Monday, November 19, 2007

New valances

I found some valances for Elise's room at Goodwill, perfect for covering the hardware on her secondhand wood blinds.

The fabric is near perfect, color-wise; the stripe and flowers have more of an orange tone than pure pink. Her crib has a green toile skirt.

The valances have tiny metal rings sewn at intervals, perhaps to run along a thin dowel. I didn't want to buy any hardware, so I tacked white finish nails under the molding instead.

Much needed softness in a fairly spare room. $16 for four valances.

14 comments:

Hyperactive Lu said...

Love it! Love it!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful. I wish I had such luck finding things at our Goodwill. Those look so nice.
I do not seem to find nice things at our Goodwill stores. I check 4 Goodwill stores in our area fairly regular..It is rare that I find anything that is nice. I do buy clothing there from time to time and take the clothing apart to 'recycle' it into something else.
Also I love to look at high end catalogs etc. and copy their ideas. My favorite catalog to copy is Country Curtains. I love their pictures....
Thanks for sharing your finds with us. It is inspiration to keep up the hunt. Roxie

Anonymous said...

Very cute and such a great price! I have three thrift stores close to me and it's taken years for the Goodwill to actually get nice stuff! I used to never find anything and now there are lots of things.

Manuela

~Babychaser~ said...

They are gorgeous! I have been intending to make curtains for our bedroom since we moved in (nearly 3 years ago.) I even had the fabric... though I can't find it at all right now. I'm starting to wonder if in my fit of "make room for baby" I may have donated it or accidentally thrown it away last year. We don't have much space and I got rid of a lot of "extra" fabric. Hmmm... after seeing these curtains though... I may want to go another route anyway. :)

Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Very cute valances, Meredith! We have great thrift shops in our area, too. Frankly, if you took everything out of my home that I bought second-hand, gleaned from someone's "we can't use this, do you want it" pile, or made myself, there would be almost nothing left! How on earth would I furnish my home?

Just a reminder for the gals out there who maybe arent't finding quality things when they go thrift shopping: be sure to donate to these establishments as well as shop there.

Brenda

Laura said...

Merideth, I have been weanting curtains with that shape for my dining room. (Incidentally, I had first seen something similar in Country Curtains.) I have had trouble finding a pattern to work from. Maybe I won't need one if you can help me out a little. :)Can you give me a few hints on how these are made?? That would be so helpful!

As I look at them, I am wondering...Are they really just a straight rectangle? Fully lined?
What can you tell me about the rings? Anything else I should know before attempting to make my own?

Thank you so much for any pointers!!

Amy said...

These are so cute! I think it is your knack for home decorating that helps you find these things! I would never have had the knowledge to pair those two patterns together. I get a little nervous about patterns so it is so refreshing to see how perfectly these two fit together. Thanks so much for the help!

Meredith said...

Laura, I don't have an email for you. Why don't you email me at likemerchantships@yahoo.com and I will send back a photo of the flat valance?

To me as a non-sewer, these look fairly complicated. They are lined and interlined, with gathered pleats at each interval and a scalloped edge.

You might be able to achieve a similar effect by careful hanging and pinning a rectangle, though.

The quality of workmanship was one reason I was willing to pay $16 for these, more than I usually would!

Anonymous said...

That looks great! I've just moved into a large house and the windows are so lacking in that soft, warm and cozy feeling. I like how you avoided buying hardware, because that was my biggest concern in finding a window covering. Thanks for showing us!

My Blessings From Above said...

They are very pretty! Great price too!

Heather said...

Fantastic find. And they look like they were meant to be there.

Bobi Jensen said...

That fabric is beautiful!

Melissa said...

Awesome! Isn't it amazing how much softer things look with just a little fabric?

Well done!

Anonymous said...

Hooray for goodwill!!! I am so spoiled on rock-bottom prices, that the thought of Pottery Barn full-price, makes me shudder. And those curtains are much more original anyway....