No More Naked Windows...

Wuh-uh-elll, today I am SUPER excited (I mean like S-U-P-E-R animada) to share with you a recent update we made to our living room. Admittedly, I am way too proud about it. All I did was put curtains up.

BUT I PUT CURTAINS UP!!!

And it only took me like, 5 months! I understand that you may not be able to fully appreciate or comprehend how super speedy this truly was ;].  But  5 months! I mean, we're talking a record breaking number here, baby. I've never done it in less than ... well, probably 12.

Add or multiply by a few... ;]

It is especially speedy, if you consider that I chose to sew the curtain panels myself. And I don't sew. Like.. ever. Never ever ever. I happen to hate sewing in reality. But I love it in theory. Sometime the two of those concepts should hook up. Then I might actually sew more.

 But the major cherry on top of the pie, the real real real reason I am so pumped about my living room curtains is not only  that I was able to make them by myself, I was also able to install them for free using things we already had around our house.

And in case you're wondering, no. We didn't have the normal curtain rods and hardward on hand. So I had to improvise.

Enter this photo from marthastewart.com:

                                                              Source: marthastewart.com via (Megan) on Pinterest

I loved the idea of using a shelf and shelving brackets to create a  window treatment. But I had a problem. I didn't have any shelves long enough to go above our windows (they are 4 feet wide). And I didn't have money to go buy any, either! I didn't even have the budget to go get normal curtain rods and hardware, for goodness sake!

But I did have 4 white, iron brackets from some shorter shelving that I no longer wanted to use. And I also had two shower curtain rods we no longer needed (our new place came with their own!). And I thought, well...it may end up looking totally junky. But... then again. Maybe it'd look okay.

So I decided to install the brackets above my living room window.

Because I had no shelf, I put them up high enough so that the top portion of the brackets were flush against the ceiling.  I also spaced them about 6 inches out from the window's edge on each side.

Well. Actually, that's a lie. First I put them right alongside the outer edges of the windows so that I wouldn't have to use my measuring tape (save some time, right?). And then when I was finished, I realized that once I added the curtains, with that placement of the brackets, the 3 outer inches of the windows on both sides would be left uncovered.

Ugh.

When in doubt... always use your measuring tape.  Anyways. Once I got the brackets up, I used some sheets we weren't using to make my curtains. I put them on the shower curtain rod and slipped the rod through my brackets.

And suddenly, my windows were naked-less! And I totally didn't mind how it looked. I mean, obviously, it could look better. But, considering the price tag... I love it!  Funny how curtains can make a place look much more like a home.

So that was my recent mini decorating miracle. I've gotta say. I really love Pinterest. I've been able to do so much of what I love to do, without having to wince about the price tags! Thank you blogland  for all of your sharing and awesome ideas. You make my day. Every day!

P.S. I apologize for the cruddy pictures. There was no good lighting, day or night. Well... obviously night doesn't have good light. But it was gloomy all day too. Made for bummer pictures! Man!