long and lean: no-sew curtains

Several months ago I decided it was time to find new curtains for the den. When we replaced our dining room curtains, we moved those old, brown curtains into the den (left from the previous owner a few years ago). However, they were old and brown... so, just not our style. 

Long curtain panels are not cheap, so I went to Hancock Fabrics to snag some lightweight, white fabric to create a few of my own. Originally, I was going to hem them with my sewing machine, but I decided to give a different product: Heat-n-Bond (found at Michael's).

I had the fabric pre-cut to each panel's size at the store, so it made it really easy to get them all the same length and width when it came to hemming. With the Heat-n-Bond, an iron and an ironing board, I was done in just an hour or so. 

No-sew curtains in four steps:

(1) Iron the fabric, particularly the folded hemlines;

(2) place the Heat-n-Bond tape between the folded hemline;
(3) iron over the hemline, holding it for 30 seconds or so on each part; and
(4) done, done and done.

So, back to the old, brown curtains. The second bedroom (more of a den for us) is pretty small, so the dark curtains weren't exactly inviting. They also darkened the room quite a bit making it feel smaller. 

Not to mention we didn't have one for the side window, which just make it look even worse.

In addition to lightening up with the white curtains, we also hung them higher with new curtain rods. This little trick works wonders. Hanging them higher makes the room seem bigger, too. Double win. 

While we don't spend a great deal of time in there (hence, why it looks like a storage space!), this makes me so much happier. You have a clear view of the room from the living room and kitchen since we removed the door for the time being, too. So, having it a little easier on the eye was a must for me. 

Just another project that's been a long... time... coming!