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{Easy DIY} No Sew Embellished IKEA Curtain Panels

by | Jul 23, 2013 | Decorating Inspiration, Details, Family Room, my house

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{Easy DIY} No Sew Embellished IKEA Curtain Panels

Remember awhile back when I got my new bamboo shades for the family room? Well, I STILL love them. I’ve been especially loving them all summer because when the sun pours in hot I’ve been able to lower them to keep the house cooler. Even though I loved the windows with just the shades (for how they look as well as privacy and temperature control), I still wanted curtains to soften the room and add another layer of warmth and texture.

But finding affordable and and unique long curtains is not always easy. In my office I splurged and got some gorgeous crewel Anthropologie curtains. Even though they were not cheap, I haven’t regretted it. They really are beautiful and bring so much personality to my office. I smile every time I see them.

For my dining room curtains, I had some fabric leftover from curtains in a house we lived in years ago.  We were able to give them added length with a band of blue at the bottom. They turned out great and I love them.

{Easy DIY} No Sew Embellished IKEA Curtain Panels

For the family room I decided I didn’t want any pattern or vivid color, my goal was to just soften the room and frame the window a bit. I didn’t want the curtains to be the personality of this space, rather they were going to be in a supporting role. While I do love color and pattern, sometimes too much can be distracting in a room that already has enough going on to keep your eyes happy! But a little detail that doesn’t scream at you can be nice.

I really love a cozy home in Fall and Winter so while my style in this house might be a little more summery, I am wanting to keep the seasonless details that make a house warmer and snug in those colder months.

{Easy DIY} No Sew Embellished IKEA Curtain Panels

I’ve had trouble finding long affordable curtains for every house I’ve ever had and we’ve had to custom make them or add to them in some way to get the look I wanted. Fortunately this time IKEA had just what I needed in the way of affordable long curtains, except for the fact that they were a little on the plain side and STILL not long enough! EEK!

I almost always like to hang curtains higher than the window frame so while they may have been fine if I had hung the curtains right at the top of the window, visually I wanted these panels hung to the ceiling. And that is why they were too short!

{Easy DIY} No Sew Embellished IKEA Curtain Panels

So armed with some iron on stitch tape to avoid sewing, my ever-so-helpful mom who has made dozens of curtains for me in my lifetime cut up an extra jute sheer striped curtain panel from World Market that was just sitting around my house (an extra panel from this curtain project) and attached it to the bottom of the IKEA curtains.

Voila! Instant touch of personality and one of a kind style, not to mention enough length to reach the floor. Score!

{Easy DIY} No Sew Embellished IKEA Curtain Panels

My mom will not like me showing you the back side of the curtain but I will anyway just so you know, it doesn’t have to be perfect to look good on the front side. Of course you can sew a border on the bottom of curtains to lengthen them if you want to (that is how my mom did the dining room curtains and these panels with burlap trim for me). But since our border fabric was so light weight it was perfectly fine to use iron on tape (you can find the iron on fabric tape at JoAnn’s Fabric or any other fabric store)!

{Easy DIY} No Sew Embellished IKEA Curtain Panels

After some ironing, the curtains were done and looking good! I was worried that I wasn’t going to like curtains in here since I actually loved how the room looked without them. But I do really love how it quietly finished the room.

If we had a house with an amazing view out the window I don’t know that I would care about having curtains as much. But since I like to focus our attention inside rather than outside at the view especially in the dreary days of winter, curtains can make a room complete!

{Easy DIY} No Sew Embellished IKEA Curtain Panels

You’ll also notice that I opted to make the curtains stationary and just used a short rod on either side rather than a full curtain rod all the way across. With all the molding and window trim, I didn’t want to have a long rod adding another line across the windows, nor did I want a huge rod with big finials to call attention to it.

I just used a regular short curtain rod from Lowe’s and only overlapped the rod slightly on either side of the window to let the most amount of light into the room. I am definitely pleased with how it turned out!

{Easy DIY} No Sew Embellished IKEA Curtain Panels

Now I’m about to tackle living room panels! My living room window is SUPER tall so I’m having to add on quite a bit of length to my curtain panels. But this time my mom is not up here to help me, darn, so I’m on my own!  I’ll report back on how it goes!

40 Comments

  1. Anne@DesignDreams

    love your curtains and love that strip on the bottom. Looks so cute!!

    Reply
  2. Kelly Howard

    They are just the finishing touch to a lovely room, and the stripe at the bottom gives an airy elegance the speaks the nautical theme! Might I suggest a long ruffle to length you next curtain project? Just enough flounce to be a ruffle without to much frou-frou…I am hopelessly in love with this look!

    Reply
  3. kathleen

    Very nice! They look fantastic :)

    Reply
  4. Sandra at Thistle Cove Farm

    Your drapes do look lovely and the added bonus of the bottom band is a pretty plus. I’m a fan of drapes that can be pulled against the cold of night and opened during the day to allow the winter sun to give what warmth it’s able. My views are so incredible, there are some windows (sun and bath rooms) that have no window coverings at all. Who’s to see except the sheep, alpacas, horses and cattle and they don’t care -smile-.

    Reply
  5. Crystal

    I think you made the perfect choice of drapes for this room! They don’t scream for attention but they give you the”i don’t know but this room feels a little more cozier” look to them…at least from looking at them on my iPad screen… It’s probably even better in person, both look and feel! Keep inspiring!! Great job!!

    Reply
  6. Cyndi

    Love the curtains. Question: what is the length if the curtain rods?
    Been wanting to do the same to my living room sliders but don’t know how long to make the rods.
    Thanks!

