New Window Treatments for Cheap

Ever since the hubs and I moved into our home three years ago I've been struggling with what type of window treatments I'd like to hang on our ginormous bay window. I've gone full circle from wanting fancy decorator fabric, breezy white linen, geometric patterns and damask. I simply couldn't make up my mind so, for three whole years our bay window has been bare and drab.


Then out of the blue, one day it hit me like a ton of bricks - Burlap! It's cheap, has lots of texture and character and comes in an array of colors. Off to Joann's I went with my 50% off coupon in tow! I chose an off white-ish burlap called oyster and paid a whopping nine dollars for 5 1/2 yards! I definitely can't complain about that!

I already had a few beskada curtain rods and riktig curtain rings from ikea just waiting for me to decide on a fabric, so all I had left to do was sew them up, hang my rods and enjoy. I made one two inch fold on each end of the burlap, a simple straight stitch across, hung them and called my room transformed. Seriously, these simple (and cheap) little curtains make the room feel so much more cozy and I just love the texture and the way they break up the sea of dark brown.

I absolutely love the way these look in my living room, (this picture really does them no justice) but there are a few things that I should note. 1) these curtains are not wide enough to close, since my window is over 12 feet wide. I'm totally ok with that though, since it's east facing and we don't spend a lot of time in that room anyway. If you have a window this large and would like to try burlap, you might try fagoting two selvages together. Burlap has such an open weave, a seam would be very obvious. 2) burlap has a pretty funky smell to it, so be sure to have some febreeze on hand! I didn't wash mine first because burlap can be kind of finicky and requires hand washing so I just gave them a good spritz to freshen them up.

There you have it! Cheap, easy curtains that add lots of character. Have you come up with a cheap solution for your window treatments? I have a few other windows that need some love, so I'd love to hear your ideas!