That’s how many yards I knew I’d need to make eight living room curtains. It generally breaks down to five yards of fabric per window (or sliding door) for two floor-length curtains that I can hang high and wide over each one. So five yards times four windows/sliders = eight panels (two for the big back window, two for each of the two sliding doors to the right as you face the window, and two for the sliding door to the left (that leads out onto this balcony to nowhere). So that’s where the whole 20 yards thing came from. And yeah for those who can’t picture it, that’s a lot of fabric (60 feet of it to be exact). Even at a great price of oh let’s say seven dollars a yard it would have been $140 (not including curtain rods, etc). And it’s hard to find extra wide upholstery fabric for under $15 or so a yard (which is what we usually like to use), and that would add up to a heart-stopping $300 price tag).
Eeeks, eh? (<– that’s my Canadian impression). Anyway, so that’s probably the reason our living room sliders have sat around naked for over six months.
Oh yeah, and those pom-poms from Clara’s party hung around in the sunroom until this weekend when we finally decided to retire them to the playroom. Anyway, back to the curtains (or lack there-of). Originally we thought we wanted something bright and bold for the fabric. Just because we’re having so much fun with color in this house and also because the walls are soft gray, the beams are darker gray, and the sofa is also dark gray. We had a whole lotta gray going on so we thought some bold textile might break things up. But then we tossed up some bright place-holder $5 art (made here) and got Kermit (our big green cushy wool shag) and mixed in some brightly colored pillows, and brought in two big gleaming silver lamps on the back of the console that we built, and – can you see where I’m going with this? – we stepped back and realized we no longer wanted bright curtains.
Our big bright green rug was enough pop o’ color for us (and the bright art might get adapted but the tones will probably stay) so after our little course correction when it came to our fabric hunt we landed here: something with tone on tone texture. Not too bright. And not too expensive.
Then we realized that we had grabbed some fun tone on tone leafy guys from Ikea a few months back (they were on sale for $29 a pair, down from $49, so we tossed two packs into our cart with intentions of hanging them in the playroom someday). So since we already had four out of eight (and they worked out to be just $15 a panel) if we hung the four that we owned and liked them, we figured we could just head back to Ikea and grab two more packs and be done-zo. No more nekkid windows. So we grabbed some oil-rubbed bronze curtains and ring hooks from Target and hung our four panels on the two sliding doors on that right wall. And we liked it. Obviously they needed to be ironed and hemmed, but we loved the sweet and soft leafy sophistication that they layered in. Especially at $15 a panel. Sold. Just needed two more two-packs.
We miraculously heard that John’s mom would be up near Ikea the next day so we begged her to stop in and pick up two more packs for us. Before she left I popped over to ikea.com to find out their names for her. I like to play a game where I make up an Ikea-ish sounding product name to see how close I am to the actual product name (I’m never even close but it keeps me entertained) so I came up with Vika Lund and Skiv Rast as I searched. And searched. And that was the first sign that something tragic was about to happen. They weren’t online anymore. Nowhere to be found. That little know-it-all voice in the back of my head whispered: “They stopped selling them- you almost solved the naked living room window problem but you didn’t buy enough packs and now they’re gone. You lose.” But I’ve seen other things in the store that aren’t online (a bunch of rugs and mirrors for example) so I tried to convince myself that they were just were among the other in-store-but-not-online items.
About twenty four hours later we got the call I had been dreading. John’s mom was standing in the curtain aisle after asking a sweet guy about them and he confirmed they had in fact been discontinued. Hadn’t been sold since April. As the Brits say: majah bummah.
Of course that spurred on a marathon ebay/craigslist/google hunt for any and all available identical curtain packs. I turned up a few two paneled packs for around $75 a pop, but that hardly seemed reasonable when we paid $29 (they’re called Alvine Kottar by the way). So I gave myself permission to mope around and drown my sorrows in Oreos after throwing myself on the floor and telling John that the living room curtains would be the death of me. You know, totally normal behavior for a 29 year old.
Then as I was sitting on the sofa with Oreo crumbs all over my chest and lap (you’re welcome for that mental image), my eyes kept wandering over to the four panels that we had already hung. My one beef with them was that they were too bunchy. Too wide. All ganked up. See? Note: This is a terribly lit shot – sorry. I was too depressed to check my settings.
