Home DecorNew Living Room Curtains July 14, 2016Y’all know this issue has sparked major debate in this house: to hang or not to hang living room curtains. I love curtains. To me, few rooms are complete without some lovely, flowing curtains. They soften a room and add texture. They’re the finishing touch that makes it feel complete and put together. Doing curtains in the living room sparked some debate for a couple of reasons. First of all, my husband did some beautiful craftsman trim in this house. Second of all, Chris was concerned that curtains would compromise some of the light in here. We debated and compromised on not using curtains in other spots, but this living room just didn’t feel right without curtains. To me, that final layer makes a room feel extra homey and cozy…my exact goal for the living room. Chris agreed and I got busy searching. I knew I wanted white. Even though the walls are white, there’s a lot of color in this room. I knew hanging colored (even if they were neutral) curtains around the room would draw your eye and really compete with other elements. This view of the fireplace wall is what really sold me on doing white on white. I wanted the fireplace to still stand out as the major focal point with that chandelier and anything other than white on the curtains would’ve distracted from that. As soon as the first panel was hung, I knew we’d made the right choice. They provide the perfect amount of softness and complete this space to me. While I love the big vault in here, it did present some design challenges. One of the main issues was that the back main wall just felt so undefined. It was huge and white and the living room sort of felt like it was just floating here. Adding in the curtains really grounded this space to me and makes it feel more defined. You can see a little glimpse of the kitchen cabinets above. These two rooms along this back vaulted wall was a struggle for me, but the curtains have helped to define this room as a separate space. For the curtains themselves, I went with my favorite tried and true white curtain: the IKEA Ritva. I’ve used these curtains in all three of our houses and I still love them. You can’t beat the price for the quality. I love that they have a bit of a texture to them, so when light shines through, they have a linen look. That really elevates their appearance to me. Plus, I love that these curtains come in three different lengths. I debated what kind of curtain rod to use and I decided to go with the same Wayfair white ones from our playroom. I really wanted them to just disappear. When you use colored curtain rods, they can really steal some of the focus and in this case, I wanted it to just be a lovely white backdrop. My curtain rule is always to hang the curtains at ceiling height, but sadly that wasn’t possible in here. As you can see below, this one corner messed us up. With the beam and window placement, it limited how high we could hang the curtains. We hung that panel first (as high as we could) and then hung all of the others at the same height. We also made sure to hang them as wide as we could so that the curtain panels could hang beside the windows and not block any of the light. While I love a plain white curtain, I wanted to add a little something extra to these. I initially pictured some white fringe trim down the inseam, but fringe trim is expensive and I needed 24 yards to do what I was picturing. I ended up finding some white trim with tiny tassels on it at the same discount fabric warehouse sale I mentioned in our screened porch reveal post. It was $50 for 24 yards of this stuff and the cheapest price I’d found on any kind of tassel or fringe trim before that was about $250 total. I love the subtle texture it adds. And I’m loving the backdrop these provide for this room. Even though it’s white on white, they really added so much. I love seeing the sun shine through them. This room is finally feeling more finished to me. Seeing the impact these curtains made has really given me a boost to finish up the rest of the details. Some of the items you see above will change some in the coming weeks and some things will be added, so stay tuned for updates!
Susan L. says July 14, 2016 at 8:00 am Love the eclectic mix. Curtains are perfect. Such an inviting room. Reply
Gina says July 14, 2016 at 10:24 am Love the curtains…..especially the trim! Where did you find it at that great price? I have the exact curtains and have been wanting to add trim but it’ll cost an arm and a leg because my length is 102 inches! Love your shed too! Reply
Lindsay says July 14, 2016 at 11:00 am Thanks so much, Gina! Yes, the trim is usually so expensive! There’s a local warehouse (in upstate SC) called All About Fabric and they have a huge sale one weekend a month. They have amazing fabric prices and great deals on trim! If you’re local, you definitely should check it out! Reply
Jill Nordin says July 14, 2016 at 10:29 am I am fairly new to your blog and I love it! This morning I read your curtain story and I LOVE, LOVE the curtains you chose! You really have a great talent. Your living room I absolutely am in love with!! Your fireplace is an absolute beauty and standout! Then I jumped to your new screened porch and it is so neat! I wish you could see the sunroom we started well over ten years ago, if not more. Our oldest was in college, so I’m not sure why we started with funds going OTD really quickly. My husband was asked to help out a local home construction business and I’m SO thrilled with all he learned. He has now insulated the room and added canned lighting. It has the same old flooring with no tile, wood etc., just painted it white for now. We are still a long way and I just keep collecting new ideas. I WISH I had you to come decorate!! You have an awesome talent and a great way of writing! Keep us posted!! Reply
Lindsay says July 14, 2016 at 10:59 am Jill, you just made my day! Thank you so much for the amazing encouragement! I needed to hear that today and I’m so glad you’re here! Reply
Austin says July 14, 2016 at 11:19 am EEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! I thought I was excited about the master bath and then you went and added curtains to the living room! Ha ha. Man, they really do make such a huge difference! It feels so much cozier and “finished” than it did before, and it was so lovely before, so that’s saying something. I’ve been helping my boyfriend redecorate his duplex, starting with a brand new lovely dark gray sectional. He had busy, overly traditional curtains before and they just didn’t work, so I suggested going with cream curtains to blend a bit more with the walls so as not to distract the eye. They look so much better – even he agrees! I feel like your post just confirms that was a good call. Thanks for the (unintentional) affirmation, friend! Reply
Austin says July 14, 2016 at 11:25 am I’m now off to pin ALL THESE PICS to my Pinterest! Ha ha. Basically, I could have an entire board dedicated to your home(s). Reply
Lindsay says July 20, 2016 at 7:41 am Thanks so much, Austin! Your comments are always the sweetest. You always make my day! Reply
Sandie says July 14, 2016 at 1:18 pm Beautiful, indeed. Love the added trim. It really does add to the space and ambiance. Wise choices. Reply
Katrina @ hurricane sandwich and the casita says July 14, 2016 at 2:16 pm This really does make the wall behind the couch look so much more grounded and finished! Great job! Reply
Lindsay says July 20, 2016 at 7:40 am Thanks so much, Katrina! Totally agreed! That’s the best part to me 🙂 Reply
zandra (Little Yellow Couch) says July 14, 2016 at 2:30 pm PERFECT curtains for this room! And the tassels complete the whole thing. You must be so happy! Reply
Lindsay says July 20, 2016 at 7:39 am Yes! You can find them here from Wayfair: http://www.wayfair.com/Beme-International-Urn-Single-Curtain-Rod-and-Hardware-Set-278656-BMET1012.html?piid%5B0%5D=14829496 Reply
[…] hit me in the feels. I have been searching and scouring ideas for my own home! I loved seeing these added in her living room, and they’re from Ikea so that’s a great budget […] Reply