Some people choosing a patterned daybed prefer neutral, simple window treatments like airy white curtains. Others match the bedding by selecting one of its colors for the drapery—bold red cotton panels, taupe-gray velvet, and so on. Since this room is Clara’s, and we love kids’ spaces with layered patterns and color, we headed to our favorite local fabric outlet (U-Fab in Richmond) and let Clara pick. After all, it’s her room.
Like a moth to a flame, this happened:
Clara tried a few wilder options—a bright orange fabric with large coral, a dark purple plaid—but she kept coming back to this one. It worked for us, too, because it includes navy and white, which help balance all the pink and red in the room.
Clara isn’t the decorating genius we joked about, but there are lots of fabrics that can layer nicely in a child’s room. As long as a curtain fabric isn’t too dominant, it will sit behind the bedding and a bright rug without disappearing completely. We liked the subtle chevron-like pattern here—the slightly blurry linear edges echo her daybed blanket—and the price was reasonable.
Even better: there was a store-wide 20% sale layered on top of the already discounted price. We bought a little over ten yards to make four extra-long panels. After the sale, each finished panel cost about $25.
Once we got home and Clara was napping, I unrolled the fabric and cut the four panels. If she’d been awake, she would have pulled everything around while I tried to measure. The simplest way I measure is to decide the finished curtain length I want (for example, 89″ high) and add two inches for hems—one inch at the top and one at the bottom. So I cut each panel 91″ long to finish at 89″. That length works well for me because I hang curtains on a rod with clips, which adds a bit of extra drop and lets me mount the rod just below the ceiling. I use the full bolt width for each panel so the curtains are as full and thick as possible without extra cutting.
I use one cut panel as a template for the rest: after making the first panel, I place it on top of the remaining fabric and cut three more identical panels for a total of four.
For hems I rely on heavy-duty hem tape (Heat N Bond) and an iron. I’ve used this method for years because it creates crisp, straight hems and it holds up in the wash. While I’ve sewn curtains before, the hem tape gives a neater edge without the challenge of keeping a straight stitch. Also, it’s important to wash your fabric before cutting and hemming so it’s pre-shrunk.
We already had curtain rods and ring clips from earlier projects; we’d removed them to paint the room and reinstalled them once the curtains were ready. A handy trick John uses is folding a bit of painter’s tape under the hole he drills so the tape acts like a little ledge that catches drill debris.
For extra security we used plastic anchors so the rods are supported by more than just screws—important in kids’ rooms in case a child grabs the curtains. In our experience, the fabric will slip out of the clip before the whole rod comes down, which is safer.
Clara’s curtain choice turned out great. In photos they can look almost black and white, but in person they read navy, and we plan to add more navy accents—picture frames, pillows, maybe a navy light or ottoman—to tie the curtains to the rug and daybed. That will make the overall scheme feel more cohesive as we layer in pieces.
I like that the curtains almost touch the floor without dragging; that keeps them cleaner and gives them a fuller drape. One more hanging tip: clip the rings to the rod and fabric, have someone hold the assembled curtains at different heights until you like the look, mark the wall, and then hang the rod at that height. It’s much more precise than guessing lengths and accounting for ring and rod height afterward.
The room still feels a bit empty—the old fan is awkward—but we can already imagine adding a kids’ table, an ottoman to break up the pink rug, playful art, and other finishing touches. Here’s the to-do list we’re working through:
paint the roomcut down our old den side table to make a play tablebring in a dresser (preferably secondhand)make/hang curtainsadd a rug- hang art and a few three-dimensional pieces
- install a new light fixture
- refinish or paint Clara’s dresser
- paint the play table chairs a bright, happy color
- convert the cluttered closet into a clothes closet/reading nook
- add crown molding in this room and other bedrooms on this side of the house
- add accessories like pillows and toy storage bins
Kids’ rooms are so much fun to design. Are you making curtains or letting your kids choose fabrics or paint? Do you use the trick of hanging curtains on the rod first to nail the perfect height? It took us a while to figure that out, but it saves re-hanging later. Live and learn!
Psst—The latest Clara Conversations are up on Young House Life; there are a few gems, at least according to her obsessed parents.