Our recent road trip to see Katie and her amazing house gave us that tickle to get down to business when we got back home. You know how your DIY momentum is up and you’re moving right along ticking things off your to-do list and then the dust clears and you’re just spent and need a little break? Like, mehaps, a road trip? That seems to be the way it goes with us. When it comes to house progress, we tend to work in fits and starts. But then something sparks that get-back-to-business excitement and suddenly we’re done with our four-ish day Hammer And Paint Brush Hiatus and are refreshed and ready to go. Yeah, so that happened.
I guess being on the road produced that absence makes the heart grow fonder effect. Not that we were mad at our house, but we just weren’t raring to go when we left like we were when we got back. So the morning after our 9.5 hour drive I woke up early, sorted through a million (ok, a thousand) photos, wrote that shopping post that went up in the afternoon, caught up on comments/Facebook/Twitter/email, wrote this house crashing post for the next morning, and then it was dinner time. Then I up and made dining room curtains. And they might just be my favorite things in the whole darn house.
Seriously, I love them.
You guys know we’re into our hallway frame gallery a little too much (along with our giant bedroom light fixture and humongous gray sectional). And I adore my weird horse art and miscellaneous ceramic animal menagerie. But you’d think I carried these curtains for nine months and went through 48 hours of labor to bring them into this world – that’s how much I love them. And it only took me about an hour and a half – two tops – to make them. Wham, bam, thank you Katie (for the kick-in-the-pants inspiration that your gorgeous house provided).
Here’s how it all went down. We already mentioned snagging this deeply discounted Robert Allen curtain fabric from a local fabric outlet called U-Fab (for any non locals, here’s an affiliate link to the same fabric on amazon). It was fancy schmancy designer fabric that I’d been in love with forever, but it was marked down to $12.99 a yard (as opposed to the original cost of $40+ a yard!) thanks to a bit of an irregularity in the fabric (a white stripe that ran down one side, which I knew I could work around).
Since I wanted two 90-ish inch panels for either side of the big picture window in the dining room I calculated that five yards would do the trick, which factored out to $32 a panel (still not dirt cheap but a whole lot cheaper than the regular price of that fabric, which would have run me $100 a panel). Score.
We’re just not really curtain closing and opening folks (except in the nursery since we close the blinds and draw the curtains – anything for five more minutes of sleep) so we don’t plan to draw them shut (we add white faux wood blinds or bamboo shades when it comes to actually gaining privacy, although since we usually hang out in the back of the house when it’s dark enough to see into the windows, we’re not in any rush to add privacy blinds or shades just yet). But we do love hanging curtains high and wide to let the light stream in and add height and drama. Which means we didn’t have to worry about the width (since we’d need a lot more of that than what we had to cover the long picture window). And boy are these babies a fresh little slap in the face compared to the white Ikea Vivan curtains that we embraced in nearly every room of our last house.
But on to how I made them. First I rolled out the fabric on a 5 x 8′ rug in our office (one of my completely not patented ways to get straight cuts since you can line up the fabric with the corners/edges of the rug to be sure it’s square before snipping away). Then I just pulled out my tape measure to see how long I wanted them (90″ each before hem allowances, which would make them about 87″ long after hemming – but then I add ring hooks which make them 90″ again):
It was as simple as lining up the end of the fabric with the 90″ mark on my tape measure and then cutting the other edge against the rug at the 0″ inch mark, for a nice straight cut (sure enough, I was left with a nice 90″ long rectangular swatch of fabric).
When it comes to the width, I just usually go with the width that it comes right off the bolt (which is wider when you get upholster fabric like this- ours was 57″). But remember it had that defect running along one side of it, so I just cut three inches or so from that side (again I used the edge of the rug to get a straight cut). But I didn’t completely cut off the white part since I knew once I hemmed it, it would be completely invisible (even from the back). You can see the normal white edge that comes on fabric on the right of the swatch below and the irregular white defect on the bottom half of the left edge below:
So there I had one 90 x 54″ curtain panel cut out, and just needed one for the other side of the window. So I laid the freshly cut one on top of the uncut remnant of fabric and used it as a template to create another panel of exactly the same size:
Then I washed both curtain panels so they would be “pre-shrunk” and easy to launder from here on out (one of our main goals is to have as many “washable” surfaces in the kitchen and dining room as possible). Oh but it’s always smartest to preshrink fabric before you cut it, I just knew I only had enough fabric to make two panels of this size so whether I washed or cut it first (or cut and washed it later) I’d end up with the same sized panels in the end. I grabbed them fresh out of the dryer instead of letting them sit there to keep them wrinkle free for the most part.