Yup, slowly it dawned on me. They were waaaay too wide. Especially since we’re not curtain closers so we always have them thrown open to let in maximum light (that area of our house is wooded and fenced so there’s not a privacy issue anyway). This next thought had me getting a wee bit excited. Picture my pace quickening and my chest rising and falling a little faster (just enough to make those Orea cookie crumbs do a little happy dance). What if I cut them down the middle thereby creating eight curtain panels from my four too-wide ones? Oh man, that would be sweet. The excitement was quickly followed by my good ol’ inner Debbie Downer voice saying: “But what if they look too skinny and you ruin them? Then you can’t even use them in the playroom because they’d be lame little slivers of fabric. Don’t do anything stupid.”
Darn that evil inner voice. She was right about Ikea no longer selling my curtains. Cue more Oreo eating. Then it dawned on me that I could test-drive the half-width by just unclipping them from my ring hooks and folding them in half and rehanging them. That would “simulate” the width that they’d be if I snipped and hemmed them without picking up the scissors (give or take an inch for the new hem). So I ate brushed the crumbs off of myself and gingerly got off the sofa to try it. Lo and behold, they looked pretty darn good. Not super full and mondo wide, but I didn’t like them that way to begin with (remember the word ganked came to mind?). And since they’d never be drawn and would always be smashed all the way open to let in light (and facilitate sliding door function) it was the perfect solution for us because we wouldn’t want anything much fuller anyway (which would just get in the way). And you’d see more of the pretty leafy pattern instead of ten million folds. Done deal.
Out came my neurotic “no John cuts” fabric scissors (more on those here) and I snipped those babies right up the middle. The best thing about the cutting-in-half process was that they had been perfectly folded in the packaging right down the middle, so they still had a center fold that I could just follow down with the scissors to end up with two exactly-the-same-size panels. Then I just hemmed them with my trusty iron + sewing machine technique (no pins required – yay Team Lazy). More on that here. Oh and this time I actually folded over and ironed the hem twice before sewing the hem (last time I folded it over once with the iron and then folded it again on the sewing machine as I stitched).
I must admit that ironing down that second fold made it even easier to slide through my sewing machine. So hemming the sides of all eight panels probably took twenty minutes (once they were all prepped with the iron, which probably took thirty).
Then after stitching that 1/2″ side hem (which looked exactly the same as the Ikea-made hem on the other side of each panel – thank goodness they didn’t do anything too fancy that I couldn’t replicate) I tossed them into the wash on cold (and then tumble dry lowed them) to pre-shrink ’em before hanging & pinning the bottoms.
I grabbed them right out of the dryer (they were still a little damp, but hanging them that way kept them from getting even more wrinkly from sitting in the dryer) and clipped them all up on the four oil-rubbed curtain rods (from Target, along with the ring clips) which we hung 14″ wider than the trim around the sliding doors and the window. Except for the sliders leading to the balcony to nowhere (there wasn’t as much wall space to go as wide on those, so we went 8″ wide on each of those). As for the distance down from the crown molding, we went with three inches so all of the rods would hang at the same height. That felt high enough to draw the eye up without completely crowding the dark beams above. You know I love a good oil-rubbed bronze rod hung high and wide like dark eyeliner on a window. Me-ow.
Then I pinned the bottoms of each panel so they’d just graze the floor…
… and hemmed those bottoms pretty quickly (I gave them a longer base hem since a few folks told us that nice drapes have 3-4″ base hems – yay Team Fancy). Oh but I used iron-on hem tape for the bottoms because I was tired and wanted the thick 4″ hem on each one to be uninterrupted by thread that you can see from the front (I’m still very very not-sewing-machine wise, so I couldn’t figure out how to get such a thick hem without seeing a telltale line of stitching 4″ off the bottom of the panel which I thought would interrupt the flow of the panel). I guess I could have tried to hand stitch them from the back so you couldn’t see it from the front, but I’m not so good at that whole thing. But the hem tape worked like a charm and I ended up with nice extra wide bottom hems in around a half an hour. I even hemmed them right from the rod (as they hung there after pinning them). Didn’t even unclip them and rehang ’em. Yay Team Lazy.
