Making a Temporary House a Home | Curtains

One of the first things my hubby and I add to a home {other than our own furniture and belongings} is window coverings. Of course, every home we have lived in has been quite different than the one before. For a few moves, we had to buy new curtains for several, if not all, the rooms in our house. We have finally reached the point however, where we seem to have curtains in our arsenal that will fit somewhere in our new home. We usually end up buying a set or two for at least one room in our house though.

 

 

 

Curtains add a lot to a room for a minimal cost. Simple coverings over your windows can add texture and color where there was none before.

 

 

 

 

 

Covering your windows can reduce outside noise and filter the amount of sunlight that streams into your home.

 

 

 

 

 

Even adding a small valance can pack a big punch.

 

 

 

I still find myself amazed at the difference adding a few yards of fabric to a room can make.

 

 

 

Adding curtains can be simple and inexpensive. Of course it can be very detailed and expensive, but there is absolutely no reason it has to be. The curtains don't have to match the room exactly. {In fact, I find a room more visually appealing when there is a little contrast going on.} I usually enjoy the challenge of finding the best fitting, most cheap option there is.

 

Here are the places I found my cheap, good enough curtains featured in the photos above.
From top to bottom:

• www.target.com We bought these curtains nearly five years (and four houses!) ago for our master bedroom. I am happy to stay they have made there way out of storage to be used in our room again!
• www.landofnod.com My daughter's quilt is from here. I didn't want the curtains to be matchy, matchy. I found her curtains and shams on deep clearance from The Land of Nod and they coordinate nicely with her quilt.  
• The Exhange at Panzer. Yes, believe it or not, I found curtains at the Exchange. If you live here, you know what a feat that is. I actually bought these for our old rental house on the economy. We needed something basic and neutral. I liked these because they resembled burlap. It added a nice feel to our rented farmhouse. When we moved on post and decided the bathroom needed some window coverings, I thought these would be perfect.
• www.potterybarn.com Okay, I totally splurged on these. But I promise I went through every other possible resource for a valance in our kitchen. The good thing is, when you get two curtains for $9 for your son's room, you have a little extra to spend on a valance in the kitchen.
• www.walmart.com My hubby and I got some very nice crib bedding for our son. We had a hard time finding something we agreed on. When we finally did, we did not hesitate in purchasing it. At our farmhouse, a curtain was impossible on our slanted attic windows. When we moved on post, our son's room definitely needed curtains. I have to say I came very close to spending nearly $200 on the coordinating curtains for his room. Just typing that makes me feel a little ill. Thankfully, I came to my senses and checked with Target and Wal-mart online. Wal-mart had some nice true red curtains at a beautiful price of 2 for $9.

My main piece of advice to you would be to just put something up there. I truly think you will be happily surprised with what you see.

 

*If you have a tricky room where you are unsure what to use to cover your windows, email a photo to robyn_lee97 <at> hotmail <dot> com. I would love to feature your space on my blog!*