Next I had to decide between my trusty curtain-making method of using iron-on hem tape or the slightly scary idea of using Oh Brother (my new sewing machine) to attempt to do what I used to use hem tape for. After a decent amount of out-loud debate with myself, I decided to try my hand at sewing curtain panels- just to see if I could do it (but you can find full curtain making tutorials with hem tape here and here). Even without my hem-tape security blanket, I did break out the iron to make a half inch “seam” down one of the short sides of the curtain. It just seems like now whenever I dabble in sewing, I find myself trying to iron instead of pinning – just to see if it’ll work. Am I a rebel or what?
The ironed seam definitely stayed put while I dragged the giant fabric swatch back into the kitchen to sew the hem, so I happily skipped the pinning step and even boldly (well, maybe that adjective is a stretch) decided to try another hemming technique that some of you have commented to tell me about in previous I’m-a-shaky-little-sewing-novice posts. I took the ironed seam and folded it over one more time, then I sewed down the seam to create a nice finished looking hem (even from the back). That extra fold hid the raw cut edge of the fabric, if that makes sense. And even with my extra folding step, there was thankfully no pinning required. Sweet.
See, here’s what it looked like completely folded over as I sewed down the seam.
And this method surprisingly worked on all sides (I worried the long 90″ sides of the panels wouldn’t take to ironing and would need to be pinned, but it went just as well as the short sides). And as for the defect, you can see how when I folded the hem over one more time, it became invisible and I was once again left with a finished looking edge from both the front and the back.
Here’s how the back of a corner looked once I was done with my quickie ironing-then-folding-then-hemming technique:
Then I clipped seven oil-rubbed bronze ring clips to each panel (from Target) and slipped them onto a super long oil-rubbed bronze rod. Oh how I love not having to sew a rod pocket or anything complicated thanks to the magic of ring clips. I ended up getting the curtain rod from Lowe’s since the ones at Target weren’t long enough – I ended up needing 144″ of length (that’s what she said).
Our curtain hanging method (also not patented or even endorsed) is for one of us to then stand on a chair (in this case, John) while the other one steps back and looks at the length of the curtains and how they hit the floor while the chair-stander raises and lowers the rod ever so slightly until the floor-stander screams “perfect- don’t move an inch or I’ll kill you” and then runs up to hold a rod bracket under the perfectly held rod to measure the distance from the crown molding or ceiling that it should be hung to keep the rod right where it’s being held.
Of course this only deals with the height of the rod and not the width, but we typically like to go as wide as we can with the curtains so they drape in front of the wall instead of blocking light and hanging in front of the window. In this case we went as wide as our extra long rod allowed (19″ outside of the window molding on each side). See how the panel just kisses the window and blocks wall instead of light?
Oh and notice how the curtain also seems to just graze the floor ever so slightly? Poor John raised and lowered the curtain on that chair fifteen times until it was juuuust right. We’ve tried measuring the wall or the panel instead of doing the by-eye real-test (involving two people, a chair, and some serious arm strength and balancing skillz) but you just can’t beat the result. At least we can’t. So we keep going back to it. And I tell John he’s my Atlas when he’s up there holding the rod up. Gotta keep team morale up.
Here’s another rod shot for you. You can also see how the curtains just hang slightly in front of the window trim here as opposed to blocking the whole side window, which is only 20″ wide. Since we mentioned that we hung the panels 19″ wide on each side of the window trim, you can totally see how if they were hung flush with the trim they would block all but one inch of that 20″ side window. Which is definitely not what we were going for.
You’ll have to excuse all of the wide shots of the room in this post. Things like the curtains and the room in general are coming off greener/yellower than they are in real life (the green grass/trees/bushes outside were casting a yellow-green tint through the big light-filled window, and I was too lazy to photoshop it). John will definitely be in charge of photos of this room next time around. As for the true color of the curtains, it’s best depicted in the closer shots without a lot of window going on, like the ones above.
