Our family room is one of my favorite rooms in the house but it’s also one of the most challenging for furniture placement and flow. It’s where we spend the most time so it’s not always picture perfect. Over the past couple of months I have been making some unplanned changes to this space and today I want to share some of that with you.
It all started back in March when I started looking into better quality drapes for our family room. Not only was I looking for something lined with some color and pattern, I really wanted drapes with a pinch pleat. Something more traditional and classic. With our ceiling heights being over 10 feet high with very tall windows, I was a little discouraged at how much good quality drapes would cost. I understand this would be an investment but not something I was prepared for at the time.
I then considered making my own and after checking out a few tutorials on sewing my own lined, pinch pleat drapes, I set out to find the perfect fabric. This too was going to be a big investment but I felt like it would be a good project for me to work on and would be a huge cost savings. I also really liked the idea of something a little more unique to our taste..
Around the same time, during one of our trips to the beach house, we stopped into our favorite thrift store. It was packed that day so B and I decided to make a quick round and then get out of there. At one point I got stuck between a couple groups of people and decided to go down an isle that was empty to get around. It just so happened to be the drapery isle. I have never looked at curtains in a thrift store and had no plan to that day but something caught my eye so I stopped.
What initially caught my eye wasn’t anything worthwhile so as I turned to leave, I spotted a large group of something in a lovely multi-colored fabric. Lined, pinch pleat drapes, clearly not store bought but very well made. I looked them over, completely stunned at what I was seeing. Oddly, somehow they were the right length for our high ceilings and tall windows and there were enough of them for our three windows, plus there were two throw pillow covers in the mix as well. The best part; they were $5 per panel! So, for $30, I bought lovely new drapes (plus two pillow covers) for our family room.
Adding the new drapery has changed the look of our family room so much. The more traditional curtains feel more like our house and I love that they add some color and pattern to the mix. I also love how some of the art and even my lovely red lamp have all come together almost feeling like I planned it that way.
Of course this change has now set in motion a list of other things I want to change, starting with the wall color. I’ve narrowed down some colors but I’m taking my time because I know that whatever I decide for the family room will impact the foyer and kitchen, both of which are open to our family room. While I’ve been dreaming of some changes in these two spaces as well, I want to make sure everything flows.
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