I tend not to have a lot of window coverings in this cottage. When we moved in, there were already blinds on most of the windows, except for the kitchen. I suppose the owner thought that the kitchen, which is in the back of the house, didn’t require anything of that sort. However, I wasn’t comfortable with that so I added simple roman blinds in red that are insulated, which turned out to be a good idea as it gets windy here.
For a wonderful couple of years, my niece and her family lived south of us in New Jersey. (They are now back in the Chicago area.) They were renting a house and she had these white roll up shades from Target that she planned to get rid of when they were about to move again (this time to Amsterdam.) Since I had nothing but basic white mini blinds on the living room windows, I gratefully took them off her hands. There are four of these shades, three in the living room and one in the bathroom.
This is what they look like:
These windows are always hard to shoot because so much light pours in – but I think you can see that the shades swoop down in the middle and have ties. Those ties, though you can’t see it in this photo, hang down for a good 15 inches or so.
They’ve always been too long. They get in the way. They get caught in the blinds. They get dirty. They annoy me.
And, after 5+ years of these shades, the swoopy thing in the middle was really getting on my last nerve. It looked too from-frou, though I know that you will probably say, “Really, Claudia? That’s not what I would call from-frou.” I can’t think of a better word. The swoops were too much. And they looked weird when viewed from outside the house.
They drove me nuts.
Not that swoops are bad, you might have them in your home – they just didn’t work for me. In this cottage.
You know that feeling when something you’ve had around for several years suddenly irritates you? That’s what happened with the shades. However, I cannot afford new window coverings. And when faced with any sort of decision about window coverings, my M.O is to run and hide. Curtains? No. We have too many windows. What color would I choose? Pattern? There’s already a lot of pattern in our living room. We don’t need more. Wall space is at a premium and I don’t want part of the wall space taken up by curtains.
When in doubt, make do. That’s my motto. Just a simple idea, but I wanted them to roll up more tightly, sans swoop, so that they covered less of the window and looked a bit sleeker.
No More Swoop.
So I threw them in the washer, along with some bleach, and the next day I figured out how tightly I wanted to roll them and how long I wanted those annoying ties to be. I ironed each shade and each tie, grabbed my tape measure, cut the ties, then sewed a new hem at the bottom of each tie.
Then I laid the shade out on my nice big California King bed (you can see I’m still thrilled with the new bed), inserted the curtain rod, rolled and rolled and rolled until I was ready to tie it off, crossed my fingers, and took it back downstairs to see if it worked. It took a surprisingly long time to do all of this. Iron, spray starch, measure, cut, hem. In the meantime, Scout paced and panted, adding an annoying soundtrack in the background. She doesn’t like it when I disappear upstairs for more than a half hour.
Better? I think so. In retrospect, I probably should have lopped off some of the fabric, which would have made the roll itself less heavy. I never unroll them as we also have blinds on those windows. But this will do until the day comes when I can afford something else. (The bathroom shade went through the same treatment.)
No annoying ties hanging the length of the window. I cannot tell you how glad I am to see them go. Why didn’t I think of this sooner? I have no answer to that one.
And I just noticed for the first time, after living here over eight years, that the window frame above the sofa is taller than the frame around the other two windows. Or the window itself is not aligned with the other two windows. What?? I kept trying to line up the bottom of the shades on all three windows and it wasn’t working. Now I know why.
This house gets funkier by the minute.
Look at Monty with his head bathed in sunlight. He’s pretty darned cute.
Note snow on the ground. Yes, it’s still there. Yesterday the temperature hit 57 degrees. So there has been a considerable amount of melt, but we have had so much snow that I fear it will be well into April until we see it totally disappear. Today we are due for a lot of rain which might turn into a little snow tonight. And ice. Thursday brings temps in the twenties.
Ask me how sick I am of winter. And snow.
You already know the answer.
If you missed it, I reviewed an excellent book yesterday and I’m giving away a copy. Leave a comment on that post if you want to be eligible. You have until Friday evening.
Happy Wednesday.
I have that same exact curtain and I did the same thing you did! Those looong ties drove me nuts.
I love your living room; it is so comfortable looking. And the light is glorious!
Enjoy the meltdown; bye bye winter.
Those ties were so annoying!
Yes – bye bye winter!!
What a difference “no swoop” makes. I love them..Clever you!
Balisha
Thanks so much, Balisha!
A absolutely love the look of the makeover! I actually like all the extra fabric that you rolled up. It gives a lovely opaque look just to the ‘hem’ area while the curtains above are much sheerer. Gosh your home is cozy! That brick chimney adds so much character to the room. And I’m just like you when it comes to curtains. I’ve got the same valances and panels on our slider since about 1989 in most rooms!