Actually this shot is probably the most accurate to what they look like in real life. I’d describe them as mostly blue with hits of green, chartreuse, white, and brown. Crazy busy but also crazy gorgeous if you’re me (and miracle of all miracles, John loves them too). Who ever would have thought that two white curtain fiends like us could branch out and embrace curtain color and pattern? I wonder if my mom will like these or they’ll finally be a choice that she won’t endorse. What say you, mom?
Here’s another wide shot where they look more yellow/green than they really do in real life (they’re more like a teal blue color when you glance at them from afar) but you get the idea. Oh and the dark rod ties into the other deep tones in the room (the chair legs and dark dining table, the deep color on the back of the built-ins, etc). So that’s why I chose it over stainless or white. I always think a dark rod hung high and wide is like eyeliner on a window.
Mmmm, here’s a good shot of my favorite detail in the fabric. See those smeary turquoise blobs? They tie so deliciously into the slightly darker teal on the back of the built-ins. Yummy. Even the little yellow-green knobs that we added to the base cabinets of the built-ins relate perfectly to the pops of bright yellowy-green chartreuse in the curtains. Hooray for happy accidents like that (we had no idea what curtain fabric we’d pick when we snagged those babies at Hobby Lobby).
Oh yeah and I had some fun setting the table. Not that anyone’s coming over today. Or tomorrow. I just wanted to pull out a runner and some plates and cups and clip some random branches from outside. Why? I don’t know. Why do birds sing? I guess the colorful curtains got me hot and bothered enough to break out Sue the Napkin (times seven) and add some fun to the big empty wood table.
And guess what? I’m leaving everything there tonight. Just because I’m weird and I can’t wait to wake up in and morning and pad in there and smile. Kind of like how I paint a room and the next morning I run in and look at it again. Just grinning at the wall like a fool.
Isn’t it amazing how much of a difference curtains can make? Well, that and some rich color on the back of those built-ins. Here’s a little flash back to the room as it looked when we moved in:
And here it is now (albeit a little side-heavy with that bare wall on the left- for now):
Thought I was done? Nope. One more thing. Here’s a terribly rendered depiction of the doorway that we can’t wait to add that will connect the dining room to the kitchen (we plan to mirror the size of the picture window so the whole room feels nice and balanced). And of course adding a big chandelier over our giant table will add a lot more function (the room doesn’t have any ceiling fixtures!):
It’s so funny to remember that this room was a formal living room when we toured this house (and the office was the dining room). In fact we dug up these old shots that we took during our first walk through:
Gosh, that feels like a million years ago and it was less than six months back. As soon as we walked in we were struck by three things: we reeeally wanted the house, we wanted to change up a few of the rooms, and we reeeeally wanted the house. Yup, we were sold upon entry. I don’t think we ever got into the specifics, but the sellers weren’t 99% sure they even wanted to sell. In fact the night after we walked through the house for the first time they took their stuff out of storage. A sure sign to the realtor that they might take it off the market. Thank goodness it all worked out and they ended up accepting our offer.
As for looking past the way a room looks when you’re house hunting to see “the real space” we just completely discount furnishings and wallpaper and paint color and even entire room functions. That’s how we could look past the dining table and the sofa to almost immediately proclaim that converting the dining room into an office and turning the living room into a big spacious dining room would work more for the way we live. You know, since we have a huge family that we couldn’t cram into the former dining room, a giant living room in the back of the house (no need for two), and a penchant for open living and big wiiiide doorways. We just can’t help ourselves. Anyway, have you guys made any curtains lately? Knocked down any walls? Set the table for nothing but kicks?
Pssst – Soooo not a sewing person? I wasn’t either. Here’s a tutorial for making no-sew curtains with iron-on hem tape (and here’s another one for good measure).
Update – Wanna know where we got something in our house or what paint color we used? Just click on this button:
Reenie says
WOW—WEEEE!!! It looks great. I haven’t even read what you wrote yet ~ I just skimmed the pics. Can’t believe the difference of the previous owners and how it looks now.
Great job… once again <3
Amber Wallace says
Love them! Great fabric. I recently no sewed some and have been working up the nerve to real sew curtains for my daughters room. So feeling inspired. Congratulations on your new little bundle =)
Lauren says
Lovely!
Ellen says
That fabric is gorgeous. I’ve seen a few pillows covers on etsy made from that fabric and have always thought they were fabulous. Curtains made from them are even more so!
laura says
I love the way the dining room is looking these days!! And you have inspired me to face my sewing machine fears and make some curtains for my living room! I also have a very wide window (it’s actually 3 windows connected) and we currently have the couch in front of it (not the ideal placement but only way it would work because of lots of doorways on the other wall!) so I was wondering if I had to have panels on the outside and inside of the window. But now seeing that you just did the outside…I think that might work and it will be way cheaper!
