Wednesday 13 February 2013

It's curtains I'm afraid...

I suddenly realised it's half term next week and I was meant to have made some curtains to take up to York for my brothers kitchen. Gah! I hate making curtains. The maths makes my head spin.
Here's the fabric I chose.

The floor still makes my heart skip a beat :)

Very colourful. I'm hoping they will tie in with his kitchen that he replaced last year.
The straight lines are very helpful for cutting. I've done one curtain and there are two more to go...

Do you see our curtains in the background? They are Laura Ashley (via ebay) and have had the hems pinned up since we got them. My excuse was, I didn't know where the flooring would come to, so I couldn't shorten them. Well, the flooring is done so I have no excuses left now.
They're coming down and being washed and shortened from the top so I don't have to faff about with the hems on the curtains and the linings. Tedious job. But not as tedious as making them from scratch.

I'm also thinking ahead to the dining room makeover that's on the horizon. We have some electrical work to do first, then more wood flooring to go down and then I can sort that room out. I've got some cream curtains stashed away and I'm thinking of replacing the pencil pleat curtain tape with this:

Sorry this is a truly awful picture


Smocked curtain tape! Isn't that pretty? I have to figure out if it's right for the curtains I have; I read that it's best for lightweight curtains and mine aren't. And I'm hoping it's easy to use...

Also thinking ahead to the dining room, I would love this:

  
French style furniture. But my husband says no. We are sticking with chunky pine but painted. It'll work with what we've got, which is a large pine bookcase/ dresser that will be painted. I did replace that with a french style dresser that I painted but I couldn't get half as much in it so it had to go. It was 99p from ebay but my books didn't fit into it as it was more of a display cabinet.

The french one
So that bit the dust. The pine one came back in.

 A bit of primer adhesion experimentation has occurred...



We also have:

...but with grungier legs and a paler top, but it's too long for the room (we were going to take a wall down but not anymore) so I've been tracking down a shorter one.
It's a bit ridiculous, the amount of furniture that passes through this house. We moved in with 3 tables, one is now in the garden and two were sold. We bought another, decided not to keep it, bought another (the one we have now that's too big) and last week bought a smaller one that's too small. You'd think we don't know how to use a tape measure! I think I'm guilty of repeatedly finding something lovely at a bargainous price on ebay and convincing myself it will be fine. When it's not.

I want to get it right and have furniture that fits the room (it's not big) and is worthy of the new flooring! Thank goodness for ebay. It means a mistake is not a costly mistake! Luckily it's all secondhand in the first place so I'm not losing money.

I'm also thinking of a plate rack like this in the dining room.


 I have some pretty plates just waiting.


Seeing as we're drowning in tables and chairs at the moment, and everything has stopped for curtain making, I've done nothing more with my Ikea step stool. Sorry.

Perhaps after we return from Yorkshire for half term? I'll take my camera so I can show you my brothers curtains in situ.
IF I finish them.

Happy half term!

12 comments:

  1. I'm not brave enough to make curtains, I buy inexpensive ready mades and tart them up and line them myself. Seriously, 99p for a french style dresser?? It's gorgeous, too bad it was too small. Been meaning to ask, where do you buy Annie Sloan paint?

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    1. If you go to her website you'll find a list of stockists. You won't find it in a DIY store. She's missing a trick though...

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    2. Yes I know, have already looked in B&Q, Homebase etc. Thanks.

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  2. Your brother is lucky to have a lovely sister who will make him some curtains! Not my favourite job but I have got some lovely laura ashley fabric ready and waiting for when we get around to decorating our spare room!
    I love the idea of a plate rack too, lucky you having the space!

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    1. I'm not sure we do have the space... it might be wishful thinking again!

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  3. We are table twins! I have one of those big beasts, too, won for a pittance on eBay!
    Brothers and their lack of curtain-making skillz, huh? I've got one, too. x

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  4. I got mine off ebay too! I was trying to think if we'd ever bought a new piece of furniture and we have one bed that was new from a shop. The other two are second hand with new mattresses and pretty much everything is from ebay, fleamarkets and charity shops. x

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  5. You're with tables the way I am with chairs - I could never resist a thrifty or curbside deal when I'd see something with good bones in my old Toronto hood. I used to joke that I'd have to start hanging them for the ceiling for lack of space!

    Love the new floors - there's nothing like wood. Good luck with the curtains - your bro is a lucky guy!

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  6. You have a thing about tables like I have a problem with coats! Except I keep nearly all the coats...
    Love the look of the plate rack.
    And how kind of you to make curtains for your brother. Enjoy your trip to Yorkshire for half term. xxxx

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  7. Good luck, I'll be so impressed (and slightly shame faced) if you manage to achieve stuff over half term, I never manage to do anything but get roped into making lego models.
    x

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  8. I did smile when I read your post as we're always in and out with pieces of furniture and wonder what the neighbours make of it! I've got a small car but with the roof bars on we've transported many a table, bed frame, wardrobe, and squeezed in chests of drawers inside the car where it's so tight I have to drive with my nose pushed up against the windscreen :)
    Love the French style dresser, now that was a real bargain. One of my best finds was an original 1930's French armoire which all came apart to be transported so up onto the roof bars it went....it cost £10, don't know why it went so cheap. I'm still undecided whether to paint it, it's a lovely piece of furniture as it is but they do look good painted.
    Thank you for nominating me for the Leibster award, I will get around to it, you're very kind. Enjoy half term week x

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