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Our windows are slowly getting some lovin’ around here. Last week, I showed you guys our new bamboo shades in the bedroom. While that helped provide some privacy & block a bit of light…we still had some very large doors to cover up in this space.
Here’s a look at those windows back on our closing day.
Before we painted, we took the curtains and rod down and donated them knowing fully well that we’d eventually tackle our own window treatments for the doors.
I hemmed and hawed for a few weeks, trying to decide exactly what we wanted to do in here. And ultimately, I decided that curtains would work well with the whole door situation, and they could also make our already tall ceilings…appear even taller.
I absolutely looooove the natural light that streams into this room. It’s fabulous and illuminates the entire space. But when you want a little extra shut-eye on the weekends…it’s not exactly easy to snooze past sunrise with light in your face. So I knew I needed curtains, and they’d have to be blackout curtains.
No Sew Black-Out Curtains – What to Buy
I love the Ikea Ritva curtains because they have a nice linen texture and a good weight to them. But alone they allow way too much light to pass through. So I also picked up the Ikea Glasnava blackout curtain liners. Knowing that I wanted to hang my curtains high & wide (more on that below…), I purchased the 118″ Ritva curtains. I highly recommend getting extra long curtains and hemming them yourself. You don’t want to be limited when you go to hang your curtain rod. I also picked up 2 packs of each, knowing I needed 4 curtains total.
As for the rod, I went with this simple black curtain rod (similar) from Lowe’s. I wanted something simple & classic, and these fit the bill. As Sherry from Young House Loves says, “black curtain rods are the eyeliner of windows.” I couldn’t agree more.
How to DIY No Sew Black-out Curtains
Before tending to the curtains, I hung the rod. In order to make my ceilings appear taller, and the windows to appear wider…I set the rod quite a few inches outside of the window. I went 4 inches from the ceiling, and 8 inches outside of the door frame. I’ve read that 2-4 inches down from the ceiling is a good rule of thumb. As for the width…you can go anywhere from 6-10 inches outside the window frame. It all depends on your room, but just remember higher & wider is best!
With the rod up, it was time to get to work on the curtains.
Rookie Tip: As you hang the rod, make sure you wash both your liners and your curtains in the wash. They will all shrink quite a bit. You can then iron them all, which is a huge pain…but is a must if you want to get them looking good. This step took a lot of time but was worth it in the end.
These are the little clips that come in the package with the blackout liner. You’ll use these to hook the liner directly to your curtains.
They didn’t exactly come with the best directions (ohhhh Ikea…), so here is a closer look at how I hooked mine. Then I took my curtain rod ring and clipped it directly to the liner & curtain, and strung all 4 up on my curtain rod.
With the curtains & liners hanging from the rod, I was able to get an accurate measurement for hemming. In fact, I went ahead and cut off the excess right there on the ground.
First I did the liner. Then I moved onto the curtain. Now I’m no seamstress, but I do know how to measure for a hem. You’ll just need sewing needles and insert them straight across the entire width of the curtain where it meets the floor. I wanted my hem to be 3 inches, so I measured 3 inches out from my needles and marked the curtain all the way across. Then, it was cutting time!
Now, this next step may sound legit crazy to you, but I’m just sharing the way I did these curtains as a can’t-even-sew-on-a-button kinda gal. Attaching the liner to the curtain, and hemming the bottom is probably a super simple sewing job. But instead, I decided to use hemming tape. It took a bit of time & patience, but I didn’t have to struggle through the potentially painful project of pricking myself with a needle as I tried to sew this all together.
I grabbed some hemming tape from Ikea (it’s right there in the curtain section), and my hair straightener. Yes. I said hair straightener.
Sure this baby tames the frizz, but it also came in handy for this project. Keeping my curtains hung on the rod, I went ahead and used hemming tape to keep the liner & the curtain together on the edges. Doing this with the curtains hung made it really easy, as I could line everything up perfectly with the help of gravity. Then with the hemming tape sandwiched in between the liner and the curtain, I ran over it a few times with my straightener. The heat instantly bonded the fabrics, and I worked my way down all the sides of all 4 curtains. Yes. Time-consuming. But I put Netflix on and just got to work with this mindless task.
With the sides stitched up, I took the curtains off their clips and brought them down to do the bottom hem. This time I used a real iron. Once the hems were all done, I hung up my curtains and admired my handiwork.
My New Bedroom Curtains
Not bad for inexpensive window treatments. While doing the project I was a bit worried about the length, but they just kiss the floor and look perfect to me. I love when they’re open and neatly folded on each side of the window. But they’re great when closed too. They definitely block the light!
I’m also really happy with the curtain rod placement. The walls in here seem sooooo tall.
And for good measure…a nice little before & after.
We’re getting there! The master bedroom is really starting to feel like ours. Only a few more items left on that to-do list, and then it’s onto the next space.
If you’re hanging curtains I highly recommend you check out this post explaining the BIG MISTAKE that most people make when it comes to hanging. And if you want to make your window look bigger, read this post!
We also tackled these same curtains in a nursery space (adding pom poms to make them extra cute!)
Casey
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