How To Glam Up Curtains And Stay Within Budget

Since remodeling our dining room, I had yet to hang curtains.  I had recovered our cornices,  and painted the window frames black, all very pretty, but we were still living in a fish bowl.  It was when I received a random text from a neighbor whom was driving by that I decided it was time to hang some curtains and regain a little privacy.

“Hey!  Just drove by and saw you in your dining room.  Can I come over for dinner?”

As far as window treatments go, it’s so challenging for me to decide and commit on something.  Like most, I prefer custom treatments.  But how custom should I go?

Curtains?

Fabric lined shades?

Bamboo blinds?

Texture or solid?

Whenever I have a lot of options, I tend to shut down and hope that someone else will make the decision for me.  And then there’s our budget.  So many projects to accomplish this year, and I must spread the wealth.

So I started with a blank canvas.  I bought some solid ivory cotton twill curtains from IKEA.  Boring, yes, but I had every intention of glamming up those curtains and making them look classic and classy.

I headed down to New York and walked directly to my favorite trim shop.  With thousands of trims to choose from, I knew I’d find something to help out those curtains.  But, everything that I was interested in was too costly.  I couldn’t justify spending huge dollars on a trim when I only spent a few on the curtains.  Sure, I wanted the inexpensive curtains to look classy, but I needed to stay wise.

After an hour of brainstorming, digging and looking at way too many options, I wandered in to their discounted room.  This room, too, was filled with floor to ceiling trims, all at bargain prices.  Now, I was getting somewhere and after only 5 minutes, I found the perfect trim.  10 yards for $20.  You bet!  The fact that 10 yards was the exact amount that I needed certainly made this moment serendipitous.

The minute I got home, I got to work, and hot glued the trim on to the inside edge of the curtain panels.

Keeping things easy, I stapled the curtains onto the cornices, folding pleats every 2 inches or so.

With these ivory curtains, the daylight still shines through, yet they provide privacy at night.  Just what I was after.  The refined green and jazzy tasseled trim on the ivory curtains makes a classic statement, and keeps the small pops of green throughout the room fluid.

My advice when you want custom window treatments is to take the time to brainstorm.  Go semi-custom.  Buy basic curtains and glam them up with trim, ribbon or even fabric swatches to create your own custom look.  It always pays to wander in that bargain room and dig in the bins.  There certainly are bargains to be had!