Christine says
So this is the reason that apple green color wouldn’t have worked on your dining chair slipcovers! The brown color you chose blends so nicely while letting those beautiful curtains be the star! I love them!!
Kimberly Bernhardt says
I have to say I love the brown chair slip covers! The green on the table just pops. Chairs are nice but if they were green that would be the main focus and you wouldnt see the shelves or the fabulous curtains! Love it!
Karen J says
I am OHHHHHHHH SOOOOOOO jealous. This room is beautiful! I’ve got to figure out how to thread my sewing machine that I got from a friend and get busy.
Just an after thought..will you be putting a rug in this room some time down the road?
YoungHouseLove says
I think while our kid(s) are small we’ll go rugless since we have a rug in the office and plan to add one to define the entryway (one rug on each end of the room seems less like overkill than three in a row). We’ll have to see how everything evolves though- you never know!
xo,
s
Mari Ines Woodsome says
Nate Berkus says he loves a rug-less dining room. Just saying…
YoungHouseLove says
Gotta love that guy!
xo,
s
Stacey says
Love the curtains!! And, thanks for showing us how easy it is to make them. Can’t wait to see your dining room once you open up the wall. Great idea!
Katelyn says
What are your plans for lighting in this room? I didn’t notice any fixtures in these pictures, just curious!
YoungHouseLove says
Giant awesome chandelier over the table. We have no ceiling fixtures and it drives us crazy! Soon enough….
xo,
s
Tamrah Ryan says
Really, really nice! I love how they tie in with Sue the Napkin… they must be family. Oh, and have you come up with a name for your curtains? Do you name your curtains? I think these deserve a name because they’re especially lovely. And you did call them your babies after all. ;)
YoungHouseLove says
You’re right. Maybe Penelope? Seems like a fitting exotic and beautiful-ish name.
xo,
s
hjc says
My second son says the name “Penny-lope” – much the same way I was pronouncing “Liery-ope” in my head until I heard John say it correctly in the yard video.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s hilarious.
xo,
s
Stephanie says
AMAZING curtains! Not sure if I can love them any more. The room is coming along amazing! Thanks for posting the VERY before pic. It shows how a house can have 2 completely different styles.
Katie says
What a good kick in the pants for me, too. I have two curtain panels that need to be hemmed as well as two that need to be created similar to the ones you just made. I even have the curtain rod & rings already, so it is just dread that is keeping me from getting started. This will be my goal for next week!
Elizabeth says
That room is looking fabulous!
Brittany says
Oh! I am now getting vision of the room! WOW, love your table-scape!
Krysta @ Domestic for Dummies says
I love it all! The room looks so inviting and fun. I am currently having a really hard time deciding on a fabric for my chairs. Thanks for the inspiration and showing me that it’s ok to go bold!
Sarah says
Is it a little weird that when I saw you were in Loganville, my first thought was “why didn’t we hang out?!?!” (don’t answer that) – we live in Lawrenceville – about 20 minutes away…! Ha! Plus, I was feeling very “sherry-ish” this weekend; I painted our red brick fireplace white while my husband was out of town!! (he loves it…and I run in to look at my handiwork every morning, much like you just described!)
Anyway, love the curtains!! :)
Tamrah Ryan says
I just went for the facebook “thumbs up” button for your Penelope name idea, but alas, there was none. I think I live life in facebook mode sometimes.
Anyway, Penelope is a lovely name for a lovely pair of curtains!
~Mad(elyn) in Alabama says
You make it all look so easy – but I will surely try the curtain-making – as a non-sewer also. Thanks! ~Mad(elyn) in Alabama
Missy G. says
Oh. My. Gosh. I am loving the room now. I wasn’t sold on the brown (mocha? if I remember correctly) chairs, but didn’t say anything bc of the whole they’re-not-mine-so-I’ll-keep-my-opinion-to-myself thing. With the curtains and table runner and everything… sigh. Well, done, Petersiks. Well, done.
