It’s official.  We finally have curtains in one of our rooms.  This is the most exciting thing that has happened to our windows since we got blinds.

The ironic thing is we have curtains for almost every room and even purchased curtain rods a while back. However in order to not duplicate work we are waiting to hang them until the rooms are painted. That way we avoid screwing the curtain hooks into the wall only to have to remove them to paint and put back up again.

As the first room to get painted, the dining room also received the honor of getting the first set of curtains. If you remember from when we painted that room we had this problem area where the door and window just about meet:

Here is a closer shot of it. You can imagine how miserable it was to paint in between this itty bitty spot. It proposed an event larger challenge for how we were going to hang curtains in here.

The edge of the window sill buts right up against the wall. It took many months of brainstorming and research to figure out just how to do this because not having curtains in the dining room was just not an option I could accept.

After looking in countless stores at the curtain rod selection nothing seemed to work. The best working idea we had was to hang the rod with the issue sort of like a closet rod so that it would literally sit against a holder that would be screwed into the wall. We were all gung ho and ready to go this route when we decided to check one more place – Bed Bath and Beyond. Seriously that store has everything, so its no surprise we found our answer – curtain rods with a screw off flat end so the end with the wall could have a flat end while the other end received a finial. Perfect!

Due to the fact that the one problem window will only overhang the window on one end we were able to save about $10 by purchasing the shorter rod size for that window. I was super excited because I really was hesitant about using a wood rod in here. I just didn’t think it would have the right look so to find a solution in the same brushed nickel finish we bought for the rest of the house was a bonus.

Here’s a closeup of the flat end that came on the rods. You could totally use these on both sides if you wanted – however for our three non-problem sides we decided to use screw in finials.

These rods also came with super chic curtain hooks. In comparison to the hooks that came with the rest of the rods we purchased at Home Depot there really is no comparison. These actually look decorative rather than merely functional.

In order to hang them up we decided to have them go directly above the window frame. Ideally I would have liked them higher however we only have 8 foot ceilings and curtain manufacturer’s seem to be way behind the curve and still only make curtains in 84 or 93 inches. 84 inches is too short and 93 way to long. So frustrating. By hanging the rods at this height the 84 wasn’t insanely short to the point that I may be able to lengthen them if I ever get the motivation.

So we lined the hook up and screwed it in.

Here is a close up of the bomb.com curtain hooks. And also the best picture to date of the coventry gray paint.  (You can also see a sneak peek at the new color in the TV room that I haven’t even wrote about yet)

Then just screw in the finials

Note: Do not screw the finial in on both ends right now or you won’t be able to get your curtain on the rod… not that I’m speaking from experience or anything… just looking out. 🙂

Then we put up the curtains. You may be wondering why I didn’t custom make curtains for this room after my little rant about the length. I thought about it, however I fell in love with these curtains from Pier 1. They were way higher quality fabric than I would have been able to find or afford and had a gorgeous embroidered design on them in almost the same gray as on the walls. When a 20% off total purchase coupon showed up at my house I decided it was destiny and they were meant to be mine. So I am dealing with the fact that they are too short – and will most likely let out the bottom hem later on (after practicing on less expensive curtains from another room) to alleviate this.

So can we see these fabulous curtains? I know after that description your at the edge of seat on pins and needles awaiting this picture. So without further ado:

Isn’t it lovely? They also came with grommet tops which was an added bonus when dealing with the problem area if you look close, on that side we folded the curtain in half before hanging so its actually half as wide to accommodate the lack of space.

Now when I come down from upstairs and look over into this room I see these gorgeous curtains and my heart skips a beat. Who wouldn’t want to see this sight?

I love it so much I can’t wait to hang curtains in more rooms!

One step closer to a “finished” dining room. Things that still need to be done/want to do.

• paint the walls
• hang curtains
• add a new light fixture that is more than just a single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling
• make a HUGE over scale mirror out of wood shims for the wall
• paint custom artwork
• find and purchase a hutch to keep all of our nice plates and servingware
• get a larger dining room table?
• install a chair rail and picture frame mouldings and paint the lower half of the walls white?

I’d love to hear what you think! Are you as frustrated with the “standard” curtain length as I am? Have you altered your curtains or just let them hang like a pair of high water pants?