Take care, Claudia! We’re expecting the same weather as you…
Donna
We lucked out with the chimney – it really makes such a huge difference in the room. Good to know about the look of the extra fabric, Donna – thanks! That makes me feel better. xo
Thumbs up on the curtains … nice idea.
Thanks, Ann!
Love the new curtain look Claudia. I was laughing while reading your blog. I used to have “swoops” in my living room as well and suddenly became sick and tired of them. In our guest room I have similar curtains, though they are short — only covering half of the top window. I now just let them hang completely down and I love that look. Echoing others, your living room (entire house) just looks so cozy and inviting. Love it!
Thank you, Vera. Good to know there’s someone else who got tired of swoops!
It’s a classy, sophisticated look. Love it.
Thanks, Nancy!
I actually love the roll in the fabric in the hem. Isn’t there a saying “Necessity is the Mother of invention” ? Another saying I often heard my Grandmother say was “Use it up ~wear it out. Make it do ~ or do without.” You re-invented/ re-purposed some good fabric, and it looks great!!
Glad to also hear you have had some of these nice temps. It was 62* here on Monday… a high of 18* today and down to 5* tonight. But those temps on Monday did help to diminish some of the white crud outside. I have put some “springy” things up in the house and took every snow person down for the year. They have been banished to the basement.
Have a great day enjoying those new valances!!
I think I would have had a roll no matter what – just less fabric in the roll.
Still snow everywhere though there is grass peeking through in spots. And mud everywhere!
Love the “new” curtains! You could bathe in your beautiful sunlight. I enjoy change and sometimes I put things back the way they were and sometimes I love it for a very long time. Just depends.
There is still plenty of snow and ice here too. I ventured outside a couple times over the last 2 days for a breath of fresh air and was delighted to see snowdrops, crocus and hellebores in bloom, but basically my yarden is not the lovely spring picturesque setting you see in magazines, it’s more of a muddy, slippery mess.
Enjoy your day, BTW when does Don come home?
Not for another 4 weeks, Kelly.
Your new curtain look is great! You really have a cozy looking home. Yes, winter is not done with us yet. It was 72 yesterday, well, it didn’t last, overnight, the temp dropped to 30, the winds howled, and we had thunder & lightening & snow!
March is always a dicey month, Debbie!
With some work and no money you have a great new look. Your house always looks so relaxing I want to lie down and take a nap. It was 74 here yesterday. Tonight it is going down to 16. So sick of the cold weather. Would love a chance to win the book. xo Laura
Did you leave a comment on the review post, Laura? Hope so!
Great job on the curtains! They look great. I have two small linen closets in the hallway. After twenty years I was looking at the shelves and realized that some of them were about six inches short. Easy fix. Just got my husband to cut some wood of the same depth and put them in front of the short shelves. More space! Now that I think about it, I should have moved the old shelves forward and put the new boards in back. Well, maybe someday.
Tana
It’s good that you have more space – I envy you your linen closet!
Oh-My-Gosh Claudia..I can’t believe you have that much snow left on the ground..Our snow here is about totally gone and with it raining all day today I don’t think there will be much left..Wasn’t it just so warm and wonderful yesterday?..The curtains look much better..I know how you can live with something for years and then suddenly you can’t stand to look at it anymore..I usually look for curtains at thrift shops because of the price but I have one room here that has five windows making it almost impossible to find cheaper curtains for in there and way to expensive to buy them new..
Well, we had over 3 feet of snow on the ground, so it’s going to take a long time to get rid of it all!
I love books, thanks
Barbara, sorry, I wasn’t clear – you have to leave a comment on the review post, not on this post.
I like the swoop in its current incarnation. Glad you took the plunge!
xo
Sheila
Thanks, Sheila!
Oh yes, the tighter roll and shorter ties make a big difference. I like clean lines on windows and the droopy curtains would bother me. Love the sunlight just wish the snow would go away for you! I saw the photo of Don in his play on your FB and he looks great. I know you and Scout miss him. I was so blessed with a gorgeous day yesterday but we are back to rain today. Big Hugs! Linda
We miss him very much. Opening Night is tonight!
Your revision of the curtains is great. Sometimes we just get into the mood of “I have to do something about that RIGHT NOW.” The idea has been percolating for awhile and then whammo, it’s done!
Gorgeous sunny skies here again today. Spring, spring, spring is on the way!
I know it’s coming, but it sure looks snowy around here!
