I am spending all day today mending my living room balloon curtains. I bought them at Target twenty years ago. They are starting to shred. They have been really wonderful, though. I wish I could find the same ones, but I don't see much in our local Target's Shabby Chic line anymore. Instead, I ordered a hand made balloon shade from a seller on Etsy. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for me. I had trouble lifting it with the cords. The fabric was very heavy, and it was lined. When I put it up, it made my living room very dark. Mail order can be tricky. It is beautifully made, though, and the seller was very kind and talented. I will find a use for it. I love toile.
I searched online for lightweight curtains and exactly what I wanted at JC Penny. I was eligible for free shipping, and they were 50% off! I snatched up seven of them in pink right away. They are the balloon style that I love, and look sheer and breezy. I will save the fancy shade to use in my bedroom if I ever want to block out the light from the street lamp. I really like having the sunlight streaming in through the windows. We get sunshine year round here in California, and I enjoy the view from my windows of the garden, the alpacas, and the towering pine trees. Bringing the outdoors in makes me feel happy. (especially in such a small cottage.)
In the meantime, I have been sewing up all of holes and rips in my curtains. I found a couple of vintage print pieces of fabric to hang in the bathroom and kitchen for now. They are simple, but they work. At least it gives me some privacy. I may sew these into simple shades and leave them. I love the delicate prints on the fabric. I found them at a thrift shop, twenty years ago. The tiny flowers are so sweet. The vintage details really make a difference in an older home. What do you have on your windows?
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I hope you will be very happy with the new curtains. Sometimes it's hard to buy things online without physically seeing them.
ReplyDeleteI love the pretty lampshade in the third photo. Like I always say, your cottage looks so cozy.
I have very lightweight white curtains on all my windows except one. People normally don't use curtains with plantation shutters, but I like the look of these curtains. 😊
Hi Nil, I love sheer white curtains. I know you've spent a lot of time on your plantation shutters. I hope I will be happy with these new curtains, too. If not, I will keep my old ones. I am almost finished mending them. They look fine when they are raised.
DeleteLooks great and I like the way you think, when we were in the house we were south facing the lake so no one could see in and I only had blinds, in winter I put up heavy drapes, ( northern Canada ) brrrrrr, but I make my own out of fabric for bedrooms and here in the apartment , I have blinds and drapes again to keep the cold out, I made the blinds from lovely ivory fabric I found in the reduced fabric, I actually think it’s heavy table cloth fab but tveorked great😊
ReplyDeleteThey sound lovely, Laurie. That's wonderful that you made them yourself. I have thought about knitting some, in linen. They used to have wool curtains during the winter when I danced in Austria. I loved the look. They made you feel so snug and cozy.
DeleteI love sunlight too! I have some curtains from the Shabby Chic line from Target. Very nice line...I've looked at Rachel Atwell's website and it is nice she did a line for Target. True though, not much left when I've looked lately. Andrea
ReplyDeleteI agree, Andrea. I will look up Rachel's site. Thanks for the tip.
DeleteRight now, we have blinds and lace curtains but my dream is to add some heavy weight curtains for the Winter, alongside the lace and switch them out for lighter curtains for the Summer. My Winter project! X Chy
ReplyDeleteThat sounds wonderful, Chy. I'm sure that would help keep out the cold.
DeleteI will soon be swapping my kitchen nets for the Christmas ones. At the moment mine have strawberries on but the Christmas ones have Santa heads... I love pretty nets.
ReplyDeleteOh, Christmas curtains, how cute! I can't wait to see the photos of your decorating, Cherie.
DeleteI just wanted to check in to see if you are affected by any of the fires; I'm glad to see that you are not.
ReplyDeleteI, too, need some new curtains for my bedroom as the ones I had tore to bits when I last washed them!
Hi Bless, Thank you for your concern. The fires are not near me at this time. It's so sad to see the damage that they've done. I hope you find some new curtains that you like. I'm excited to see the lace ones that I ordered from JC Penny.
DeleteWe have Roman blinds in our bedrooms and heavy-backed curtains for all the doors that lead put to the verandah. They help to keep the hot Summer sun out. It's great you found curtains you like on sale!! Meg🙂
ReplyDeleteThose sound pretty and practical, Meg. Yes, I am looking forward to hanging the new mauve curtains. From what the reviews say, the style will be perfect for my vintage cottage.
DeleteThe majority of our windows have plantation shutters. Because our house faces east/west, the shutters are great for blocking the morning sun (front of the house) and the hot afternoon sun (back of the house which is were we spend the majority of our time). I have lace curtains in a few bedrooms and the guest bathroom which I love. I got them from Country Curtains many years ago. I agree about having sunlight in the house. It is a must for me, along with open windows and doors just about every day of the year. We are so lucky to live in a mild climate. Your home looks so inviting-thanks for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anita. It sounds like you have the perfect set up for your home. I am still mending one of the curtains right now. There's too much light coming in from that window without the balloon shade. It's a delicate balance.
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