As for the curtain length, we definitely didn’t want our panels extra long and puddled since two of the three sliders are used often and we didn’t want the fabric to get all grungy (even though they hang to the side and aren’t in the path of anyone walking, we worried if they were too long they could drift underfoot).
Anyway, enough chitchat. Here they be:
I should mention that sometimes bright sun + window = blown out curtains. Oops. But in person you can see the leafy goodness from across the room, even on a sunny day. And as that over the top dude on Million Dollar Decorators says in his intro: it’s delicious.
Like this:
Only further away (so the leaves look smaller). Ok, now I’m giving you a little primer on perspective. Somebody slap me.
Oh but you can see the lesser-pictured sliders on the left side in the photo above (the ones that lead out to that odd patio that we someday want to revamp).
Who noticed that Burger literally gets up and repositions himself to face the camera? Diva much?
We love how the sweetness of the almost sheer-like curtains contrast the big chunky rustic-ish wood console we built:
And they play so nicely with the big round mirror too:
It was fun to add in a few pops of blue thanks to the hydrangeas from our patio and two awesome blue decorating books that I love: Domino and Decorate (the latter of which is Holly Becker’s new book that I got on Amazon – it’s great).
Hydrangeas = so pretty. But also pretty quick to wilt. I clipped these guys five days ago and some of them already look kind of… spent. Oh well. At least they were free.
See the curtains in the background of the pic above? That’s pretty much how they look from across the room in real life (the sunlight just blows them out in photos so they’re harder to read in the wide shots in this post).
Oooh artsy. Hydrangeas in the mirror:
Here’s Burg-dorf Goodman posing again. And here’s another shot of the lesser-pictured slider across from the two that lead out to the patio/sunroom on the other side of the living room. I love how the soft tone-on-tone curtains don’t steal too much attention from the frame wall nearby. They play well with others.
Oh and did you notice I had some fun switching up the pillows. Zero dollars spent (and proof that I have too many pillows). Pillows are like nomads in our house – they never live in one spot for long. These guys were all in the playroom and the sunroom (originally from Bed Bath & Beyond on clearance) except for the floofy one in the middle (which was originally from Target but has lived in our bedroom for a while) so I brought them out for more of that fun texture-y, layered, tone-on-tone thing.
Now the room is a nice little blend of happy (the shaggy green rug and the bright art that we might just switch up soon) + contrast (the dark sofa, the gray-washed beams, the chunky console, and the oil-rubbed bronze mirror) + softness (the faux sheepskin, the white frames, the white desk, the patterned curtains, the lighter toned pillows). Although I’m pretty sure those pillows will continue to get swapped around (Sue the Pillow and her bright friends are now living in the adjoined sunroom, so I can still see them from the sofa). And when we get around to building/refurbishing a media cabinet and refinishing the floors we’ll really be in business in here. Someday…
Let’s wrap this baby up. We love them. They’re our cup of tea. They add come-on-in-and-flop-down-on-the-sofa-and-eat-Oreos ambiance. And they were just $58 for four curtain panels (that we sliced up the middle to make eight). Which breaks down to $7.25 a panel. Which would mean that we’d have to find fabric that was $1.45 per yard to get this good of a deal if we were to make them from scratch. Pretty crazy how things work out, huh? Wait, I guess if we knew we could have cut our fabric in half (we wouldn’t recommend doing that unless it’s a really wide bolt, like 60″ or more, and you’re certain you won’t want to draw them for privacy) we only would have needed to find $2.90 a yard fabric. That’s still pretty tough though.
