Saturday, January 23, 2010

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!


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.....

30 comments:

  1. OMG....you did an awesome job!!! They look beautiful!!! :D

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  2. Love them Robin!! So happy it worked out for you- what a great bargain ;-) I also love to clip my curtains, and I rarely use the pocket rod to hang even the store-bought ones- it looks so much better I think! And I guess I was using the "Nester" treatment without knowing it- I also buy fabric and hang it w/o sewing sometimes- I have never done the trim though, so I'll have to give that a try! Thanks for the great post!

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  3. I Love The Curtains !!!! They look great !!!

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  4. Your new toile drapes are just stunning. You did such a fantastic job. I really do like them and they are so perfect with your trims and your beautiful chocolate walls. I have an idea for the lime drapes if you don't want drapes, how about making some accent throw pillows out of the material. Lime and chocolate are just wonderful together. Maybe a lime table runner. Anyway, a shame not to use such beautiful fabric. Also a lime and cream or gray room for a little girl is just so in right now. Maybe just remove the floral print and use the drapes plain. Love your new panels. Hugs, Marty

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  5. You're right. Those "old" window treatments were a hideous color. These are perfect!!

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  6. Robin, They look amazing! You are a talented lady! I love the toile such a richness to it and the trim it great! You have inspired me, what a beautiful look!

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  7. BEAUTIFUL!!!! Robin, they are stunning! Don't you just love it when something turns out just right.

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  8. I envy your craftiness! The curtains are beautiful...and I LOVE your old curtains, too! You have wonderful taste...want to come decorate for me? Haha

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  9. Love, Love, Love them!! You did an awesome job!

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  10. WOW! That is one awesome mistreatment. They look as good, better.... than if they were sewn.

    GREAT JOB!

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  11. sooooo proud of you!! they look amazing my friend..love the fabric, great , great job..
    have a great weekend.

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  12. Holy mackerel! Those are awesome. Congrats on such a great job. Get your butt over there on the message boards and show these off. :) (sorry, didn't mean to sound so pushy.)

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  13. WOW you did a awesome Job, you are so talented!!!!

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  14. really great job Robin!! they look BEAUTIFUL!!!

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  15. Terrific job! And they look great! :) I've never read about window 'mis'treatment before, but it seems I've been doing it for years. ;) I'll have to post pics of my kitchen window treatment...made of cloth napkins and straight pins. LOL!

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  16. Love the mistreatment, you are so talented, you can come mistreat mine anytime!!

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  17. Love toile...Love the mistreatment...Love your blog! You have to be so pleased. :)

    Cheers~
    e

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  18. I agree with everyone else Robin...you did a wonderful job and they look great! :)

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  19. Robin, you silly girl, i am glad you guys convinced me to make more too, I am enjoying it! Hope all is well with you. Hey did i ever tell you that my daughter, Nikki, had a dream about you and your kids and your mom the other night? Do you think i talk about you a bit?? LOL. Long story short, your mom had a house out west, we were out there, she invited us to stay with her while we were there. You, Chelsea and Jameson were all there, I thought it was too funny, lol!

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  20. Robin, they are perfect! Before I ever "met" The Nester, I was hot gluing curtains. Most of the window treatments in my house are hot glued! Of course, since I absolutely adore toile, I think your fabric choice was great, but I also really like your trim choices. Your draperies look great (and you are getting so crafty)! laurie

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  21. You never cease to AMAZE me you are so talented!!! I would love to be a fly on your wall and just watch how very talented you are!!!!! I missed that gene in the Camp gene pool! Love, Susan

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  22. They came out fabulous. that trim you picked really bumps the look a notch.

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  23. Beautiful! I came over from The Nester's tumblr site. What would we do without her and her clever mistreating ways? Thanks to her, I have mistreated every window in the house {on a dime.} Great work!

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  24. I was blog surfing for inspiration and I think I found it. You did an awesome job "mistreating" those window treatments.

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  25. Now I'm inspired! Your mistreatments turned out great!!!

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  26. Hi Robin! Do you think it will better if the eyelash trim is sewn instead of glued? You did a great job, btw. It gave your window a brand new look. I think an interlined drape will add a feature to it, too.

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