How Long Should Curtains Be? Floor-length is the way to go, unless there’s a radiator or a deep sill in the way. Ready-made panels are available in lengths from 63 to 144 inches. Measure from the floor to where you’ll hang the rod, then round up. You can always have the dry cleaner hem them a bit if needed. You’ll get the most current look if the fabric makes contact with the floor (or sill or radiator). Too-short curtains can seem nerdy and off, like high-waters. Here are two surefire approaches.1: Just Hitting the Floor or SillThis look is classic and tailored; it makes sense if you’ll be opening and closing the curtains a lot (they’ll easily fall back into place every time you move them). The fabric should just touch the floor or hover half an inch above. This is also a great approach for café curtains (short panels that cover only the lower portion of a window and hit the sill), which work well in spots like the kitchen and bathroom, where long drapes aren’t practical.2: Breaking Slightly at the FloorPanels that extend onto the floor by one to three inches are the most stylish right now.

They’re more relaxed than those that graze the floor (left), but they still feel tailored—think of a pair of dress trousers. If you have uneven floors or are worried about precision measuring, this style is more forgiving. In formal rooms, an exaggerated take—six or so inches of fabric pooling on the floor—can look romantic but is also high-maintenance; curtains need refluffing every time you vacuum or the cat lies on them. How to Install Curtain Rods A simple way to add style and comfort to the windows in your home.I've known for awhile that I wanted to have a yellow + white + baby blue + navy blue color scheme in my little man's nursery. So when I saw these adorable navy blue gingham curtains at Pottery Barn Kids, it's no surprise that I fell in love. Perfect for the nursery! But not so much a perfect price. While they're on sale now (of course!), each panel was originally $79 and I needed four... with taxes and shipping, we're talking almost $375. Not exactly within the nursery curtain budget!

And then inspiration hit in the form of our favorite Swedish cheap-o decor center. Waaay back in April (remember this post?), I came across an amazing deal on navy blue gingham fabric at Ikea. For some reason, the fabric was displayed at $3.99/yard instead of it's normally priced $8.99/yard... so they gave me the deal! Seriously exciting if you need a lot of fabric, like I did. Since I knew I wanted to make longer curtains (around 96" tall) I went ahead and grabbed 14 yards of the material for a whopping $55.86. After finding a few awesome tutorials online (like this one and this one), I sort of created my own hodge-podge curtain-making tutorial as I went. I'm certainly no professional (so take my advice with a grain of salt), but thanks to my new sewing machine, I think I've cranked out some pretty awesome curtains! Now it's time to add the lining. I picked up my blackout liner at JoAnn Fabrics on sale- normally $6.99/yard but it was 50% off. I bought 13 yards of the liner for about $45.44.

Now comes another scary cutting part... but luckily you already know your curtain measurements (remember, mine is 94 inches), so you just add 2.5 inches to that number and cut that length for the liner. Oh and as you can see, we're pulling lots of navy into the room with items like the painted kiddo rocking chair and other accessories. We even decided to bring our navy blue nesting tables from the living room into this space as a side table for the glider.les paroles de blue bubblin If you're interested in making curtains but don't have a sewing machine, check out my no-sew curtain tutorial right here!curtain factory outlet tally hoPainting Horizontal Stripes on Fabric Curtain Panels4 pics 1 word ticket stub stage red curtain

Renovating, furnishing and decorating an apartment = very tight budget. With the main floor needing six panels, Ikea’s Vivan panels were a perfect choice. A set of two panels for $9.99 – what a deal! 52″ wide x 98″ long. I love all white curtain panels but for the main living space, I wanted to add a little texture, neutral accent and simple pattern. I love horizontal striped curtains. We decided to go with three large neutral stripes, starting from the bottom.ropimex curtains Not according to plan: My plan was to do an ombre design from black, dark charcoal to light gray. the tortilla curtain works citedI ended up with something a little different. curtains and blinds chislehurstHere’s how I did it, my suggestions on what I would have done differently and why my stripes aren’t ombre.marimekko red poppy shower curtain

I started by pre-washing and ironing out wrinkles, then spread them out (one at a time) on the dining room table. I used a vinyl table cloth as a “drop cloth” for underneath the panel. Using my yard stick, I started from the bottom and measured 12 inches, then drew a pencil line. I used my FrogTape on the outside of my 12″ line to create a crisp border. For the next stripe, I measured 12″ from the edge of the FrogTape. Note: My straight tape lines extended past the panel to secure the edges of the fabric to the vinyl tablecloth to help prevent shifting. I purchased 3 large bottles of fabric paint in black. My plan was to add white to lighten each stripe. However even three bottles of fabric paint does not go a long way with six curtain panels. I ended up using the black fabric paint for the bottom stripe of each panel. Dip in paint, roll on cardboard/paper towels then roll onto fabric. My cheap rollers meant I had to go over it a few times but once the roller was saturated with paint, it went quicker.

Then…since we are on a budget, I used latex wall paint – which is the reason I ended up with a black stripe, gray stripe and greige stripe…not white ombre, but neutral! Tip: {figured this out after the fact}, water down latex wall paint for better absorption. I used a sponge roller from the dollar store for each stripe. Tip: DO not use cheap dollar store sponge rollers. Invest a couple dollars in a better quality foam roller. My cheap sponge roller is part of the reason for a “suede” look…which we were okay with and ended up liking the look, but I also would have liked a more solid result. The faded look is pretty too and when time is an issue, it looks even better. I painted each stripe, let it dry a little, then hung each panel to dry more thoroughly.  So, with six curtain panels, it did take me a couple of days. I wiped the vinyl tablecloth in between laying out each panel. (Pleasant time saving surprise: The paint on my vinyl drop cloth could be seen through the white curtain panels, meaning after the first one, I didn’t have to measure/mark each panel – I just lined it up on the vinyl drop cloth and taped where the previous curtains’ FrogTape lines showed through.)

I immediately removed my FrogTape once painting was complete. Once all of my panels were dry, I measure the length and cut from the top, adding 3 inches to create a rod pocket (cutting from the top or bottom means one of those needs hemmed and I found painting from the bottom up easier). I love using curtain rings, but again, 6 sets of curtain rings adds up, and this is a budget friendly makeover. I creased the extra 3 inches with an iron, then folded about an inch under and ironed that. I sewed a straight line near the bottom of the ironed fold to create a rod pocket. ***I’ll share what I did with the “top” piece of the curtain panels soon – cutting from the top left me with 6 valances, just needing a hem. I gave each panel another quick iron over and now they’re hanging! Just a peek of the apartment windows before: Door paint color is Valspar Gilded Pesto (beautiful chartreuse!). Side note: Since the tiny apartment doesn’t have an entry way or closet, I attached some coat hooks (Hobby Lobby) to a board and screwed it to the door – instant cute coat rack. D