New Curtains for the Living Room

With Frank and I getting married in two months we have been working through combining his things with mine at my house. One of the big items under consideration is what to do with the TV.

I have only ever owned one TV, a TV/VCR combo that I bought used over ten years ago that is up in my bedroom. Frank, however, is a man of electronics and felt that I should join the rest of humanity that has a TV built in this century in their living room. Compromise won the day and Frank's enormous TV (by my standards, he thinks an 80" TV would look much better) moved into the living room but I got to put it on a cute sideboard that I had instead of Frank's glass and metal TV stand. 

The only problem is that with super couch taking up a large area of the living room there is only one wall to put the TV on, which happens to have two windows on it. I tried a bunch of things like centering the TV between the windows and centering it on the window to the right but everything looked awkward.

I decided that the best solution would be to hang curtains all along the wall. I looked around a bit and found three great options from the Target Threshold line that I brought home. Since Frank is going to be living here, too, I decided to start getting his opinion on decorating matters around the house and asked him about the curtains.

I ruled out the navy curtain with cream embroidery on the left right away since it was a more purple hue than the rug and really clashed. I was partial to the middle one but Frank hated it. He said that it looked like a really bad shower curtain and that he wouldn't wish that curtain on his worst enemy and then proceeded to make jokes about the curtain for the next few days.

That meant the curtain on the right was the clear winner. It is navy blue with some thin stripes of shades of blue and white running across it. The fabric is a nice heavy weight and the curtain is fully lined with white light blocking fabric. Curtains can be pricey and these seemed to be a great quality for the price.

The store only sells the curtains in 84" lengths, but I was able to order them online in 95". I used a brushed silver drapery rod and four panels to create my wall of curtains.

I really like how it turned out and it is a good step in the right direction, I think. I still have a lot to do, like some wire management, finding a solution other than a kitchen stool for the cable box and figuring out how to balance out the TV being off center on the wall.

I also got another set of curtains for the window that is over the couch. Having done this is giving me the itch to paint the walls (I want to go with a lighter color to balance out the dark curtains) but there are other larger projects that need to come first. My house is a never ending project but I love it.

Just for fun, and to look back at how far things have come, here is a photo of this same spot in demo mode about a month after I bought my house. Plaster and lathe removal, I do not miss you...

Comments

[Rao Ali]

Thanks for the tips on fabric selection! I would have never thought to use shower curtain liner as the backing for the curtain. It's a great way to save money.

[shadesandblindsme]

Thanks for sharing! This is really helpful for me as I'm figuring out how to manage curtains in my bedroom. Your insights are appreciated!

[Saim]

Your new curtains are stunning! Reminds me of cozy spaces during my travels.