One thing’s for sure. This room has definitely evolved over the past six months. Here’s what it looked like when we moved in:
Yowsa. So yeah, we’re thanking the curtain powers that be. The only real bummer is the fact that cutting, ironing, hemming, and hanging my curtains probably only burned about one tenth of the calories from the curtain-drama-related cookie binge that ensued. Oh yeah, and it’s impossible to photograph how cozy this room feels (maybe because it’s so big it looks less inviting than it feels in real life?). Annoying. Anyway, here she blows at night. All glow-y thanks to the lamps:
And that brings us to 2,762 words on our living room curtains. Who do I think I am? I’m calling it. Have you guys ever split curtains up the middle or added extra length to them with banding at the bottom or top? Ever heard of Ikea selling out of things in April? Seems like a random month to decide not to bring stuff back, right? But maybe that’s why the panels we grabbed were on sale for $29 in the first place…
Redlilocks {Swoon Worthy} says
Wow, what a bargain and they look fab! I really love the soft subtle pattern, totally agree that bright curtains would have possibly been a bit too much or else fought for your attention :)
I have to say, though, $7.29 per panel is just a RIDICULOUS bargain price – here I thought I’d done well recently by getting 3 curtain panels from Anthropologie on clearance (£118/panel down to £60/panel) – hmmm hardly seems the bargain anymore!!
http://gettingitswoonworthy.blogspot.com/2011/06/filtered-light-bedroom-curtains-from.html
YoungHouseLove says
Oooh but those are gorgeous! And definitely a bargain from the original price!!
xo,
s
Alison says
I JUST had my own cut-up-a-curtain-and-see-what-you-get kind of experience!
(And I, of course, blogged it as well – http://alisonrosek.weebly.com/7/post/2011/06/window-valance-for-the-living-room.html on the off-change you find yourself with a few minutes you’re not sure how to fill…) :)
I adore the leaf patten in yours – I’m a sucker for earth tones/designs.. <3
YoungHouseLove says
Cute! You’re a sewing pro!
xo,
s
Natalie says
Please tell me about the pictures above the sofa! (White frames with blocks of color) I’d love to do something like that above our sofa.
How did you do them? Where are the frames from? Are they just sheets of paper that are framed?
I’ve looked around on other parts of the site to find info about them but I couldn’t find anything. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
They’re $19 lack frames from Ikea (we had a few of them already and just got a few more to make a grid). The frames came with the mats already in them, and the paper was just decorative craft paper from Michael’s that was under $5 for all eight sheets. Then just popped them into frames and hung them in a grid. Good luck!
xo,
s
Janice says
omg, I split curtains up the middle TODAY! about 2 hours before I read your post!! So, of course, I was hanging on every word of your post once I found it!
You made it sound like hanging your oil-rubbed Target rods was a piece of cake — I was challenged by mine, and hung some new rods solo (I wish I had an extra set of hands OR some experience!)
But, like you, I’m happy with the outcome.
Thanks for continuing to be an inspiration.
Oh, and try putting your vase of hydrangeas in the fridge overnight, that might help revive them:-)
Naomi says
Your room is looking great these days. I was considering buying those curtains for a wall of windows in the new house we are building. I love them. They look great with the hydrangeas too. My favorite decorating flower. So is the room complete yet? Never hey.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Naomi! We still want to make/refurbish a bigger TV cabinet and hang more art (the wall that leads into the kitchen is really bare as well as the wall above the TV) and then of course someday we’d love to refinish the floors! So it’s definitely still a work in progress- just the way we like it. Haha.
xo,
s
April K says
I went to Ikea about a month ago looking for curtains for the redo I’m about to start on our living/dining room and I saw one of these panels hanging up on a display. They were exactly what I had in mind for my rooms! I frantically started searching for them, but couldn’t find them anywhere. I asked an associate and she said, “They’ve been discontinued. My ladder doesn’t reach high enough for me to take it down.” I was so bummed. I’m still on the hunt for curtains!
Krystal Lee says
i have those curtains and absolutely LOVE them, and i also wish i had of bought more at the time. i am now quietly smug in knowing i have the same curtains as yhl! ha ha!
krystal x
http://krystalleeart.blogspot.com/
Meleah says
This blog is so confusing for our son. He thinks you all have pictures of our dog… like Pedro takes mini vacations to your place when we aren’t looking, XD. Pedro, our dog, looks so much like Burger. It’s very confusing for a three year old.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- that’s so funny! Clara thinks the video of that dancing dog that we posted yesterday afternoon is Burger!
xo,
s
Tarnya Cook says
Somebody has probably already told you this Sherry, but they are still available in Australia although they are $69 aust dollars a pair!!
xx
YoungHouseLove says
You Aussies have all the luck! Except it’s weird that they’re so pricey there since your dollar is worth more! Someone should bust Ikea for Aussie price inflation. Haha.
xo,
s
Terri says
loving the new curtains! have to agree that ikea is a fave store of mine; i just want to live there in one of the little sq.ft. apts they set up on display!!
wondering where you got those awesome silver-hammered lamps?? looking for something similar for my living rm make-over.