    Reply
  7. Liam Morrison

    You’ve done fantastic work with your drapes here! I also love the idea of no-sew, as I literally couldn’t sew something to save my life. These drapes really soften the look of the room, making it look much cosier. Excellent work!

    Reply
  8. Beth

    Love the panels, if you had’nt told, we would have thought they were purchased like that! By the way , I adore that blue and white pillow . Where did u get it and do you know the name of the fabric? Have a great day

    Reply
  9. Karena

    I absolutely love the coordinating band at the bottom of the panels; it adds a custom look!! Oh and also the rods hung the way you did it; not taking them all the way across.

    xoxo
    Karena
    2013 Designer Series and Giveaway!

    Reply
  10. Kerry

    I will definitely be copying this for pretty much every room in my house. I love my curtains to pool the bottom and it is way too expensive to do custom for my entire house.

    Reply
  11. Linda

    Your neutral palette makes the room so comfy. I’ve always liked the look of wooden roll-up shades. We had them on our guest room window only to find out that when it is dark outside and the bedroom light was on…there wasn’t any privacy!

    Reply
  12. Pam

    I was totally loving the sheer panel and then I saw those short rods, woo hoo perfect!

    Reply
  13. N.

    We have bamboo blinds in our living room as well and I really want to hang curtains to cozy and soften it up, but we also have baseboard heat. Do you have any suggestions on curtain length or any other options?

    Reply
    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Probably what I would do is just hang the curtains shorter, so they’d end at the base of the window trim (maybe eyeball it a bit to see where the best place would be to land). That way you can still get heat!

      Reply
  14. Kristiann

    Where did you get the small curtain rods? I think they are just the right size that I need for a project.

    Reply
  15. Christine

    Love the curtains…the post made me smile, because I also have those curtains from Worldmarket and my Mom made them into a shower curtain for the guest bathroom and also a little table runner with the left-overs…lol….here is a link if you want to snoop..Greetings from Little Brags
    Guest Batch Shower Curtain
    http://littlebrags.blogspot.com/2013/04/guest-bedroom-and-rusty-buckets.html
    Table Runner
    http://littlebrags.blogspot.com/2013/03/some-easter-touches-some-self-doubt.html

    Reply
  16. Ashley

    Melissa, I have the exact same problem with curtains … Always just a few inches short!! Thanks for encouraging me to believe that I CAN come up with a solution, even if I can’t sew. :)

    Reply
  17. Patricia

    Are your blinds in three sections? I’ve got a big window with leaded glas side windos that crank open. Right now I have a giant mega blind covering the whole thing. It takes two people to close it (you have to support it as you winch it up). It’s about 26 years old. I’d love to see it gone and lovely blinds like yours in it’s place, but don’t want another mega blind. If it is in 3 parts, how’s that working for you? Are you happy you went that direction?

    Reply
    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Yes, it is three separate blinds! Love it. It would be way too heavy if it was just one. Plus I love that I can just shut one or two depending on the direction of the sun!

      Reply
      • Elizabeth@ Blue Clear Sky

        Our blinds in the family room aren’t as pretty as Melissa’s but we used three custom fit sections too. They are the 2.5″ slat type and I love that they can each be opened at different degrees.

        Reply
  18. Elizabeth@ Blue Clear Sky

    Your room looks great and the curtains are that added fabric texture like you said. Great idea and they look so pretty! The blinds were a great pick with your gorgeous hardwoods too.

    Reply
  19. Kristi@chatfield court

    Great addition to your room…subtle but definitely effective in softening the space. I am thinking about doing this very thing on my front window to soften and add some more privacy, you can see right through my woven shades at night and we sit in there to watch tv.

    Reply
  20. Lynn from For Love or Funny

    I love sewing with my mom. I much prefer to do projects with her than without her…but that being said, I’m sure you’ll do just fine tackling the living room panels on your own! :)

    Reply
  21. Space By Design

    Such a great idea!! Curtains are so expensive these days, its awesome to be able to make your own or improve some store bought ones at least with a little extra effort.

    Reply
  22. sarah

    Love these curtains! How easy, simple and effective. Love the room they are in as well.
    Thanks for sharing
    Sarah

    Reply
  23. Dierdre Main

    I love the idea of the 2 short rods instead of a rod all the way across. I’ve never thought of that. I might try it out at my place. Thanks for the nifty idea!

    Reply
  24. Shannon

    Do you remember the name of the curtains from Ikea?

    I love the short rods and am doing something similar in our dining room because the mostamazingfabricever doesn’t come in a wider fabric so they’ll be dummy curtains on either side. We have shades and don’t need to close them so its a win-win for me. :D

    Reply
  25. Molly

    Did you use 2 panels per side? It looks wider than one panel… Just wondering! Looks great!

    Reply
  26. Lori

    I always LOVE your blog …. great ideas, beautiful pictures …. and you always make me laugh! Thanks for brightening up my day. :-)

    Reply
  27. Calli

    I was wondering which Ikea curtain panels and the color you have? I have been looking for some just like these. Love your style and this room! Thank you!

    Reply
  28. Melissa L.

    ME too!! I know you’re in a super busy season of life…but can you give us the name of the panels from IKEA? Stood in IKEA yesterday and debated and hemmed and hawed–can’t decide which ones!! I’m so glad you mentioned in a reply that you used two panels per side…I hate to double my cost, but I will need 112″ (two-story family room) and one per side is just probably too puny w that height!:)

    Can’t wait to see the decorating adventures in your new house…

    Reply
  29. Caroline

    Which curtains from IKEA did you use? They are so beautiful!! Thanks!

    Reply

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