Well it’s Tuesday again and time for another Things We Love. This week as promised it is all about stenciled drapes. One of the best ways to dress up a room is to add drapes. Drapes, however, can be very expensive and cheap ones can look, well cheap and dull. Here is a solution that is both cheap, and I think very cute. In fact you can make them as cute as you like, and color coordinate with paint or whatever you already have in the room!
First you can go to a certain box store and find painters cloths for $10 a pop. The 6×9 will do floor to ceiling, no problem (although you will have to hem them) These drapes can be bleached or left in the natural beige they come in. I find that bleaching lightens them quite nicely without turning them completely white. They also have texture built in. Now for the fun part.
You can customize by adding stencils. Most people know how to stencil, it is simple. Find a stencil you like and pick the color you want for paint and with a brush simply dab the paint on over the stencil. Go light on the paint or else your drapes will be stiff and dark where the paint dries. Light coats are better.
For these drapes I had a Pottery Barn duvet for the bed, and simply picked a color took it to the paint store and had them mix me up a sample. Samples come in sizes perfect for crafts, and some come with their own paint brushes. Most samples cost between $1-3.
For the stencil I found a book online called Lotta Jansdotter Stencils. Lotta is from Sweden and I love her style. Her stencils don’t have grapes and vines, but are clean and modern.
Remember sometimes less is more with stenciling, and if you put too many on the drape, you can loose the impact. So happy stenciling, and happy saving money but ending up with great curtains!