make it work. channeling Tim Gunn

what do you do on a snowy afternoon? hang curtains of course!

as it stands my home is slowly coming along. not much has been done by way of decoration. one, because i don't know how long i'll be in this apartment so what's the use (jaded much)?  two, because i just packed those boxes and don't know if i want to rifle through them only to find i have no space to put said items. and three, (the most important one) i recently find out there is a $1 per hole charge to us for any holes we put in these rental walls.
$1 per hole! are you kidding! crazy town!

so there lies a huge obstacle. you see if you know me you know that i love to hang things on the walls. after living in countless homes, abodes, etc. over the past 12 years i find that hanging things on the wall can really change a space. and contrary to the above statement, i really don't mind getting things out of boxes to make a space feel more like "home". i have come to realize that it is very important to me to make my space feel as normal/homey as possible. even if it's only for a few months. this also has come from experiencing living in many places and needing things from my past and comforting items to keep me connected and happy to the ones/things/places i love.
so when you say there will be a charge for hanging these items i get a bit put out. i know they can take it out of the deposit and we won't really feel the effects and really what's a few dollars, but it's just the principle of the thing.
SO, i decided the other day that curtains were in fact needed so i would just have to Make It Work. can you see me saying that all Tim Gunn and everything?! curtains were especially needed in the living room and master bedroom. i have to hang one on the kitchen/entry door as well but i haven't gotten that far.

the living room needed some just to liven up the place as well as for keeping out the cold and the bedroom for privacy purposes (our bedroom window faces the walkway for the upstairs apartments).

i needed to figure out how to hang a curtain w/o putting holes in the wall.
enter the spring curtain rod. of course this is not my favorite look (i HATE short curtains) but it is working out fine. we have radiators near all the windows so that is another huge obstacle for me. but again MIW!

after an epic fail-




i totally blanked on that one!

i then purchased a much smaller one and used a sleeve technique to get a snug fit.  i was glad to have some thick velvet fabric i bought at a thrift store, who knows how long ago, that works great for thickness and privacy.



not sure if i'll leave it plain or put something on it?? but for now it's good.

in the living room i was able to make shorter split curtains in the middle that are really thick but being white, still let light in. i like to have the split so on the sunny days i can open them if need be.




the longer set on the outside is a dark grey with a gold pin stripe. i got this believe it or not from one of Wal-Mart's clearance fabric racks in phoenix.


i love anything with a stripe and or in grey so i bought a ton of yards because i knew i would use it no matter what.







i purchased the curtain rod at Target in a not brown not black color to kind of go with everything. do you know how much curtain rods are? geez! well they had to be purchased and i had already done due diligence and looked at all the thrift stores around town first with no luck. i had some old gold ones we donated in phoenix before we left. they had no finials left so they went to the goodwill, but now i know not to do that again!


as far as the holes, the rod and fabric aren't that heavy so i didn't use the brackets that came with the rod. i instead painted some white cup hooks to match the rod and twisted them into studs so i think they will do just fine for $3. if they don't, i'll put in the real hooks. and yes i'm keeping track of every $!




i have so many other creative ideas for storage and desperately need to hang some lights and art/something over the bed but at $free i'm enjoying the negative space :)

i have many more photos to share but i didn't show any more of the living room because it's no where near where it needs to be. i am trying to get small indoor projects done (thank you 10* weather) soon though. i am hosting a Thirty-One party at our place in a few for some girls so i need to get some things done.

hopefully this week i can get the "trip of a lifetime" post up along with my favorites from jemimah b. photography in 2011.

what's on your list this week? any curtain hanging going on?

happy tuesday!





Comments

  1. Jemimah, I feel your pain, girl! We have this wierd "liner ppaer" on the walls in this wonderful, large house. Our landlord said, yes, hangs things on the wall, but the realtor said we have to return the house in the exact same condition as we got it. I have stuff for my walls I haven't even seen in 4 years. Remember there was that move from one base house to another just 8 motnsh before we PCSed? I cannot.wait. until I can put all the holes on all the walls I want!! Plus you require an outlet for all your creative energy. ou go, girl! The curtains all look great!!

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