You love that big window in your kitchen. You love the view. But you want to dress it up so it stands out and coordinates with the wall paint you love and the color of your cabinets. You want more creativity than Lucille Ball’s static kitchen valance, and you certainly want to top your boyfriend’s roommate’s “bedsheet stapled around the window” technique. Here are some tips on how you can create custom window treatments within a range of budgets.

What’s in a Room

First and foremost, you want to go for stylish to avoid the gaudy and the garish. If you are creating a window treatment for a teen girl’s room, depending on the decor theme, a brighter color curtain would likely look great and in most cases, is appropriate. You can choose a color that matches her bedspreads and coordinates with her wall color. Drape a sparkly scarf across the bar at the top to add some fun or use a gorgeous ribbon to pull the curtains back. However, glitter may not work as well in the kitchen. For a window in a main area, you may want to stick with more neutral tones to avoid changing the curtains every time you redecorate. You can still use a ribbon or other rope type of creative accessory to tie the curtains back. The options in this regard are endless, and provide an opportunity to add a touch of detail to accent your window dressing.

For the Seamstress

Sewing your own custom draperies opens up your choices for how you can make that window stand out. I do recommend for those who are less experienced at sewing, that you choose solid fabrics or fabrics with smaller designs. Striped and plaid are a much tougher lot to match up and display correctly.

For Everyone Who Is Not a Seamstress

Hey, not everyone knows how to sew these days. In fact, I’d venture to say sewing is becoming a lost art. So for those of us whose mom didn’t teach us how to thread a needle or don’t own a sewing machine, there are ways to create window draperies anyway.

One idea is to use grommets. Grommets are little metal rings that secure the edges of cut fabrics in place of thread. I recommend practicing this technique on scrap fabric first.

Another technique you can try is buying several curtain panels for one curtain rod. Who says you can only use one or two? For a full look, try getting several. You can play by buying different colors and creating a striped look or color pattern. This will likely cost more than just making your own.

How about fabric paint? Use fabric paint to draw on a custom swirl design pattern to existing plain curtains. With attention to detail and careful movement, your curtains will be unique and completely customized to the room.

Customized Hanging

Consider customizing how you hang your curtains. If you’d like your window to appear taller, set the curtain rod four to six inches above the top of the window, but be sure not to get too close to the ceiling. For a grander window to show off your window molding and to allow for more light, extend the rod out about three to five inches so the fabric hangs in front of the wall.

Whatever your skill level, all you really need to create a custom window treatment is your imagination!

Bio –

This guest post was contributed by Proctor Drapery and Blinds, providing custom window treatments for the greater St. Louis area since 1974.

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