Curtain Call

There's nothing like a trip to Jo-Ann's to get my creative juices flowing. I'm not much of a DIYer—I generally prefer to buy things already made. The pros can do it better than I can, and I know my ideas are more ambitious than my follow-through.

But sometimes I get something very specific in my head and just can't find it in a store. Or I have something that just needs a little somethin'-somethin' to spruce it up. That's when I head to Jo-Ann's for inspiration. And my latest trip gave me all sorts of great ideas.

I'm looking for curtains for the living room and dining room. Last year we got new living room furniture, and the old curtains—really more of a window scarf—just don't work any longer. The old furniture was green, but now the sofa is a cocoa color and the chairs are pale blue. I'm leaning toward something bold, with blues and greens, a striking contrast to the soft green damask I have now.

For the dining room, which is primarily yellow/gold and red, I want to add some blue. That would tie it into the living room a bit, since the spaces are adjacent, with what is essentially a half wall separating them.

I've been eyeing these curtains (without the valance—really, they're cuter in person), but there's a problem. I made the curtains that are there, and they're longer than your standard store-bought panels. So I figure I have three choices: rehang the rod lower, add trim to the bottom of a premade curtain, or make them from scratch.


Here are a couple of possibilities if I decide to go the DIY route:

Notice that the pattern on the right is same as the upper right in the previous picture, just a different color way.

These might work for both the living room and dining room, although the color is more pink than red:

And If I choose to get the premade curtains, I could add fringe like this to make them just about the right length:

I also have some plans for one of the walls in the dining room, but that's a post for another day!

What do you think? Do any of these fabrics speak to you? Should I use the same fabric for both rooms? Let m know!