DIY Kitchen -- Curtains

Well, I am happy to report the sun is shining here again!   It was a very dreary week raining Monday - Thursday last week and then overnight on Thursday we got a light snowfall.   It is so nice to see the sun beaming through the windows!

Speaking of windows,  we are still trying to finish up the details of our kitchen.  Did I mention we started this project in July 2012?  :)   I hate to say Pinterest again, but so much of this project was inspired by pins.   Previously, we had no window treatments - just wood blinds.  I wanted to add something above the kitchen sink after finding this lovely fabric for a steal.

It's a Waverly print and I was fortunate to find it for $8.00 yard.  The background color is really close to our wall color - Sherwin Williams Tidewater.   Back to the window above the kitchen sink,  this window does not have wood blinds, but it looks directly onto our neighbor's carport.  Fortunately, we have great neighbors, but I wanted a little more privacy.  After pinning many options,  I decided to go with this one.  While it was posted as a no-sew project, my mom did end up sewing a pocket across the top for the rod.  (yes, people I can't sew - but it's on my "to learn" list).   Anyway,  I love, love, love how it turned out.

For the ribbon,  I simply looped it around and tied the bow!  Easy peasy!   The project was definitely under $16.00 because I had fabric leftover. Which made my wheels turn -- I was trying to think of ways to incorporate more of the fabric into the kitchen... and then - I thought more curtains :)   We have an eat-in kitchen, so the two large windows in the dining area have been left uncovered (with blinds of course but that's it) - I thought adding a window treatment would help set this area apart as a different "room" if you will.  I had looked for curtains to complement the fabric but they were outrageous - at least I thought so, remember this DIY was supposed to be on a dime  :)   Then, I found this idea on Pinterest.  Instead of painting stripes on the painter's cloth,  we took a strip of the floral fabric and then a strip of the ribbon to create the stripes.  I opted to put mine at the top (instead of the bottom as shown in the pin).  And, viola...

This was taken last night, so I apologize for the poor lighting - but I am in love!   Big thanks to my friend Sally for helping with this.  She did use the iron-on stitch witchery for the ribbon, but it didn't want to hold the fabric as well as it did the ribbon so she stitched it on for me. 

I forgot to mention - the rod.  I needed a rod that would extend to at least 94 inches - have your priced those lately?  Again - too expensive!  So, I headed back to Pinterest - surely I could find an idea.  I was not disappointed with this pin.  I headed to Home Depot with her list in hand and found everything I needed - the "rod" was electrical conduit.  I purchased a 10 foot piece for $2.00 (did you hear me TWO DOLLARS) and super-husband cut it down to size.  

I'm embarrassed to say the most expensive part of this project were the rings to hold the curtain.  I could not come up with a cheaper alternative or maybe I didn't search hard enough.  :)   I bought 4 packs of 10 and placed them every 4 inches on the curtains.  The drop-cloths are probably a little heavier than curtains and I wanted to make sure they were going to stay up.  I ended up using 3.5 packs and they were around $8.00 a pack I think. 

Overall, all the whole project was very reasonably priced! I'm still debating on whether or not I want to add a rug underneath the dining table.  It would add a little more color and again, help set this area apart from the rest of the kitchen.  Stay tuned!