For a very long time my kitchen windows were bare. I just couldn't find the right window treatments for the right price and we had so many other things going on. Between all of our other home improvement projects, starting the app for Brimfield and two young kids they just weren't a priority. I wasn't very motivated to do them because our kitchen is in the back of the house and gets practically no direct sunlight. So they weren't necessary for privacy or to block the light but the windows looked a little naked and they needed something. So a few months back I finally got motivated to pull off a very cost effective and easy DIY valance and I'm so happy that I did!
I'm pretty particular about fabrics in general and I'm drawn to natural fibers and classic simple patterns. I already had the black and cream trellis pattern on the upholstered benches in the breakfast nook so I didn't want anything to compete with those. I ended up ordering 6 yards of Homespun Black Stripe Toweling from FabricDepot.com. That gave me enough to do both windows with some leftover for a few other projects.
I wanted them to be slightly gathered so I cut each valance to be 1.5 times as long as each window. Sewing isn't a skill I have acquired (yet!) so my mom (@thegoodhome) finished off the cut edge and folded over the top to make a rod pocket and that was it!
These could also have been easily made with no sewing at all. The toweling would look great just hanging with clips off a simple black rod. If I had done them that way they would have been slightly longer and there would have been a black stripe along the top too. That would have been a really nice look but I already had some very ugly functional curtain rods in stock here so I wanted to use them. Use what you have!
These are a few other colors/prints you can get the toweling in for under $10/yard:
And here are a few other really creative easy window treatment ideas I came across recently:
This one by Brittany at The Painted Parsonage is right up my alley. She used a roll of vintage toweling in some cheery bright colors. This would look perfect in our vintage camper! It's a little too bright for the color scheme in my kitchen but I love it and it looks absolutely perfect in hers.
This is another colorful no sew version that caught my eye. Jillee at One Good Thing by Jillee used a vintage table cloth cut in half and a tension rod she had on hand. Use what you have!
And I have always loved this handkerchief curtain from Martha Stewart. I actually had planned on doing this in the kitchen years ago but I never found the right handkerchiefs and it just never came together. I still think this is nice but I've been leaning more towards neutrals lately and I'm really happy with the simple beige and black I ended up with.
Would any of these ideas work in your home? Which one is your favorite?
Thanks for following!
Kaitlin
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