A clean slate.

I've begun spring cleaning.  And every year as I clear the clutter a bit, I am struck by how monotone our living room is.  It was never intended.  It sort of looks like I was interrupted in the middle of decorating, right before adding in the personal touches that really make a room.  And of course that's exactly what happened.  But I try to not begrudge my little interruptions.  Especially as I watch them grow impossibly fast.  The room, after all, can wait.  But impromptu hide and seek sessions and tickle monster attacks most definitely cannot. 

Nevertheless, I was still a bit surprised to realize it has been nearly four years since I last thought about "decorating" the room.  And since spring and all the clean corners seem to bring about a certain ambition, I plan to pick up where I left off and finally add a much needed jolt of color by way of some pillows.  And maybe, just maybe, some drapes.   

I will leave up the sheers because I still like them.  They have served us well, despite the torture they endure most days (more on that in a bit).   A friend was over and asked about them, as she was having a hard time finding the right length in window treatments.  When I explained to her what I did she called it clever, so I thought I'd share.

First, to take the look up a notch (literally), I made sure to mount the hardware closer to the ceiling--see that in the picture?  Do not merely mount the rod right above the window.  The trick to making your ceilings appear much taller than they actually are is to mount your rods higher. 

Next, I ordered some semi-sheer tab top panels--from Overstock, I think--in the longest length possible and hung them up.  This allowed me to fold and pin the bottoms in place as I determined exactly where I wanted the curtains to hit (I went for a soft break right at floor length, no trendy puddle).  After that, all it took was a quick zip through the sewing machine over the original seam.  The bottoms are just ironed--there is no stitching.  I really like the detail that the double layer of fabric gives to each panel.  You could also easily add a ribbon or other trim for some color. 

I know that this is beyond basic for many of you.  But I also figured someone out there could relate to needing curtains pronto.  And this method, despite its ease, actually delivers window treatments worthy of hanging up in your grown-up space.  But that minimal time investment also means you won't cringe when you see a little curtain mischief going on.  Actually, make that a lot of curtain mischief...which makes me wonder, do little girls do this, too, or is it just boys?  Or is it just my boys??

I'll post pictures of the revamped room soon.  I'm sure it'll be within the next five years.

Ma'am. Step away from the contact paper.

 

Could someone please, please, come over here and put away this roll of vinyl?  I really do have some other stuff to get to.  But I couldn't help myself yesterday when I started decorating for Halloween and decided that our pictures looked a little out of place.

So I held up a sheet of acetate over the pictures to get a sense of scale.  And I drew a mustache here, a cape there...a few masks.  Then I traced everything onto contact paper (excuse the drawings--18 month-old on lap while attempting). 

I topped them with another sheet of vinyl and did some trimming and some sticking (more on Con-Tact paper crafts here and here).  Now the pictures are ready for Halloween.  

I saw a clever post last year where you use a grease pencil to embellish your pictures.  That was my original plan.  But then I realized that drawing directly onto my picture glass would absolutely guarantee a 30 minute Windex frenzy right before guests arrived for Thanksgiving dinner.  So this works for me--after Halloween, I can just peel off the cut outs.

More Halloween stuff coming up--Happy Monday!