YoungHouseLove says
Those were from Marshall’s (but we’ve seen them at TJ Maxx and HomeGoods too). Good luck!
xo,
s
Kacie says
Wow! THAT is so inspiring! Love that you tell us what things cost!
Kacie
http://www.acollectionofpassions.blogspot.com/
Whitney C. says
Love the curtains!
They remind me a little of the West Elm panels I scored off Craigslist for 25 dollars! For two panels!
Next up I’ve bought fabric to recover a headboard and make curtains for the bedroom! You guys rock and inspire me to make my place look great!
urbanblonde says
Hmmm I bought the last IKEA Stockholm Rand large area rug in April and our store wasn’t expecting new stock on the item until at least August! (I checked online and it appears to be out in several cities) Perhaps it’s their seasonal change time when they run out or clear out items?
Loving your living room btw, it’s given me a ton of inspiration!
Paula W says
Ah, Ikea. 10 years ago I bought a wall full of the shelves called, well now I can’t find the name (maybe Bonde) but they are square openings with a back, the squares are about 15″ high wide and deep,come in varying modules and I’d love to put doors on them but the line has been discontinued (replaced by Expedit). When I first bought them I didn’t have the $ to buy all the little doors. Lesson learned: with Ikea there can be no ‘maybe later I’ll buy more and finish this’. In fact my BIGGER lesson was my kitchen this spring when I ordered 3.5k of wall and base cabinets to finally finish the rest of the kitchen, only to find that this year’s Birch finish is a totally different animal from 2007’s Birch. The 2007 Birch I started the project with 4 years ago. Golden yellow, varying color from piece to piece (but appealing). 2011 Birch is whitewashed looking, uniform, very unattractive to me and utterly incompatible with the Birch cabinets I have already installed from 2007.In fact Beech is closer so that is what I used after having to re-order. Not a match but I seem to be the only person to really notice. Lesson to self…
Carol Adams says
You may not even see this, Miss Sherry, but wanted you to know that you have inspired me so… Daughter lives in a college town and is renting this very cute bungalow with 3 friends. She needed some bathroom curtains and even tho I used to be quite a seamstress in my first life..now not so much. I was inspired by your iron on adhesive trick and I couldn’t be happier with the ease and results!!! Geesh, who knew???!!! Daughter picked out the fabric and it came together in less than 30 min! You are awesome and a hoot! Thanks for teaching this “old dog”, new tricks!!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw you made my day. So glad it worked out so well. Congrats!!
xo,
s
Tae says
love the new pillows!! the room is really coming together so well!
ruthy says
holy cow this is your living room?? Wowza! I thought you were showing a room out of a magazine :) kudos to you…it looks awesome-i totally dig the pillows and the curtains…and that rug!
Lori says
Clever idea! It’s great that you didn’t act too hastily and buy expensive fabric. Sometimes good ideas take a little time to ruminate and come to fruition.
I had sort of the same idea. After I became design savvy–don’t know exactly when that happened!–I realized that the curtains in my living room were “high-waters!” Egads!! I noticed them every time I passed through the room. So my solution was to buy some coordinating fabric and ribbon and sew a length onto the bottom of my curtains. Since I DON’T sew–I glued/hem tapped them instead. Works just fine! Gave me the proper length and a bit of pizazz too! Love your blog! Keep it up.
Sarah W. says
I’m a bit late to this post, but I thought I’d share my triumph in snagging a pair of the Alvine Kottar curtains at the Atlanta Ikea today for $24.99! There was a pair on display, so I asked if I might buy them, and they said yes and took them down and discounted them (since they were floor models!) I am so excited, and I am grateful for your post for reminding me about these curtains, which I first saw on this online TV episode from Canadian House & Home magazine:
http://houseandhome.com/tv/episode/kitchen-basement-makeovers
I agree that the fabric looks very West Elmy! I never get why Ikea discontinues some of their most popular items.