That is alot of work but how nice it looks ! Plus you crossed some spring cleaning off the list too. Our snow melted and it is just a muddy mess in most of the yard from the dogs , snow and rain over the winter. If you are getting what I have now and you usually do, it’s been pouring since 6 a.m and the yard is awful, the roads are full of huge puddles etc and then it is to rapidly change and freeze over later with snow on top. Deja Vu. The final bits of 4 and 4 inch thick pieces of ice here and there finally disappeared just the other day….
However I’ve got new birdsong in the morning and seen finches and robins though I filled up all of the feeders yet again, due to this latest storm / very cold weather coming on the heels of the rain.
I’ve been hearing more and more birdsong, as well. That makes me happy!
What a difference….love the no swoop look! Much more streamlined…but still very cozy. I hate changing window coverings…I still have two sliding doors with vertical blinds from the ’90’s. But, they still work…so why get rid of them because the window covering police say they are dated? Can’t justify that expense…besides I still like them. If you get a lot of rain…you should be rid of the snow by the end of March…hehe. I know I shouldn’t laugh…but if I don’t scream, I laugh! We’ve still got about 8 inches or so…got a dusting this morning. Let’s hope this IS the last of it! ;)
I am expecting the rain to get rid of more of the snow – but then everything freezes tonight and driving will be dangerous.
Yes, much better and I love that you could remake what you had. Who want’s to spend more money when you don’t have to.
You’re not kidding, Dawn!
In the last few 40-50 degree days, most of the snow has melted away. Except for those huge mountains of snow the snowplows create. Parts of those suckers will still be visible in April I bet. And now we’re scheduled to get 12-16 inches of snow between today & tomorrow. And the winds have already begun to roar. A lot of schools in the area didn’t even open today because it’s supposed to be quite bad by afternoon rush hour. When I talked to my car dealership this morning, the salesman told me they were being sent home at noon because of the Latest Storm on its way. HEAVY SIGH. Hopefully this will be the last major hit of the season. Now why don’t I have a positive vibe about that? :>)
I wish most of our snow was gone! But then there will be lots of mud. Sorry you are about to get more, Janet! That seems unfair!
This whole Winter has been unfair – to everyone! The folks who need all this water – the West Coast – aren’t getting it. And we here in the water-logged Eastern Seaboard keep getting more and more! This Winter of 2014 will be talked about for a LONG time… PS – forgot to tell you I love the change you made with your curtains. The rollup idea! What a difference between your BEFORE and AFTER pictures. Love that exposed brick in the home too. How come I never noticed that before? :>)
Much better now! I make curtains out of dropcloths. You can’t find cheaper fabric and the natural, nubby look works for me.
I see that a lot of people do that – and slipcovers as well. It isn’t my style but I like seeing it in others’ homes!
Isn’t it amazing the difference one small change can make? Love the new look!
Thank you, Debbie!
Very clever change! Though I have to say, I liked the curtains beforehand, too. I know what you mean about getting tired of the same ol’ thing though. Still plenty of snow on the ground here, too. It actually snowed again overnight – only 1″ in my area, heavier to the south, but still. I don’t even want to see so much as a dusting anymore. And temps are going down to 10 degrees tonight, so here we go with the cold again.
I think we’re going to get 1 – 2 inches, but I agree, Melanie – no more snow! Cold tonight and tomorrow and tomorrow night and then it will begin to warm up again.
Your home gets such beautiful light, makes everything so warm and welcoming. Love the new look – great idea to roll them up – don’t you just love the “ah ha” moments!!
The curtains look great. So glad to have discovered your blog!
Oh I KNOW what it’s like to have something just irritate you to no end! My biggest pet peeve now is my kitchen table. It is ALWAYS cluttered with stuff. I clean it off and turn around and there’s the clutter right back where it was before. I like your new treatments very very cool!
Blessings, Joanne
I love what you did with the swoops, Claudia…a beautiful look! Before we finished our kitchen redecorating, we not only had swoops, but very busy floral swoops. When we took them down to paint, we decided not to put anything back up…and I’m happy!
The curtains look so nice that way. i have been reading your blog for quite some time but have never commented. i noticed in a post a while back and again in this post, the rug in front of your couch. i have a twin to it under my dining room table. i found mind last summer at a community rummage sale and i just love it.
Well, aren’t you the clever one! The new look is much more Claudia-ish.
I always liked the curtains before but you had a great idea! It sort os “lifts” the whole room… perkier, fresher, neater and tidier! Very pretty. Good job!
I love the change to your curtains, Claudia. It does make it seem as if much more light is getting in. They look beautiful.