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Young House Love » Decorating » Taking Down Those Old Curtains

| By Sherry Petersik | May 23, 2013 | 306 Comments

Taking Down Those Old Curtains

Yup, we finally called it. The old floral curtains couldn’t last another day. So we made a few jokes about Kim Kardashian’s Met ball dress and got ready to say goodbye.

Curtains Before1

Curtains Before 2

They looked pretty fancy, but they just weren’t our style, so it was time to take them down and make a nice little donate pile for Habitat for Humanity. The funny thing is that when we got up on chairs and lifted them down, we discovered that these babies were pinned and even screwed right into the window at times! Cracked us up. I mean, we’re no strangers to using fabric remnants and wood braces screwed into windowsills, but seeing white pushpins sticking out of the blue molding was pretty unexpected. Gotta love those “make it work” DIY moments…

Curtains1

Curtains3

The most surprising part of Mission Remove Dem Curtains was… the time it took to remove dem! Thanks to the screws and pins (there were straight pins, safety pins, and even tacks and twine attaching them to windows, trim, and even themselves) it was a somewhat slow process full of “how is this thing still clinging to the window?!”

Curtains4

Finally, about an hour spent running around with the screwdriver and hammer (to be sure we popped out every last nail and screw so all the windows are ready for spackle and eventual paint) we were left with this pile:

Curtains6

And this pretty impressive collection of tacks, nails, screws, and pushpins:

Curtains5

And even though the curtains were riddled with tacks (and a fair amount of dust) I did this. Because I just can’t control myself.

Wearing Curtains2

My favorite touch was the curtain rod turned scepter. All hail Curtains McFlower.

Wearing Curtains

Now that they’re down, more light is streaming in and each of those four rooms feel a little more like us. We’re dreaming of a nice swanky layered look for the curtains in our new house. Perhaps bamboo blinds with curtains hung high and wide over them? Sort of like this. Or this. Or this. Except not necessarily with plain white or cream curtains.

Curtains8

Curtains9

Curtains7

Oh happy day. It’s the little things. Playing dress up never hurts either…

Psst- We announced this week’s giveaway winner. Click here to see if it’s you.

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Filed Under: Decorating, Our Third House

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Comments

  1. Kelsey says

    May 23, 2013 at 8:32 pm

    My best friend and her husband did some serious deflowering of their windows when they bought their first house. They didn’t have any tacks or twine to wrestle, but did find every. last. curtain. stuffed to perfect poofiness with…wait for it…newspaper. I guess that’s like shoulder pads for 80’s curtains. Ouch.

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 23, 2013 at 9:22 pm

      So funny! Too bad they weren’t stuffed with money!

      xo
      s

  2. Lauren Ritchie says

    May 23, 2013 at 8:47 pm

    It’s amazing how much of a difference taking down some curtains can be. Looking forward to seeing the replacements. Personally I vote for look one. The light sheer fabric will really enhance the sunlight coming through the room. Best of luck!

    Reply
  3. Lauren T says

    May 23, 2013 at 9:03 pm

    Love this post! My favorite part is seeing Sherry dressed up in the curtains, I can tell you guys have so much FUN with this stuff, which is so great :)

    Reply
  4. Robin @ Our Semi Organic Life says

    May 23, 2013 at 9:12 pm

    You are already probably laying hardwood – but have you thought about laying it diagonally in your long hallway? I never thought it’d be a thing until we moved into our rental and I love it! Even our large bathroom tiles are laid at a 45 degree angle and I think it makes a small but classy difference! I have it on my must have dream house mclisterson…

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 23, 2013 at 9:21 pm

      Since we’re doing solid wood it has to be laid perpendicular to the joists so it holds up for the long haul so that means the direction is predetermined and we can’t do diagonal, but it sounds beautiufl!

      xo
      s

  5. Jennifer says

    May 23, 2013 at 9:34 pm

    I absolutely love your windows. I know you have a lot of work cut out for you, but the windows and floors are beautiful. Those are the expensive things in a reno so you’re already one step ahead!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 23, 2013 at 10:18 pm

      Aw thanks Jennifer :)

      xo
      s

  6. Rebekah says

    May 23, 2013 at 10:55 pm

    You guys are too funny. I about died laughing when I clicked on the link for Kim Kardashian’s dress. Although, I’d say Sherry wore it better :)

    Reply
  7. Bren says

    May 24, 2013 at 1:29 am

    If you are anything like me, you will be thinking of painting that window trim by tomorrow morning!