Jen @ The Decor Scene says
Love the DR!!! Awesome fabric. It looks so complete now even though there is more to do. I love how curtains finish a room off for the most part. I love that you put the opening into the picture. I can completely envision it now. I’m sure you guys can’t wait to break that wall down now. ;) Now I have to get to making my curtains. Thanks for the DIY directions. :)
andrea says
holla…love it
Karen says
Gorgeous… just gorgeous! My first thought when seeing the pics with the bookcases, curtains and tablesetting was Peacock! That’s what it reminds me of…. the beautiful colors of a peacock feather.
Great job on the sewing.
This is my favorite room in your house so far. It’s going to be spectacular when it’s completely finished.
Amber says
Not sure if anyone has commented about this yet… but that big picture of the cow in the dining room/office (in the former owners’ picture) is killing me! Funny how everyone’s idea of art differs so much…
Laurabeth says
What?? I *love* the cow! (Point taken…)
Mindy says
The room is looking really nice! I don’t want to start a crazy rehanging frenzy, but I found a really cool tip on using those clip hangers and wrote a post about it here:
http://rindymae.blogspot.com/2011/03/weekend-warriors.html
It’s super neat-o and makes the curtains hang really nice.
P.S. Love the green knobby vase (?) on the shelf!
Pammy says
Oh. My. Goodness. I absolutely love the curtains! Wow. I was laughing when you went into your story about styling up the dining table after putting up the curtains to make the room like finished! And then staring at them like a crazy person. That is so me! That’s what I did earlier this week after I scored this fabulous patio bench from Homegoods. I was out there for an hour styling up the area with a side table, plants, and an open book sitting on the bench as if someone was just there reading it! Then of course I took 100 pictures of the setup. I am such a dork, my husband made fun of me the whole time! I really hope our neighbors didn’t see me though…
Les says
I love this transformation! (and the rug in the former living room). It’s so lively and fresh and fun!
I might add a sideboard under the big window to ground the room, but since you are already planning to open a doorway to the kitchen on the blank wall, that might change the feeling…
Anyways, good luck and have fun transforming your house! I’m looking forward to your new projects =D
Kacie says
I love the dark shelves. They really feature your treasures!
Kacie
http://www.acollectionofpassions.blogspot.com
Rachel says
The fabric is gorgeous!
Have you thought of lining the curtains? I’ve been thinking about making my own curtains for our dining room, but I’d like to line them. Not too excited about the extra work that would entail, especially since I don’t sew.
YoungHouseLove says
I thought about lining them but since we don’t draw them closed or even have them hanging in front of the window (they’re just in front of the wall for the most part) I opted to skip it. But it would totally be worth it if you’re going to close your curtains and they’ll hang in front of the window more.
xo,
s
Lindsey says
They’re beautiful! I’m so proud of you! I’m so happy for you! Inspiring!!!! (I was working on my Home binder yesterday… my inspirations for August’s move, and I dreamt of light shades…)
Congrats!
Lindsey says
p.s. lovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvve the table runner, the room is looking so complete. It is now competing for my favorite room in your house. Is that creepy?
kyla says
I have to be honest, this is the #1 room in your new home that I have been waiting on pins and needles to see come together. I LOVE a round dining table, and (I know down the road) that opening to the kitchen is going to totally transform the flow of that section of the home. Great progress!! So exciting. And yay for renewed momentum!!!
Lara says
Love, love, LOVE how the dining room is coming together!! (Those curtains are my favorite fabric in the house.)
You amaze me that you can skip around as interest or necessity drives you, & the whole outcome is so beautifully integrated. What’s your overall secret? An inspiration piece like Sue the Napkin? Lots of visualizing? Knowing when to let go of something that’s not working?
YoungHouseLove says
All of the above sounds like good advice I think! Having a Sue to inspire you (and keep you from veering off course and buying some red rug or orange fabric) definitely helps to keep the vision integrated I think. And visualizing and knowing when to let something go (like green slipcovered chairs) can definitely help too. A lot of it seems to be total dumb luck. We had no idea our yellow pulls on the built-in cabinets would tie in so well with the curtains, or that an existing green runner would look so fun in there but it just came together and we’re so glad it did. And I think I’d keep tinkering with it if it didn’t (ex: dye the runner, switch out or paint the hardware, etc). We’re all about tweaking things along the way and using trial and error to course correct as we go. My best tip is just to do something. Being frozen doesn’t get you anywhere, so you just have to make a move (even the wrong move) to move forward.
xo,
s
Lara says
Thanks for your response. Your “just do something” advice IS one of the top things I’ve taken from your blog (if not THE top). It helped me break my 8-year stalemate I was having with some of the rooms in my house. (I have a tendency toward paralyzing perfectionism.) I don’t love all the changes I’ve made, but they are definitely an improvement over the default of the previous owner’s choices.
