Remember the Guestroom Julia and I are making over?! And remember the off-centered window behind the bed? Well our solution to disguise the window is a wall of curtains!!
We did curtain panels behind the bed, this covered the window but still allows you access to use the window. This took 4 panels of Ikea's Lenda curtains (55" x 98"). The curtains come with iron-on adhesive, so you can alter the length to your windows. Ours are 92 inches long. To dress up the look of the "wall of curtains" we added a cornice on top. This hides all the curtain hardware and makes the project look more clean.
To make the cornice you will need 3 pieces of fabric, lumber, hardware to attach to the wall and acrylic paint. We bought an extra pack of the Lenda curtains and used this fabric to make the cornices. Check out Julia's cornice tutorial for a refresher!
Piece #1: The front piece measures 80 inches wide by 19 inches long. You can't really see this in the pictures, but these curtains have decorative vertical seam in them. We wanted the vertical seams to be vertical on both the curtains and cornice boards. Because the curtains panels are only 55 inches wide, we had to cut 2 pieces of fabric for the front piece. To disguise the seam, we did a box pleat on the cornice in the very center. So for the front piece we cut 2 pieces of fabric, 42 inches by 19 inches, and sewed them together. The extra 4 inches allowed us to do the box pleat.
Hem all the raw edges so that they are finished.
Piece #2 & #3: The side panels measure 8 inches wide by 19 inches long.
Hem all the raw edges.
To add detail to your cornice board, paint a stripe on the front. We taped off the area with normal painters tape. Then lightly painted on the color we wanted. We used a darker blue than the wall color.
Make sure you paint away from the tape and not into it. And do light coats so that paint doesn't seep behind the tape. You will need at least 2 coats, maybe 3. Remove the tape once the paint is dry to your touch.
Install the cornice boards per Julia's tutorial, here.
What do you think? Do you like the stripe?
Obviously we cannot show you how it looks with the bed in the room, you'll have to check back for that reveal! But trust us, it turned out perfect! It disguises the window, but leaves the window functional.
3 comments:
There's a lot of DIY projects available in the market and tutorials over the internet that people can follow and create their own version of. Cornices aren't that common for households, but it's already gaining popularity and more people are installing them in their houses. Tiffany Larsen
That's quite nifty! Although are you okay that a trace of light still peers through the curtain? Covering it with a chalkboard might do the trick. It's becoming a trend now anyway on doors with glass panels. On second thought, do you intend to keep the window functional? Willene@Roofing & More, Inc.
That's a great idea! The client actually requested a lighter material so that light could shine through since the room is naturally dark. He also wanted the curtains to be functional so he can move them to the sides of the window to allow even more light in. Thanks for stopping by!
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