I have them in my guest room now, but they may find their way to our dining room as a summer replacement for our charcoal silk curtains. I still need to hem them using the iron on tape, but I have a question: once you iron that stuff on, can you ever remove it from the fabric (if you need to lengthen the curtains in the future)? Just curious.
Thanks again!
Sarah
YoungHouseLove says
You lucky gal! As for the iron on webbing, I don’t think it’s removable (it fuses with heat) so maybe try a button hem or some sort of folded fake hem (with velcro or something)? Good luck!
xo,
s
Melissa says
I cannot believe this blog! I have been exploring it for hours without even realizing. You two have such a talent. We just moved into our first house and this has inspired me so much. Thank you!
Mandie says
Love love love those curtains, we have them hanging in our TV/family room. I picked them up in our IKEA’s As-Is section (one of my favorite places in that amazing store). I was a little unsure of them, not knowing where I was going to put them, got home, put them up, and swooned. I still walk by them and think to myself what a great purchase they were. Simple pleasures, eh?
Lisa says
I love the pattern on the curtains! I recently fell in love with the print on a fabric shower curtain I wish was longer so I could convert it into curtains for my dining room. At least I have my inspiration fabric now!
I’ve seen several tips about how to keep the hydrangeas alive for longer, but if you don’t give them any water they’ll dry out fairly close to their “live color.” I group lots of the dried blooms together and love the look!
Lisa says
Lucky you! We bought these at full price last year :(. We love them, though, so I still think it was worth it!
Dara says
My daughter works at the IKEA in Baltimore and she has been there for about 4 years. Email me if you ever need anything and I will see if she can help – [email protected]. I was perusing Apartment Therapy and I saw your curtains and wanted to give you the link- I didn’t look through the comments to see if anyone showed you this bungalow in CA but the curtains are shorter- http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/la-danielleclemenzahousetour-bethanynauert/item/265419
YoungHouseLove says
I love that so much! They look great all breezy and short!
xo,
s
Katie says
LOVE the curtains…and the blog in general (this is my first time commenting).
Quick tip when using Hydrangeas. I learned this from my wedding florist since I had a Hydrangea bouquet. If you burn the cut ends of the stems, they stay fresh much longer. Maybe even a few days vs. hours!!
Chantal {luxxury livving} says
What an amazing job done, luving the art on the wall, the silver lamps and really, everything… well done!
Shayne says
LOVE!
They look great – and I had to smile when I was in IKEA (here in Sydney, Australia) the day after reading your post and saw them there – hundreds of them! On sale at $49 a pack – not el cheapo if you ask me so you did great snagging them for $29!
Must admit I did stand there wondering where I could put them in my place..haha
Ann says
I love all 2,762 words of this post! Your creative style, sense of humor, intelligence, and thriftiness are unparalleled!!
Nickie says
How did you decide you need 5 yards per window?
YoungHouseLove says
I measured in inches how long I wanted each panel and then multiplied it by two (with some inches extra for seam allowances).
xo,
s
shelly says
I didn’t read all of the comments because there were so many! Sorry if this is a repeat…when you cut your hydrangia stems, put them on the ground and smash them up with a hammer (not to smithereens (yes, smithereens is in spell check!) but enough to flatten them out a bit.) This allows the water to flow through the stems easier and they last a lot longer!
Hope that works next time!
Julie says
I found these same curtains for the same price around the same time. I had been looking for months for curtains or fabric in orange and white. I couldn’t find anything that wasn’t cost prohibitive. I love them! And now I think the orange would have been overkill with the rest of my living room.
Abriana says
Hi! This is an indirect question about fabric curtain panels that I was hoping you could help me with!! I made two curtain panels last year for my son’s nursery. We just moved and I want to use those panels in another room but need 2 more panels. The problem is that the fabric was from JoAnns but now I can’t find it online or in stores :( i want to check eBay or some site like it for fabric but I don’t even know the name of the fabric. There is no identifying information on it at all. Help!! Any ideas?!? Love your blog, youngsters!
