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DIY Chic & Affordable Window Treatments
By Alisa Davis
If you’ve been in the market lately for window treatments, sticker shock probably got your heart going as you raced out of the store, hand on wallet. Catalog prices are not any better, and if you need something in a custom size, prepare to part with what’s left of your hard hit retirement funds or home equity loan. The thing is, you need some privacy and you’d rather not spend a fortune on window treatments. Well here are a few ideas and suggestions on how to do-it-yourself for fraction of the price, and still get a chic and stylish look. Frugal, but Fabulous
Discount stores have great buys on basic curtain panels in a wide array of colors, designs and fabrics. Use these frugal options as the basis for a fabulous window treatment. As with food, when it comes to decorating, presentation is everything. • You don’t have to be a skilled seamstress to sew a button onto fabric and this is a fun, cheap and easy way to get a custom look for next to nothing. You may already have buttons in an old jar or you can pick some up at a craft or fabric store. You can use big buttons, tiny ones, white ones, colored ones – it’s all up to you and the look you want to create. Try a symmetrical pattern, a regimented border or go nuts and just sew your buttons randomly. • Ribbons are another inexpensive way to add custom detailing to discount curtains. You can find beautiful ribbons in craft or sewing stores of course, or try the Internet for vintage varieties. To keep the fabric and ribbon from puckering, use iron on fusible tape. Iron the fusible material onto the ribbon then iron the ribbon onto the fabric. For a good solid permanent attachment, follow up by sewing the ribbon to the fabric. The fusible tape will keep the stitches from puckering. • Stencil a design directly onto the fabric using acrylic fabric paint; regular craft paint will crack over time, so be sure to choose fabric paint. Choose a flexible stencil with a design of your choice or cut your own stencil with a craft knife. Use fabric tape to secure the stencil to the fabric, then paint in your design. Think Beyond Fabric
Your windows don’t have to be dressed in fabric, blinds or shades. You can consider decals, window film or a free standing screen - or do something even craftier. • Buy an inexpensive roller shade then decorate it with wall paper, contact paper or decals that suit your style. You’ll find beautiful rolls of wall paper at discount stores and stores that carry discontinued home goods for next to nothing. Create a pattern, a border, strips, random designs – whatever your imagination suggests. • You can also make a post-hippy style curtain out of beads, shells, custom jewelry, buttons, ribbons or whatever do-dads you have on hand. Simply thread them onto clear filament and tie them to a curtain rod at various heights to show off your artistic nature. Ribbons can be simply knotted to a rod and left to hang at will. Use a lot of strings for privacy or just a few for interest. Photo from Flickr - "Sea Gull Curtain" courtesy of Hljod.Huskona . |
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This intel was contributed by Anna Young
Anna Young
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May, 2012
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