think they are great! The whole room feels so cozy and tranquil.

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  7. I love the white! I've been leaning towards white or off white simple curtains just like that for our bedroom.

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  8. The white was a good decision. It just makes the room look so clean, especially with all of the blues and greys. My cheapest curtains were actually shower curtains that I turned into window curtains. I still need to add a blackout liner to the back of them, but I couldn't find any curtains with a print that I liked, so when I found these, I decided I could just add some clips to the top of them and they would work just fine. Here is a pic from when I was deciding which one to choose. The shower curtain is on the right, http://www.flickr.com/photos/7229763@N07/6836283471/in/photostream

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    1. Great idea, Dara! I love the pattern on the shower curtain you picked. Fabric with that pattern would definitely have cost more than the shower curtain, I'm sure! :)

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  9. I am fabric obsessed and have been whipping up pillows galore lately. On the other hand, I am struggling to find even relatively inexpensive fabric to make curtains for the dining area. I'm literally off to the fabric store and hope I can score a deal like yours. Beautiful job and they are so fresh and crisp in your room.

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  10. You are completely hilarious. The curtains are genius...and I'd like to say that I am a fellow Joannite who loves a rockin' deal. I giggle with delight when I come out with a steal! :)

    Um...the boob light...I lost it. You're seriously too much.
    Your room looks fantastico! Very serene and classy...with all evidence of old hideousness completely erased.

    Hey...how's the honey face going? (And that will only make sense to us. ;)

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  11. I like the white curtains! I think they're best for bedrooms, so soothing and flowy. And they let your pretty older house windows shine! I am a little ashamed to admit that I DID know muslin could be used for straining bits out of alcohol... Downton Abbey taught me!! Haha.

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  12. I personally love the look of crisp white curtains. Especially in a bedroom. My cheapest pair of curtains yet were crafted for under $5. I was a very poor post college student and found some vintage sheets at a thrift store and hung them from the window frame using push pins instead of a curtain rod. They actually looked pretty good!

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  13. I love the white curtains Erin! I think you have given your bedroom a classic look and you can always add colour & pattern with pillows and accessories...which are cheaper and easier to switch out! Your bedroom is shaping up beautifully! I also read your post about furniture and I love all of your pieces. That table is fantastic as is and the side board...I would love to have one like it! Good choices! Angie xo

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  14. The room is looking fabulous! I love white curtains and we have them in our family room and bar. I would have never thought about using muslin. What a great inexpensive solution. The best part is that it looks great too.

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  15. They're perfect since you like a solid at the windows. I always admire patterned curtains in photos but don't know if I could live with a bold pattern daily either. If you ever want to add a little detail you could sew large beads or buttons down the leading edge, they'd be easy to remove later if you decided it wasn't a look you like.

    Oh, and thanks for the tip about straining the wine, I'm sure that will come in handy what with all the wine making I do!

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  16. Think of all that plankton that's no longer seeping into your home through your windows!

    I love the choice of white with the chunked-up finials. I think it's perfect and calm and beautiful - just like I always dream of my rooms turning out but they never do because I can't say no to color and pattern.

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  17. I love the white; they look so crisp and clean.

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  18. I love the white curtains! I also spent months looking for the perfect pattern for curtains when we moved in but ended up with white!

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  19. hahahaha a boob light. i will never look at a light like that the same.

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  20. how pretty. i love muslin, and white curtains are so super fresh. i actually have some in my dining room, which i love, but i'm ready for a change and will probably ombre them. will post it on my blog in the next week or two; come on by if you'd like! i'd love your opinion. (new follower)
    -brittney
    http://adayinlifetoo.blogspot.com

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  21. i am totally on the white curtain train! I definitely have patterned ones, but there is something about a more serene look in the bedroom that I really love!

    and PS- the transformation is amazing! that chandelier is a.m.a.z.i.n.g.

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  22. LOVE your curtains! They are beautiful and super awesome that they were such a steal!! What a great before and after for your room!!

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  23. I think they look great! I've been wanting to make striped green and white curtains so I might be able to do it in a similar way (if only I had a Joanns :-().

    I'm about to make curtains for our master in a very open weave linen. I'm slightly nervous about it, so we'll see how it goes.

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