A Crazy DIY
This is one of those crazy DIY’s that was a last minute thing after something else I tried failed. First I will give you a little reason behind the DIY so it all makes sense. So, in our front living room we have a fireplace area that we have big plans for in the future. But for now we just had it painted, added a new [very old] mantle, & added a little shiplap. Later we plan to knock the bookshelves out to add some windows on each side of the fireplace, but for now I had to come up with something to do with the bookshelves. I didn’t want to cram them with a bunch of junk so my next thought was to create some curtains for the shelves & I came up with kind of a crazy plan…
The Result
That’s right. Well, maybe you can’t tell from the photos, I made DIY linen curtains out of Ikea pillow covers for our front living room bookshelves. It all started when I started to DIY my own out of old grain sack fabric. I got them all made & put them up…. & hated them. It was just too bulky & too much fabric. So, as I was sitting there mad that I had wasted so much time making three faux curtain panels I saw these Ikea pillows [Ursula style here] & came up with an idea for the easiest DIY little cafe curtains ever. So I took all the inserts out of the pillows & hung them up on the tension rods by tying the strings around the rod loosely I got from Home Depot & voila… some DIY linen bookshelf curtains to temporarily hide this area. I know Ikea doesn’t carry all the colors in these pillows anymore so I looked up linen tie pillows on Etsy & here’s what I found [HERE].
So we went from this linen pillow below….
To these little linen curtains below in seconds…
The Plan
The plan? Well I’m hoping to keep these little curtains up for storage purposes & for style purposes until we can possibly add windows to this space [hoping for floor to ceiling windows.. crossing fingers] but that will have to wait so here we are. The decor isn’t final & I just kind of whipped it together for photos, but I plan on tackling this space soon. These floors will be getting painted/stained soon, but everything here on White Cottage Farm is always getting worked on so you guys already knew that.
I’m probably in the minority here, but I really like to make things temporarily look good & work for us while living in a fixer upper.. sure sometimes it’s double the work eventually if we are going to change it later, but it brings me joy to have a space look more complete. & in the end it took me two seconds to tie these little pillow covers up & I don’t think it looks half bad. you could use these as cafe curtains in a kitchen, bathroom, & over any storage piece. Now of course when I look at these photos I see unfinished floors, wrinkly linen, & just an unfinished space in general, but I wanted to quick share this tip with you guys in case it was something you needed! It’s all progress & not perfection right? I hope you enjoyed this little simple DIY today & thank you guys SO MUCH for stopping by the blog today! Be sure to follow me on Facebook & Instagram for more behind the scenes.
I love the shelves and I think they look very nice styled with the green books, but without the curtains
I love the botanical charts in this room. Can you share your source?
So cute ,Liz, as usual! I love these little bookshelves (because I LOVE books), but think large windows would be very beautiful too. Now will you have to re-do the floors though if/when you rip out the bookshelves??!?! You might want to do that before you paint or stain them.
Love your farmhouse and what you are accomplishing there! ~Kim
Love the built in bookshelves and the way your green books tie into your botanical prints. Not a fan of the curtains though.
I like them open but that is just my opinion. DIY is always a bit of a gamble, but if you are happy, that is all that matters! I always tell myself that it is my choice and whatever anyone else thinks about what I do in my home, well…it is their opinion! Their opinion is always appreciated but I do what I want anyway! I am a decor addict but I don’t want to go to rehab!
How do you dust all this? Although it is not my taste, I do think its pretty cool.
I so enjoy the updates on your sweet farmhouse and love everything that you have accomplished so far with the reno’s and decor (really looking forward to the kitchen). You are so creative with the farmhouse style and manage to make even unfinished spaces look beautiful. The shelves are absolutely lovely as is with the green books, prints, corbels, jug and window frame, and while I love the idea of a curtain, in this instance -with everything else going on – the cute curtains seem unnecessary.
I think you did a great job for a temporary fix. I’m assuming the curtains are there to cover up storage that you don’t want seen. Your accessories are so beautiful. You’ll never regret putting windows in. Take from someone who’s been there. Love your style.
Very creative my friend, good job. You also have very nice room!!! Greethings
They are very cute! I have these pillow covers as well, and have moved them around a lot. I have a feeling; however, that they may well be moved down the road a bit? Love the botanical prints. Did you make them, or can you please share where they can be purchased? I have several, but the colors are just perfect. Blessings, Susie