Thanks for your example of how you work it all out:)
Julia @ Chris loves Julia says
Magical! I feel so silly that I posted on your facebook wall yesterday that you should, “Update your house tour dining room pics.” Little did I know what was in the works over at the Petersiks. It’s magic, I say.
Chris Loves Julia
Sarah says
I love how the room is coming together. The colors are all meshing and it have an overall fancy yet casual vibe. Lovely!
Jane @ The Borrowed Abode says
These curtains look FABULOUS, and the room does too. Great job! Also, I am in love with that fabric . . may need to get some.
I’ve been sewing nonstop the last few years, and though I’m mostly self-taught I have a trick for ironing hems that you may like.
You know how you folded and ironed, then folded that edge in again? Instead of doing that, I’d do the final fold first and iron that nice and crisp (say you fold the edge over 1″)
Then, I’d take that 1″ of fabric hem and fold/iron that under the initial fold, so that you get your 1/2″ hem.
Also, because I hate pinning, I use little pieces of iron-on hem tape to act as invisible pins. So when I’m ironing seams I just put little pieces of that tape along the way, and it helps keep things in place.
I have no idea if this is making sense. Oh well, I tried. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Totally makes sense! Thanks for the tips!
xo,
s
beekeebear says
I do the same thing!
Kimberly Bernhardt says
Love this tip, thank you!
Andrea @ DwellRepurposed says
Beautiful fabric, and they pull the whole room together! I’m making curtains soon, just don’t have a lot of time! Hopefully, I can get them up soon!
Have you thought about putting some shears on the inside of the two panels so the panels don’t look sooooo far apart? They would give a little privacy and fill out the large space a bit more without taking away from much light. Just a thought!
Love the room and the colors! Good job!
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, never thought of that – we generally don’t hang fabric in front of windows since we love maximum light (even sheers)! But it does sound breezy and pretty so I guess it’s always a possibility!
xo,
s
Melissa says
I used sheers in our family room for privacy which we really needed but also to lighten the look of our faux silk drapes. We didn’t get “grandma sheers” but fun woven textured ones from target and that really did the trick. I would have skipped them if we didn’t need the privacy.
Irene says
I love it! The combination of blue and green – that’s how I am doing the guestroom/office in our house – but on a lighter scale. Can’t wait to see that new entryway.
Brooke says
The room looks amazing! It’s incredible how window treatments can transform a room. I just love how it all looks together – comfortable, slightly funky, but perfectly composed and cozy. I can’t imagine it with green chairs anymore.
katrina says
Looks terrific! Have you done anything to Clara proof the curtains? We’d like to hang curtians in our new place, and are worried that our baby (about 3 months younger than Clara) will pull at them (or worse use them as a way to pull herself up). Any tips for how to make the drapery baby friendly/safe? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Using those ring hooks is my babyproofing tip. It depends on the clip, but the ones we found aren’t super strong, so if Clara hangs on the curtains like a monkey just the fabric will slip out and the whole rod won’t come crashing down on her (we used heavy duty anchors to hang it just in case). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Julia says
Hello there!
This is the first time I comment because I’m kind of shy and you get soooo many comments that I’ve always thought it was useless… anyways, I’m in curtain fever right now too, but what I’d really, really want to do is to thank you for the inspiration. Healthy love for a house… that’s so cool to read!
My husband and I bought an old apartment, one of those very nice built things of the past but almost without any updates (or horrible ones, the brainchild of a bachelor … shudder) so, well, for our renovation granite countertops came with your seal of approval :-) I hadn’t thought they’d help selling the place faster in case we have to leave, but it totally makes sense and they’re great to work on.
I have a question Google hasn’t been able to answer, and maybe you do… The apartment has the dining and the livingroom connected through an arch, so they’re pretty much the same large space, and I’m clueless as to how to design the lighting. We put an Ikea Knappa lamp as the main illuminating fixture in the livingroom and would like to put another one to light the dining area, one that needs to somewhat “reply” to the Knappa (because they’re both in sight). I love this Le Klimt lamp (http://www.designlamps.net/upfile/20096280235658261.jpg) and we can afford some inspired-by fixture (ok, a knock-off), but wouldn’t that be like having mashed potatoes and rice for dinner?
