Well, the porch is finally done. The finishing touch was the curtains. I’ve been searching for weeks for some affordable outdoor fabric and came up short, so I decided to use
…wait for it…wait for it…
SHOWER CURTAIN LINERS!
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking I’m losing it. Well, let me tell you that shower curtains, and even liners, are not what they used to be. If you’ve shopped for some lately, you might have noticed many of them are actually very much like fabric, and an added bonus is they’re usually 70″ wide, 16″ wider than most fabrics. The only problem with most shower curtains is they’re typically too short (although some do come in 84″).
That didn’t stop me. In fact, that’s one of those ‘make lemonade out of lemons’ scenarios, because I wouldn’t want just plain old solid fabric anyway, so I was planning on adding a few inches to either the top or bottom with another fabric. The fact that they were too short saved me the trouble of having to cut some fabric off.
Problem solved.
I opted for a plaid. It’s rustic, which is perfect for this space, but equally important is a plaid like this is SUPER easy to sew with. You never have to worry about whether or not you’re cutting a straight line. If you’re just beginning to sew, or even if you’re like me and just like to do things the easy way, use a fabric with stripes that are close together or a plaid like this.
You can thank me later.
I purchased 7 of these at HomeGoods, but ended up only using 2, one on each side. They have a pale yellow tint which was perfect.
I didn’t want to cover the entire window, I just wanted to soften the space up a little. So basically the two of them cost me $15.00.
SCORE!!
Initially, I wasn’t sure if I was going to cover the entire porch area with curtains or not, but in the end I decided not to. Privacy isn’t a big issue, and I like having the light come in.
Here’s a shot of the porch before I got my hands on it. Not terrible, but somewhat colorless and maybe just a bit too rustic. (If you look inside the doors you can see the piano bar. Check out that post here. It’s been moved to the other side of the dining area since that post was written and now this space has much better flow.)
The biggest changes (and expenses) were the rug and slipcover, but all in all the entire redo cost less than $200 because almost everything else was something I already had or I just moved things around a bit. The trunk and the red quilt came from inside the house, the antique ironing board was brought inside and now serves as a buffet near the dining table, the side twig table that I made several years ago was moved to where the ironing board was, and I covered some pillows with some fabric I already had and purchased a few from HomeGoods.
I think I’ll take down the curtains once the really cold weather settles in and put the blinds back up, but for now it’s perfect and I’m really happy with how everything turned out. I think the porch is my favorite room in the house. Do you have a porch and if so, do you use it?
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Andi says
Perfect!! I wish we had a Home Goods closeby. At least there’s a TJ Maxx….
-andi
Al says
Gorgeous! I totally agree about sewing plaid and usually pick some sort of geometric pattern for my sewing. I LOVE the red floor!
Angela says
Beautiful! It looks so fresh and bright!!! I can also envision a cute little christmas tree during the holidays! Awesome job, girlfriend!! Looks fantastic!!~~Angela
Poppy says
Hi Doreen,
Ingenious! From now on, you should be tagged as ‘Doreen, the Reno Queen’! Your reveal proves that pretty results do NOT need plenty of pennies but simply a little imagination and hands-on fun!
Thanks for sharing!
Poppy
Cecilia says
Love it! I agree with not covering the windows all the way. Our porch is not enclosed but we love to sit out on it and watch the sunset. It’s so peaceful!
Cynthia says
Doreen this came out so great and how smart are you to use shower curtains!! Fantastic idea and they turned out perfect. What a great job and it was worth going through the work with the painting of the floor.
Cynthia
Donna Monaco Olsen says
Looks like a magazine! LOVE it!
Franticmommy says
GOREGOUS! What an amazing creative space! I could envision myself sitting there and writing my little heart out 🙂 Good job!
Manuela@ A Cultivated Nest says
Clever idea! Your porch looks great! Yes, I have a screened in porch and use it practically every day.
Dawn @ We Call It Junkin says
Oh your porch is gorgeous! We are (hopefully) just a couple weeks away from starting construction on our screened porch and seeing yours got me very excited! Love your curtains, too, great idea!
Vashti Quiroz-Vega says
Brilliant idea Doreen! You are one practical and creative woman. The porch turned out beautiful! So when can I go visit? Ha,ha!
Doreen Sargente says
Thank you Vashti! And I hope you know my door is always open to you! Heck, while you’re over I’ll have you autograph something and when you’re rich and famous I’ll cash in on it and retire!!
Vashti Quiroz-Vega says
Ha,ha,ha! You’re too cute Doreen. Thank you very much. <3
Allison says
Your porch is so relaxing. The shower curtain liners are a good idea! Dropping by from Met Monday.
Allison
Atticmag
Barb says
What did you about hardware for the curtains. All so cute!
Doreen Sargente says
We cheated on that too Barb. I used pvc pipe and it’s held up with long nails. Super cheap!