Blue and White curtains
Continuing with the blue and white lighten-up of the great room, the last pair of new blue and white curtains arrived today. I wanted something to tone down all the red and the darkness.
When I hung the curtains, I could see through the linen. They weren't backed at all. Luckily I keep old flat sheets. I pulled out a white queen size sheet and split it down the middle. Then I folded each half in two and hung them behind the curtains.
Using a sheet to back a curtain doesn't require much when the curtains are fixed in place. In other words, the curtains are not drawn and opened each day. These curtains are hung at the sides of the windows. The wood slat blinds between are on the east side of the house, more than six feet off the ground. I don't need to block heat or light or guarantee privacy on that side so this works for the living room windows. These curtains just hang around for decorative purposes, fixed in place.
After splitting the sheet longways I folded each half longways. Then I hung each one right below the curtain rod using push pins. To make them neat in appearance, each half of the sheet is folded longways and the fold is placed next to the edge of the curtain facing the middle of the windows. This keeps the cut side of the sheet at the outside edge of the curtains. When a curtain is moved, generally it is from the center seam.
The top decorative fold of the sheet (which normally rests at pillow level) is used to weigh the sheets downward. Another way to keep the curtain and liner in place is to use push pins at the sides to prevent light from peeking in from the edges. The pins can be placed in such a position as to hide the cut, unhemmed side. Just tuck under the rough cut and place the pins within the tucked space to hide both the raw edge and the pins. A couple of safety pins securing the curtains to the liner can also be used for free hanging curtains, those not drawn back by sashes.
Unlike the dining room curtains (below) with a balloon header, the living room curtains do not have to be adjusted for length.
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Looking at this photo I realize that the red aguayo on the sofa will probably be the next thing I'll switch out. I've had my MIL's hand-me-down sofa for 20 years: ugly AF but excellent quality with a great frame and quality feather stuffing. The Andean detail works well with my internationally collected eclectic home. It worked for a while but Spring has sprung. The light has changed outside and I want to bring some of that light inside.
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After sitting on the sofa for a week, I was tired of adjusting the fabric. I moved it to the bottom cushions only and left it to hang over the edge. This gave it ample room to be tucked under the cushions securely and prevent it from wiggling free. No more irritation. Now it may make another move if I can find something else that will minimize the red and the dark brown of the sofa. Hmm, I have a suzani that may work... |
This is the third change I've made in the combined living and dining space. The shelves are still a work in progress. I find I prefer the red cabbage rose but I'll live with this a while longer.
A dresser filled with shining delph,
Speckled and white and blue and brown!
I could be busy all the day
Clearing and sweeping hearth and floor,
And fixing on their shelf again
My white and blue and speckled store!
Padraic Colum, ‘An Old Woman Of The Roads’, 1907
