Friday 13 March 2015

Pimp your Curtains – How to add Bespoke Touches to your Ready Made Curtains

Whether it’s extra wide curtains that are ready made, or standard size curtains, you can get a designer look and finish to your curtains simply by getting a bit creative. Stylish curtains with bespoke detail can cost a small fortune, but with a few simple tricks you can turn your off-the-peg curtains into something that looks a lot more expensive. Linda Barker et al eat your heart out! Here’s how…

Unleash your inner designer

You needn’t be a crafting pro when it comes to adding those stylish touches to your curtains – in fact, you can create some great looks even if this is your first try. The key to success is to plan your idea first, make sure the design and the your curtains are right for each other, and then give yourself plenty of time in a stress-free environment to execute your idea.

Before you decide on your idea, why not try putting together some mood boards. These are big boards which you use to collect all your design ideas and inspiration. By using mood boards you can see what colours work well with each other and you can get used to your ideas over a few days – which is great if you’re not 100% sure about something.

Simple tricks

Some of our favourite DIY ideas are the simplest to achieve. How about these? –


•Sew buttons in matching (or mismatching if that’s your style) colours all over your curtains. This is super simple and all you need is a needle and thread. Keep the classic by using one style of button (mother of pearl always looks classy), or keep it young and funky with a rainbow of colours. If you’re dressing your bedroom with extra wide curtains that are ready made, try picking buttons that match your bedroom walls for a chic take on the look.
•Give your kids’ curtains a lift by sewing colourful felt animal shapes (or stars, circles, moons) on to your curtains. This will take a little longer as you’ll need to sew around the outline but the finish is great.
•If you can’t face a needle and thread, cheat by using bonding web – just add heat to secure.
•Go super glam by using sequins on your ready made curtains. These look great day and night as the light catches them and adds interest and detail.
•Create a hippy look by tie-dying your curtains – this is probably best tried out on second hand curtains that you’re not too fussy about!

Keep it basic or get super creative

However you decide to pimp your curtains, there’s no doubt you’ll have fun doing it. The trick to the perfect finish though is always knowing when to stop. – because, as every designer knows, sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. If you’re not sure, always remember ‘less is more’. Happy curtain crafting!

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Tuesday 3 March 2015

Get the Vintage Look for your Windows

Vintage has always been a style statement – whether it’s the sharp sleek look of the 1960s or the flowery OTT styles from the 1970s – one thing’s for sure we are a nation in love with the past. Giving your home a vintage makeover can bring those memories flooding back, and help create a really stylish look at the same time. Older properties can look seriously sophisticated when they're decorated in colour schemes that match the era they were built. But modern homes can also look great when styled in a retro way too. Here are our top tips on how to give your windows a vintage makeover.

Choose your decade

Before you begin, make sure you get your style facts straight. For instance –

•    The 1950s – were all about pastels, florals, and a whole lot of chintz
•    The 1960s – this is when things went monochrome
•    The 1970s – Flower power and psychedelic swirls were where it was at

If your tastes are more classic, opt for a vintage style of dark velvets, dainty floral fabrics, and solid blocks of colour. But once you've decided on your vintage period, make sure you stick to it. Mixing styles from different decades can quickly become overly fussy and clumsy, so keep it simple.



Take inspiration but add your own take too

When you're dressing your windows to look vintage you don't need to stick to the rule book. Ok, so while pelmets and frilly tie back might have been all the rage in the 1950s, you needn't use them today. You can achieve the vintage look by picking the bits you do like (patterns, fabrics, and colour schemes for instance) and dressing your window simply. If you're dressing a large window with Extra long and wide curtains for example, adding too much detail in areas like those mentioned can just be overkill.

True vintage

If you're prepared to look hard enough it's possible to find true vintage curtains online. Or, if you're handy with a needle and thread you could source vintage fabric and then make your own curtains. This is great if you need extra wide curtains or a non-standard length curtain.

If you can't cope with old fabrics or spending the time hunting for them, you can easily modify modern curtains to look vintage. Try adding a stencil design to modern curtains – big bold flower patterns would give a nod to the 1970s, while a dainty border along the hem could be just the thing to pep up your curtains with a 1950s vibe. Or if striking geometrical shapes are your bag, you could easily add these to a plain pair of ready made curtains.

So there you have it. Pick your chosen vintage era, do your research, work out what will work best for your particular room and colour scheme, and then get ready to turn your windows into a vintage masterpiece. Styling your windows with a great pair of curtains can be an easy and quick way of injecting a sense of vintage style into any room.

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