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, maybe try taking a photo or scanning it and putting that pic up on our Facebook page and asking people if they’ve seen it or know the name? Good luck!
xo,
s
Michelle says
Love these curtains! I was thinking you were going to go with the white panels and blinds again, what a nice change! This pattern matches everything else in a nonmatchy way. How would you hang curtains/blinds on a window with built ins and a window seat surrounding it. The curtain length can only be 57 inches. Ever used cafe curtains? Or just a valance with blinds (is that bad taste?)Love you guys :)
YoungHouseLove says
We love both of those options! So just go with whatever you find that you love!
xo,
s
Abigail says
I was just reading your archives and you featured these curtains back in 2009! https://www.younghouselove.com/2009/08/ay-caramba-ikea/ I had deja vu and had to come here to comment. (Sorry if someone else already posted this…!)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha-no wayyyy! That’s too funny!
xo,
s
Keep On S'myelin! says
Bah! I was just about to go out an get those (have been looking at the Alvine Kottar curtains since Christmas). They would have been perfect for our bedroom. Should have bought them when I had them in my hand back in April.
Anyone have any Ikea Alvine Kottar curtains they want to get rid of? I’m on the hunt! I need four panels :)
http://keeponsmyelin.blogspot.com/2011/08/oh-alvine-kottar-ikea-curtains-where.html
nadia says
I’ve looked EVERYWHERE for the name of those Ikea curtains! Do you know what the name was so I can search endlessly on ebay???
YoungHouseLove says
I think they’re called Arvine Kottar (or Alvine Kottar). Good luck!
xo,
s
Silke says
I read this post in june when you published it and longed for exactly these curtains… but found out very quickly that they had been discontinued in Europe, too. I’ve searched the whole wide web for them, then continued looking for other curtains – but just didn’t fall in love.
Now you know what? Christmas came early this year. I found them on ebay, brand new and in their original packaging. Yippie-yeah! They’re mine, mine, mine now and I can’t wait to put them up. The vendor has a few more packets of them, so in case you’re still looking for backups, let me know. ;-)
Oh, and: Thanks for the inspiration! Merry Christmas to you guys, and keep it up!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s amazing! So glad you found them!
xo,
s
Stefanie says
Could you provide me with the name of these gorgeous curtains? (I may have missed it in the post.) I don’t have an ikea within 100 miles of me but I’m making a list for a special trip. Thanks!!
YoungHouseLove says
They’re sadly out of stock and no longer sold. But I think they’re called the Alvine Kottar though? Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Kimberly says
You may have already answered this, but, how wide did each panel end up being? I bought a pretty twin sheet today (there was only one) that I want to cut into 4’s.. it would end up being 16 inches each. I am wondering what that may look like in comparison with your halved curtains. Thank you!
YoungHouseLove says
Each one is around 27 inches I think! I worry that 16 inches might be too skinny since they sort of loop and drape when they’re hung so it might look like a scarf or a pashmina (since those are only around 16″ wide). Maybe try hanging a scarf to see how it looks before cutting the sheet, and if you decide to cut the sheet in half instead maybe you can find another one on ebay or check back with the store later? Good luck!
xo,
s
Kimberly says
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. Sadly I found these at a garage sale but may look up the brand name and see what I can find, if not I may just layer them with another 16″ white sheet of the same fabric type (inspired by [more like taken from :P] your other post of this room/curtains in it). My windows are only about 52″ wide (there’s two). Thank you for the advice and ALL of the inspiration and motivation!
YoungHouseLove says
I love that idea! Good luck!
xo,
s
Jenny says
Hi Guys! Looking through old posts about curtain width! I’m going to make curtains for my living room… there are two different sizes of windows: one is a standard sized window and the other is a triple-wide window (totally separate on opposite walls). Would it look bad to cut the fabric in half for the standard sized window and then use a full width for the panels on the larger windows of the same room? This would mean there are two different thicknesses of curtains in the same room. I’m just worried that 54″ width times two on a standard window is too much. Hmmm…
YoungHouseLove says
I would make the panels without cutting them in half first and hang them (we have had curtains on smaller windows with a larger picture window in the same room and have always had them the same length). If after you make and hang them, you think the ones on the smaller window look too wide, then you can cut them down – but it’s harder to thicken them if you think they look too skinny from cutting them prematurely. Hope it helps!
xo
s