Over the past several months, I’ve been s-l-o-w-l-y updating the breakfast nook. I first added a DIY dining table last August, then I added some curtains, and then I recently added the “floating” bench seat, and now some new, lighter, spring-y curtains.
I’ve had my eye on floral curtains lately. It’s a very different look for me, but I’ve been trying, just a bit, to step out of my comfort zone–and I think with this little hack, it paid off.
For this look, I was able to get away with using shower curtains. I’m always thinking outside the box when it comes to fabric. Whether it’s making pillows out of dish towels, or seat covers out of cloth napkins, curtains out of sheets, reupholstering a bed with a shower curtain. –I figure fabric is fabric–and there’s a bonus when you can get away with this knowing that this look will most likely be pretty unique to you. Plus shower curtains often come in a wide variety of stylish prints and patterns.
This is the shower curtain that caught my eye, it’s from Target and I was able to buy two at just $18 each, I think I had some Target circle points or something. But they’re regularly only $20.
The reason a shower curtain worked perfectly for this project, is because the widow is above the banquet, so any curtains I would have purchased would have had to be hemmed anyway, this way, I was able to use the shower curtains just as they were (72″ long without hemming—hanging them high and wide of course 😉
HOW to Hang Shower Curtains as Curtains
I used curtain clips and attached them right to the top of the shower curtain. Because I planned to “pleat” the curtains, the shower curtain holes wouldn’t be visible.
To pleat the curtains, I just start at one end and begin accordion folding until I have three folds to clip.
Next, I found that clipping the fabric, right below the hem, worked perfectly for the look I was going for.
Right after I clipped the first three folds, I continued folding and clipping all the way to the end.
Next, I gathered a few bunches of clipped pleats, and ran my fingers through to make sure they were straight and smooth.
And this is what it looks like when on the rod:
This was such a great way to add some impact and interest to our window seat.
Using a shower curtain would also be great for cafe style curtains with a little hemming, or windows in small spaces, like an attic or wherever shorter curtains seem more practical.