    Reply
  8. Jen F says

    May 24, 2013 at 1:46 am

    Yep, this place is SO you guys. With the curtains down, the potential really shines through and I just can’t wait to see everything you do. Super curious about your decorating style and color choices for this one….will it be more classic like your first place, more bright and colorful like your second place, somewhere in between or something totally different? Whee!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 24, 2013 at 9:03 am

      I think classic since the house lends itself to that, but still with pops of color and a casual not-too-stuffy vibe. Probably with an abundance of white and natural finishes (like wood) to balance out those bursts of happy color :)

      xo
      s

  9. KarenH. says

    May 24, 2013 at 1:46 am

    Oh man! As someone else mentioned, stapled and tacked means “never washed”–my allergies are acting up just thinking about that!!

    Consider washing the fabric yourselves (even if you just take it to a laundromat)–it will make the fabric a lot more marketable for the Habitat folks.

    I worried for a while after buying my house, about changing things or snarking on the gawdawful 80s floral wallpaper borders all over my house–especially since I’m only the second owner of my 60 year old house. But the owner drove by last summer while I was out in the yard and stopped to tell me how much she liked what I was doing with the house. And then, without prompting, she apologized for the wallpaper borders! LOL. We had a good laugh over them.

    I think it’s easy to see that you both are working on these homes with a real love for them–not just for what they were, but what they can be. And who among us would not cringe in hilarity over our fashion choices in the 80s???

    I do have to remember to drop the previous owner of my house a thank you card for taking ALL the curtains and leaving only plastic mini blinds in her wake. Sure they were a little cheesy, but they were functional and gave me time to decide on better choices without having Kim kardashian’s dress all over my windows :)

    Reply
  10. Autumn Beach says

    May 24, 2013 at 3:22 am

    Okay, that is crazy how closely those curtains resemble Kim K.’s dress. Sherry, you DEFINITELY wore it better! Ahhh…naked windows. A breath of fresh air.

    Reply
  11. The Pinterest Housewife says

    May 24, 2013 at 4:16 am

    Haaaaaaahahaha! You’re hilarious. Love the Kim K. dress knock-off.

    I am looking forward to seeing your home once y’all are done!

    I noticed that you have wood trim. Mine does too. I’d rather it NOT but it’ll do, for now. Are y’all keeping the wood trim? Or replacing it or painting it?

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 24, 2013 at 9:05 am

      For now we’re sold on painting it glossy white to lighten things up and help the rooms feel less closed in, but who knows where we’ll end up!

      xo
      s

  12. sarkari naukri says

    May 24, 2013 at 5:17 am

    Sherry you absolutely rocked this window curtain outfit! (way better than horrible Betty K). When i realize its hilarious there is certainly much more orange trim for the principal amount. The prior managers obviously simply had 1 tone of colour.

    Reply
  13. mribaro says

    May 24, 2013 at 6:28 am

    Seeing on Instagram that you have packed away your hallway pictures, it made me curious to know the total number of picture frames that you own now, and also the total of ceramic animals (or animal sculptures), pillowcases and baskets :) Last time you mentioned some of that was three years ago: https://www.younghouselove.com/2010/09/blogiversary-iii-our-days-are-numbered/

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 24, 2013 at 9:02 am

      I totally need to do a proper count! Maybe when I’m spackling all the holes… haha!

      xo
      s

    • WM says

      May 24, 2013 at 9:09 am

      I definitely think a count of ceramic animals is in order! :)

  14. Claire says

    May 24, 2013 at 8:33 am

    That’s first on my to do list in our new house. It has similarly ‘pretty’ curtains. Hope it makes this big a difference!

    Reply
  15. Pat says

    May 24, 2013 at 8:49 am

    Removing those curtains certainly underscores the truth in the old saying “Less is more”. What an improvement. Love the ‘possibles’ that you are considering for replacements.

    Reply
  16. WM says

    May 24, 2013 at 9:08 am

    Love the dress up, hilarious. Just wanted to say I am SO excited to see how you guys tackle this new house. You two have such good eyes at being able to see past all the cosmetic / old stuff like most of us could not. I’d say this is a great blank canvas, but that’s not really accurate. Maybe a great BLUE canvas? Can’t wait to see all the progress over the course of the next few years! Hope you guys have as much fun doing as we all love seeing it!

    Reply
  17. April says

    May 24, 2013 at 9:21 am

    I’m sure you know this but just in case….bamboo shades are completely see through if you have them down at night. No privacy there!! My neighbors had them – not good.