So, how what you or other readers suggest to mix and mismatch with a Knappa lamp for main lighting fixture in an eating area? And what tips could you give me (and the rest of readership, of course) on mood lighting in a lounging area?
We have a baby girl and are a little wary of lamps standing on the floor or on low tables, but you may have something to suggest.
Thank you!
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, I think there are an infinite amount of “right answers” you could land on, but I agree that the Le Klimt lamp and the Knappa pendant might be too similar (so they’d end up competing). Maybe try a big white round drum shade pendant in one area and the Knappa pendant somewhere else (so they relate in color and modern feel and clean lines without being too similar or too contrast-y?). Good luck!
xo,
s
Julia says
Hey, thanks for replying! Yes, I know the possible answers are infinite and it’d definitely help a picture or two of the actual place (which I don’t have and don’t really feel capable of taking, but that’s another story).
Have a nice rest of the day!
Alina says
Great job, Sherry! I’m feeling inspired! Have to check out U-fab – it’s only a block away from my house. Shame on me for not going sooner!
Jessica says
Great job! Love the fabric, it pulls the room together so nicely. Taking inspiration from you and “Oh, Brother”, I recently bought my own sewing machine, and hemmed curtains :) Not as exciting as making my own, but hey, maybe someday!
Lindsey says
These make the room….they look like ‘you’. Does that make sense? ha! Great, great choice. I love them!
Courtney says
I died laughing, “Kind of like how I paint a room and the next morning I run in and look at it again. Just grinning at the wall like a fool.” I do the same thing; my husband thinks I’m crazy. We just finished our library, and every morning this week the first thing I do is go in there and just look and smile!! Keep up the great work; your house is beautiful!!
moxiemandie says
I really, REALLY love this Sherry!
I’ve been putting off sewing my own curtains for months, even after purchasing the fabric back in February! I’m just using a thin white muslin- for more of a breezy feel than to actually hide anything. Perhaps this will be MY motivation…?
Thanks for sharing!
Paige says
Fabulous! I love that you guys are embracing color. When do you think you’ll bust out that wall?
YoungHouseLove says
We just found out we need to get a permit so it won’t be as soon as we hoped, but we’re definitely moving in that direction! Maybe within a few months?
xo,
s
Zoe Feast says
Great to see you have abandoned the iron on tape method. Hurray for the sewing machine!
Great to see the difference to how you are using the room compared with the previous owners. Gives us readers even more of a WOW factor. I have actually done the same thing on my blog, using photos taken by a realtor for an optimum before and after effect.
Family Room Makeover
What do you think?
YoungHouseLove says
Gorgeous! Wow- what a makeover. Feels so fresh and serene.
xo,
s
Zoe Feast says
Thanks so much for taking a look … you two are the gods when it come to room make-overs so it means a lot to get a “gorgeous ” from you!
Becky says
I was really wondering (sorry, I was doubting you) how you were going to pull that dining room together. The window treatments did it. Love it! The table decor is great too…I’d also leave it all in place just to look at. Are you going to sew up a couple solid pillows in the deep teal to sit on those parson chairs?
YoungHouseLove says
We’re not sure whether we’ll add some spice to those chairs down the line. We just have to see how the room shapes up with a chandelier and art and a rug and buffet by the door and a big opening to the kitchen. We might want more going on and we might like the simplicity of no frills chairs. Time will tell!
xo,
s
Amanda says
This room is coming together beautifully! I can’t wait to see what it’ll look like with the hole in the wall. I have no problem slapping some brightly colored paint on an accent wall but I can’t seem to bring myself to buy bold patterned fabric for curtains or slipcovers. This house is so much more dramatic than your light and airy first house. Do you hesitate at all when your choosing these bright colored fabrics and paints?
YoungHouseLove says
Nah, I think we were honestly ready for something fun. We wrote a post about it a while back but I think we went into making our first house as “adult” and “polished” as we could and now that we have Clara and a new blank canvas we’re more excited to take risks and have more fun. Sure they won’t all work, but when they do (like these curtains) they’re our favorite things ever.
xo,
s
Jane @ The Borrowed Abode says
PS: For Richmonders, I’m pretty sure they still have this fabric at a similar price at U-Fab!