I "mistreated" my window and I liked it!

If I were to say "Window MIStreatment" would you know what I was talking about?

Well, you should.

The Nester over at The Nesting Place, as been "Mistreating" her windows for years.

And I LIKE IT!

I like it so much, I decided to try "Mistreating" my dining room window yesterday.

It was so much better than I even imagined!

For the "Official" Nester-definition of "mistreating" is as follows:

Mistreatment: (n). covering for a window that is quick, cheap and pretty. may or may not need hardware does not require sewing. a real designer’s worst nightmare.

Mistreating: (v). the act of treating a window with dignity and respect without use of the following: hundreds of dollars, sewing, time, crying, divorce, child neglect…

If you go to her site, The Nesting Place, she has many photographs of all of her "mistreated" windows (and even some "non" windows) and instructions on how to make them.

The BEST thing about window mistreatments is that NO SEWING is required!

A Slacker Mama's DREAM!

Well, I know I've only been in this house for two years, but I have been really unhappy with my dining room curtains.

I had a vision of a really "funky" green to go along with my chocolate brown, but I have never been able to find the "right" green.

I finally caved and ended up buying really expensive silk panels from a place that unfortunately had a "no return" policy and ended up with these:

I mean, the panels are exceptionally made, and are the weight, length, and style that I loved, but the color....

UGH!

I hated the color!

It was "funky" alright, but just too funky for this house and my tastes.

But, because they were so expensive, and I still couldn't find anything even remotely like what I wanted, I just left them.

Then, about a year ago, I saw this ad in a magazine that had chocolate brown walls and linen-and-brown toile curtains.

I was in LOVE.

Now the problem was to find linen-and-brown toile curtains, without spending a fortune.

Not an easy task!

You can find curtains made of pink-and-brown toile, robin's egg blue-and-brown toile, but not linen-and-brown toile.

I was frustrated!

And then I decided if The Nester could do it, I could to....I would "mistreat" my windows with plain ol' fabric (and my trusty glue gun, too!)

I searched and searched for the perfect fabric, and finally found some at Hobby Lobby.

But it was $16.99 a yard...

"OUCH"

Even with a 40% off coupon, that's still a lot of money.

(I know that's not a really bad price for good fabric, but I am on a TIGHT budget and that is just way to much for me to be able to spend right now)

So, I continued to hunt.

I went to Fabric.com, and there it was.....

My linen-and-brown toile!

And not only was it the colors I wanted, it was on sale for $5.98 a yard!

WOOOO HOOOOO!

I can afford that!

I immediately ordered it and then went on the hunt for the perfect trim.

I would have ordered the trim online too, but I needed to actually "see" it and touch it to be sure it's what I wanted.

I found some trim that I liked (well, one that I LOVED and one that I liked)  at Hobby Lobby, and used my trusty 40% off coupon to get it even cheaper.

I was excited, but then the really hard work began....

I had to clean off my table so I would have a work surface!

An hour-and-a-half later, and I was ready to start my window mistreatment!

I carefully measured my fabric, using my old window treatment as a guide.

I added a little extra so I could fold it at the top.

I was scared to death to cut into it, but I took a deep breath and started cutting.

Now that the cut was done, it was time to glue on the trim!

This is "eyelash" trim.  If you are anal and a perfectionist, DO NOT USE THIS TRIM!  All of the crazy, fly-away strands will drive you insane, but it really went on MUCH easier than I thought!

20 minutes later, both panels were trimmed.

Then it was time to make the "poof" at the top, which was a pain to do with one person.....but I eventually got it figured out....after I broke down and got out the measuring tape.....lol!  (Making the "poof" was super-simple, it was just getting the "poof" the same size on both sides that was the pain).

Once the fabric was folded, I broke out a mistreaters best friend (other than your glue gun)...

Curtain rings!

Make sure your curtain rings have a super-tight gripper on them.  It is a MUST!

Then start clipping away!

First clip on the outside edges, then put a clip in the center of those first two rings.  Then put clips in the center of those two rings.  Continue putting clips in the centers until you have a clip about every 4-6 inches. (The Nester has really good photo instructions on how to do this)

Slide your rings on the rod and...

VIOLA!

You have a window "mistreatment"

I hung up one panel to just see how it looked.

I liked the way it looked, but it still needed "something". (pardon the AWFUL, poorly made shade)

So, I broke out the trim that I LOVED and started gluing.

If you are a complete trim novice (like I am), this trim is super cool.  It is packaged with the end of the trim sewed together, and you just pull the tread to "release" the fringe.

Way Cool!

I loved the way the trim added a little "extra" something!

And here they are....

I still need to do a little "fluffing" (by this time, my arms were killing me and I was tired of climbing up and down on the chair), but I LOVE them!

They came out even better than I imagined!

They aren't as fancy as my old curtains, but they just "fit" so much better in MY house!

They aren't perfect, but as The Nester says "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful!"

Now, if I could just figure out something to do with my old curtains.....