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 24, 2013 at 9:24 am

      Oh yeah, I think it varies (the lined kind are not see-through at all, and some dense versions are more opaque then more loosely woven ones). Definitely smart to check before Naked Wednesday! Haha!

      xo
      s

  18. Bobbi says

    May 24, 2013 at 9:32 am

    You should’ve used to curtain rod a-la Scarlet O’Hair in a Gone With the Wind fashion!!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 24, 2013 at 9:36 am

      Haha, I totally should have!

      xo
      s

  19. lynda says

    May 24, 2013 at 9:42 am

    How convenient to have graphing paper on your walls! It could really help out in a lot of ways (Grin). I’m trying to decide if my father built your home; it looks very much like the homes he was building in the 70’s in Richmond. Obviously, some people have made some not so great decorating changes if that is the case.

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 24, 2013 at 9:47 am

      Hahaha!

      xo
      s

  20. Sherri J. says

    May 24, 2013 at 10:32 am

    Oh, I love how beautiful your home looks like without the curtains. I did something similar and actually just left out the curtains completely.
    I understand the privacy factor, but let’s be honest the world is a lot more beautiful with some sunshine in it.

    Reply
  21. anne says

    May 24, 2013 at 11:29 am

    You’re so pretty Sherrie, even wrapped in a curtain dress!!

    Reply
  22. Laura says

    May 24, 2013 at 2:20 pm

    Nice change. Just curious, are there curtain hangers that are not obstructed by the brackets holding the rod in the middle? I have three windows that only have room on one side to pull back a curtain. I would really like a functioning curtain that I can pull back completely when not needed. The windows are full west.

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 24, 2013 at 2:31 pm

      So sorry I don’t understand the question.

      xo,
      s

    • Laura says

      May 24, 2013 at 8:08 pm

      Sorry I am having trouble making it clear. The windows are on a wall with about 3 feet on the right side and about 0 on the left side. I would love to have a strong rod above the trim and be able to slide all the floor length curtains to the right side when not in use. You know those cool, long, light blocking curtains in a hotel? Because the windows are beautiful, I want to have the curtains away from them except when needed. Wish I knew how to send a picture. BTW, when I figure out how I will send you a new framing idea you might like.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 24, 2013 at 10:45 pm

      Oh gotcha! Most extra long rods have a support piece in the middle but sometimes the 5′ ones or less don’t. Hope it helps :)

      xo
      s

  23. Farmhouse Finesse says

    May 24, 2013 at 5:43 pm

    Isn’t it amazing how removing valances can transform aroom and bring in light? When I removed the valances from my kitchen window I was amazed at how that extra little bit of light really brighted the room.

    Reply
  24. Bailey says

    May 24, 2013 at 11:25 pm

    I laughed out loud at your floral curtain wrap dress situation! I love the idea of the layered bamboo and curtains – so classy looking without being stuffy!

    xox
    Bailey
    http://akabailey.blogspot.com

    Reply
  25. Kathy says

    May 25, 2013 at 1:39 am

    All the windows in this house have solid, gorgeous trim! Just beautiful.

    Reply
  26. Katie says

    May 25, 2013 at 11:34 pm

    It’s amazing how much better the rooms look minus those curtains!

    Reply
  27. Robin says

    May 26, 2013 at 12:23 am

    I cannot WAIT to see what you do with that blue trimmed window! I have one exactly like that in my dining room. I have lived in this house for 13 years and I STILL haven’t figured out what kind of window treatments I should use. I’ve tried so many different things and nothing looks right. lol.. HELP!! :)

    Reply
  28. Venia | Organized Bites says

    May 26, 2013 at 12:14 pm

    This post made me laugh! I’ve totally been guilty of rigging window treatments in the past…in my own home and on stage for the community theatre I worked for. An hour to opening, and I’m on tall ladder stapling up swags and jabots.

    Love what you did with the old curtains…Scarlet would be proud. ;)

    Reply
  29. Katie says

    June 5, 2013 at 5:16 pm

    I wish I could post a pic right into this comment, but I feel you with this curtain pish posh. We have two bedrooms with windows facing the street. One window with primary yellow blinds and one window with primary red blinds. It was McDonald’s. I just ditched the yellows, now on to the reds!

    Reply
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John and Sherry Sitting On Woven ChairHey, we’re John & Sherry. We’ve fixed up 7 homes, written books, designed products, started a podcast, and then downsized & moved to the beach! Here you’ll find over 3,000 DIY projects & home updates. More about us…
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