Last week I presented the different types of ready-made curtain panels available.  Today we’ll take a look at ideas for customizing readily available drapery panels to make them more custom for your room.

Make Them Your Own

After purchasing ready-made curtain panels there are a number of things you can do to the panels to make them your own. 

Photo southernliving.com.

Dark bands applied to plain white curtain panels creates interest and drama.  Adapt this idea to fit the colors in your room and consider using bands across the bottom of the panel instead of or in addition to the top edge.

Photo hgtv.com.

 In the photo above pom-pom trim highlights the bottom edge of a plain curtain.  Consider using a single line of trim or multiple lines on your curtains and play with the placement – will it be the top, bottom or edge of the panel?

Photo from southernliving.com.

On the panels in the above photo a strip of flower trim was applied to the inside edge of each curtain.  Then individual flowers were cut from a length of trim and randomly applied to both panels.

Photo from http//:openhouse.homegoods.com

If you need to lengthen ready-made panels add a band of color to the hem.  This allows you to add a mix of colors to your room, create visual height by placing the curtain rod higher on the wall, and lengthen ready-made curtains that would otherwise be too short.

Photo from mylifetime.home.com

Vertical and horizontal stripes of grosgrain ribbon add punch to white curtains.

Photo bhg.com

Adding a ruffle to the inside edges of plain ready-made curtains softens their look and allows you to introduce coordinating color.

Photo bhg.com.

Here’s an easy way to dress-up a plain curtain panel – top it with a scarf. 

Photo bhg.com.

Beaded trim added to the top and bottom of these tab top curtains adds color and sparkle.

Photo bhg.com.

Insert a swath of sheer fabric at the top of ready-made curtains and you gain privacy without blocking out the light.  This technique also provides another way to lengthen curtains that are too short.

Photo bhg.com.

Use fabric paint to stencil a design onto the curtains.  Follow the application instructions on the fabric paint container.

Keep the Ideas Coming!

Don’t stop here – use this post for inspiration and unleash your creativity.  What about cutting different colored panels vertically and sewing the pieces to create colorful striped curtains?  Or cut panels of different colors into quarters and swap 2 pieces out from one panel for 2 pieces from the second color panel- created multi-colored quadrants in each panel.  Add grommets and thread colored cord or ribbon through them.  Rubber stamp a panel with fabric paint.  Stencil your child’s name on his/her bedroom curtains. 

Share your ideas and your projects by using the Comment link below or email us at solutions@yourdecoratinghotline.com .

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