Wednesday

DIY dot curtains

I've been loving all the black and white dot fabric I've been seeing lately.  I've seen a lot of DIYs for artwork and fabric and of course I loved this headboard from Kristin's room service project.  In the spirit of saving money I decided to use what I already had on hand.  Our living room curtains have been the same for a while and since I'm trying to phase out some of the brown (they have brown trim) I thought I'd give them a fresh look and a dose black and white.

here's what they looked like before...


Here's another little helpful hint.  I used tablecloths for these curtains.  I just sewed some ring hooks to the top and they're good to go.  Tablecloths are a great, inexpensive option for curtains and they come in a few different lengths.  You can also use the curtain ring clips to easily hang them.  The white Ikea ritva curtains would be great for this project too.

After I took the curtains down I just peeled off the ribbon trim.  I had originally ironed it on with Heat 'n Bond.  It did leave a little bit of residue behind so I just turned the curtains around the other way and got to painting.

I laid a vinyl tablecloth to catch any bleed through from the paint.  Vinyl tablecloths are always good to have around for crafting.


I just used this little Crayola brush I picked up in a 4 pack at Target and some leftover black paint I had in the garage.


I started in one corner and worked my way down and across.  I didn't worry about the dots being too perfect or uniform since I knew the curtains would be gathered and you wouldn't really be able to tell.  Plus I think I may have gone crazy if I had spent any longer painting on all fours.  It took me about 2 hours to do each panel.  And as the nester says, "it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful."  I'm sticking with that.


The best part is that this project was free because I had everything on hand and recycled the existing curtain panels.  Those are the best projects.







If spots aren't your thing, check out the circle pattern curtains that Shavonda did over at A Home Full of Color.  They're pretty fabulous!

22 comments:

  1. What a great look and such a simple update. I love all the dot fabric everywhere too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. OMG bleepin stars!!! I seriously ADORE these! They are fabulous! I might just have to straight up copy you;) They are so chic and add so much interest. This would be awesome on a chair cover too. You go girl!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love it! It gives them such a great presence.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a great change! Your curtains look amazing...totally high end!

    ReplyDelete
  5. These turned out great. I love how you took these curtains and made them your own. Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, what a difference those panels make in the room! They add so much interest!! Looks beautiful!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love those! I'm really loving black and white these day and those turned out fabulous.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Loving the curtains and your whole living room! If you Get a chance, please link up to my linky party: http://suburbsmama.blogspot.com/2013/06/sunday-linky-14.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank for the shout out for my artwork! I love the curtains...they look fab! Great job! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. It looks like I missed the party but I will definitely try to link up next time! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks so much Sharon! I'm loving black and white too, one of my current obsessions!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you! I couldn't believe the difference they made either, makes me not mind my tan walls as much anymore :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. haha, we'll just copy each other! ;) I agree, it would be a great project for upholstery!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I like the pattern much better. A little professional advice- for better balance your rods should be heavier and think 2 panels/side or sheer and panel. Nice monochromatic space!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks for your input! I think the number of panels on a window can be done either way, but that's just my personal preference. If I were to do it over again I would probably do two panels per window but in the spirit of saving money I just used what I had for this project. I agree with you about the rods. I bought them when we first moved in because they were a good deal and don't want to switch them out since we will hopefully be moving in the next year or so!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love how these turned out! I'm into the spots trend too. I recently did something similar to some fabric for a small chair seat but I used small pieces of sponge to do the painting. And I'm a fan of single panels on a window in certain rooms. I think it looks less traditional. I'm thinking of doing that in our bedroom.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oops, meant to leave my website.


    Stephanie @ http://www.thestyledsoul.com

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your sweet comments, they make my day!