Curtains are Hung!

We have curtains up in the living room!  I do realize that is not a very exciting statement, but I really would rather not mention exactly how long we've had bare windows in our living room.  I put off and put off purchasing fabric to make drapes... I didn't know what to buy, I didn't really want to pay for it, and our living room was still in such a state of disarray from our ceiling renovation that it was kind of a moot point anyway. 

 But now that painting is the only work remaining in the room, I was ready to make a decision and get some drapes hung!  I loved the thought of a pattern but I just could not find the right one.  For one thing, we have a red couch and a red plaid chair, so that limits the color.  Also, the living room flows to so many other rooms in our house that it needed to stay somewhat neutral.  Finally it hit me a couple weeks ago that the same linen I used on our dining room chairs would be perfect.  The fabric is a little pricey, but I do think it's timeless and will coordinate so well with the rest of our home. 

I choose to not purchase drapes pre-made for a few reasons.  The biggest reason is that our ceiling height is not standard, so sizes sold are either too short or too long.  I also love the fact that if you purchase drapery fabric on a bolt, the width (I think about 55") is enough to actually make your drapes usable.  What I mean by that is I can simply pull the drapes so that they cover the entire window when it gets dark out and during the day we don't have any blinds to obstruct the view looking out.

One of my favorite ways to pull a room together is hanging drapes.  My personal preference is to position drapery rods a good distance above the top of the window frame so that it gives the appearance of a tall room.  I also position the rods at least 4" to the side of each window frame so that it maximizes the amount of light coming in. 

In some cases, I think a little pooling is beautiful... that's what I was going for in our dining room where I wanted it to look a little more "formal", but here in the living room I wanted the drapes to simply touch the floor. 

Although progress in our living room has been slow, it's always such a nice feeling to be so close to finished!  The overall color scheme isn't changing, but the improvements made are things that make me appreciate the room so much more.  Hanging curtains is just motivating me to finish up the painting (and that's how I justified hanging them now)!  (smile)

Hope you have a wonderful week!