DIY Part One- Drapes and Pillows

A post all about my drapes? Yes!

I have been on the hunt for the perfect drapes or material for drapes ever since we moved into our house. I knew all along that I wanted a large scale black and white graphic print.

You wouldn't think that would be a hard thing to find. Well, it is. And if you were to tell me right now that you know where to get some that is reasonably priced, I would probably cry. At one point I found some fabric that was almost perfect. I was ready to pull the trigger and then I found out it was $50 a yard. With 10 foot ceilings, and needing four panels, that was more than I wanted to spend.

Then I found these...

Swoon. Right? I loved them. They are from DrapeStyle.com I was so excited, I plugged in all the dimensions I needed (choosing the cheapest finishes and pleats and linings) and my total came to $1,463.96.

Just a tad over my budget. (!!!)

So then one day on Pinterest I came across this image...

A very similar pattern made from cheap IKEA drapes and a stencil. I could do that right?? Agreed, not as great as the first option but for about 10% of the cost I think I can definitely settle. So I bought my stencil online, my two sets of white drapery panels from IKEA, my sponge brushes, lots of black paint, and fabric medium.

Here's what the stencil looks like...

After doing my very first stencil I realized how I had seriously underestimated this project.

It took me about 20 minutes to do ONE stencil. And each panel would require 9 stencils. And I had 4 panels. So... 9x4x20/60=12 HOURS! But that would have been easy if it were just 12 hours. Then you have to take into consideration that I had to let each section dry before I could do the next. So this project literally took me WEEKS to complete! I must have lost my mind. I should have just paid the $1500 bucks! Or at least the $50 a yard! But I was already invested in it so I pushed through. And here is the final result...

And I have to say, I LOVE THEM!! I know they are far from perfect. (And if you ever come over and notice my mistakes, you better not point them out! I know they're there!) It was exactly the look I was going for. The pictures don't do them justice. I know it's because I did them myself, and worked so hard on them, and only paid about $150 bucks total for them that I love them so much, but I do. :)

We also got this new sectional, which we are LOVING. It's much more of a nice deep gray color than the silvery color it looks like in the pictures. It is super comfortable. And we moved our old furniture into our formal living room so after a year of living here, we finally furniture in the living room. Yay!

The pillows that came with the couch were super ugly. I wanted to bring in lots of fun color with the pillows so I bought some fabric online and made the pillows myself. I even put zippers in each one so I could easily remove and wash them. (It was my first time sewing a zipper into anything and I did it all on my own, so I am pretty proud of myself!)

Ever since I had Campbell I finally have energy and have been getting a lot done. I have done a few other fun projects that I am excited to share so those posts will be coming soon.