Alternate post title: Look how domestic my wife is.
Sherry was the brains and the hands behind this project, but I couldn’t resist sharing the results. I played baby watcher and comment approver while she handled the heavy lifting — and the ironing — for most of the day. We started by cutting 12.5 yards of on-sale yellowy-green fabric into panels for two bedroom windows and one closet. The living room rug proved to be a perfect straight-edge guide, and since it’s eight feet long we could lay a tape measure next to it and cut five 90″ panels without breaking a sweat. The fabric bolt was roughly 61″ wide, so each panel kept that width, which works well for covering our 39″ windows without looking stretched.
In about fifteen minutes she had all five 90″ x 61″ panels cut — two panels per window and one for the closet — and we realized we’d used nearly all of the 12.5 yards. The leftover was minimal, which is actually a good thing when you want to avoid overspending on fabric.
Next came hemming. Sherry used her favorite trick: heavy-duty no-sew hem tape. The process is straightforward — iron on the tape, peel, fold, iron the seam, and move on to the next edge. It’s a simple way to get clean, professional-looking hems without a sewing machine.
Hemming all four edges of each panel wasn’t an instant job — Sherry joked through the routine — but the finished edges were worth the effort. While she ironed, Clara and I kept her company in the kitchen: singing, approving comments, and snacking. Quick, everyone freak out — Sherry’s hair is down:
After the ironing, clipping the ring clips to each panel and installing the curtain rods, we got to the fun part: hanging them and seeing the room transform.
Ignore the dresser, the fan, and the empty walls for now — this room is still very much a work in progress. We’re taking it one step at a time.
We chose to hang the curtains higher and wider than the windows to give the room more height and presence — a trick we love. A reader even told us she dreamed about us and Sherry mentioned “high & wide” in the dream, which made us laugh. It’s become our unofficial motto for window treatments.
We debated letting the fabric pool on the floor, but ultimately decided to let the panels barely graze the floorboards for a crisp, modern look and a pleasant loopy drape. Our tip: clip your panels to the rod and move the rod around on the wall to find the perfect height by eye before marking the bracket locations. This saves you from mounting the rod and discovering the curtains are too short or too long afterward.
We also used a panel inside the closet as a softer alternative to a bi-fold door. Most of the time it sits pulled to the side, but it can be closed for privacy or to hide clutter — essentially creating a mini dressing room with a light inside. Sherry likes to imagine Clara doing puppet shows from the closet when she’s older.
We installed the rod high enough inside the closet so it’s not visible from the outside and wide enough so the curtain can be fully opened or fully closed, depending on our needs.
Our oil-rubbed bronze rods and ring clips came from Target. The total for three rods and five packs of ring clips was around $40 with sales and a card discount. Ring clips are great for DIY curtains because they’re easy to use — no grommets or sleeves required — and they’re safer for kids: if a child tugs on a panel the clip will release the fabric while leaving the rod and rings in place.
Sherry calls oil-rubbed bronze “eyeliner for the window,” and it complements our wood furniture and the room’s warmer tones. I’ll leave the makeup analogies to her — hemming and fashion aren’t exactly my specialty.
Beyond function, we’re happy with the color choice. The yellowy-green fabric accents the bedding’s golden-green tones without matching exactly, which keeps the look fresh. We intentionally leaned a touch greener rather than browner or yellower so the curtains coordinate with the duvet without feeling too predictable.
The fabric also plays nicely with the new pillows we added to the bed. Between the curtains, bedding, and pillows, we’ve injected that golden-green accent into the room and can now layer in deeper tones like eggplant, navy, or charcoal to add depth and contrast. Nightstands and lamps are still on the to-do list, but we’re excited to keep building the room’s look.
The room has come a long way in the past several weeks. It’s almost unrecognizable compared to the initial photos from when we first moved in.
One behind-the-scenes note: sometimes we have to work around a sleepy chihuahua named Burger who refuses to get out of bed. He practically melts into the new fluffy duvet — hiding in plain sight during our after photos.
The curtain project has left us with a bit of curtain fever. We’re ready to explore bolder patterns and fabrics in other rooms so we don’t end up with plain white curtains everywhere. Expect more fabric store adventures — and maybe a few more Rose-from-Titanic impressions from the passenger seat — as we continue updating the house.
Psst — Burger’s enjoying his moment in the spotlight.