I was
wildly excited about the bathtub when we bought our house. All I could think about were long baths with a
glass of wine, candles and a novel. Sounds nice, right? But my dreams
of spa-like blissdom were dashed quicker than you can say “rotting floor
boards.” — The walls needed paint. The
hardware? Circa 1965. The floor – bad news. What I had on my hands was a Major
Project. But without the
time/funds/skills to dive into a full-fledged renovation, I had to start small
– with the bathroom window.
Bathroom
windows, kitchen windows, ground floor windows – these can be tricky. You want privacy, yet traditional curtains
can be a hard fit or can suck up every ounce of light you get. Café curtains are a perfect solution, and
rather than limit yourself to the traditional selection (i.e. totally boring)
of fabrics available, I found that tea towels work perfectly – especially since
they can be found in seemingly endless colors and patterns. Check out Jonathan Adler’s ginseng tea towel or the French
tea towels at Quel Objet. Try gypsyrosalie.com if you’re going for
a vintage look.
But first, a note
about me. I do NOT sew. And I don’t like to measure, so trust me when
I say that “making” your own café curtains is no harder than hanging
traditional curtains. Three easy steps
is all it takes.
1) The hardware: You need either a tension rod or café
rod. Note that a café rod may involve
using a drill.
2) The ring clips: These clips attach to your fabric and then
slide onto the curtain rod and are available anywhere from Home Depot to
Target. You’ll need four to six rings
per piece of fabric – but ultimately it’s up to you.
3) The fabric: I found this funky aqua pattern in the
clearance section at Target for $1.99. FYI, It’s best to wash and iron the fabric before hanging your new
curtains.
Once you have all of your supplies go ahead and install the café curtains as you would any other window treatment. Happy hanging!
Paula Balzer is the co-founder of the blog adhocmom.com, and the author of the how-to book Writing and Selling Your Memoir. Read more about her in our contributors column to the right.
