I wonder if we'll ever live without a list of projects we can't wait to take on.
It's not likely.
I think too much of our joy comes from the DIY projects we tackle each weekend. To replace projects with, I don't know, badminton and croquet? It just wouldn't have the same "Whoa! What a weekend!" effect.
Lately I've had the urge to polish up our house a bit.
Just finish some small projects that I always wanted to get to, regardless of the fact that we recently put back on the market. (Yes. It's true! Our house is up for sale as of last week. Our listing is over here if you are interested in joining all the fun in Viroqua.)
So I'm taking on some smaller projects, like fresh paint and new curtains.
Last weekend the children's bedroom got both.
The paint is the same color combination we've always had in this room. (My favorite in the house ~ Benjamin Moore Kousa Dogwood on the upper walls and Benjamin Moore Hibiscus below.) But a fresh coat of the same colors seemed to freshen up the room completely.
The curtains were a rummage sale find that seemed perfect when I snagged them. Plain white canvas with big silver grommets. Kid-friendly without being cutesy.
When I brought them home, however, they turned out to be about 3" too short. Oops.
And so they were.
3" short.
For the past two years.
Last weekend I cut them off near the top and added a simple strip of vintage bedsheets, then shortened them to the proper length and hemmed.
Sage chose the fabric, vintage sheets that lived for decades at my parents' cabin. (Since I was a kid I always hoped for these on my bunk. Sheets so soft they were almost silky. When my mom "upgraded" to new sheets she gave them to me for the fabric.) Lupine's old room (being used by my sister-in-law for the summer) also sports upcycled bed sheet curtains.
It was a fairly simple project and they have completely transformed the children's bedroom. Since I had the paint and sheets on hand, the project was dirt cheap. Counting what I paid for the second hand curtains the whole thing ran me all of $6. That's my kind of project.
The enchanting artwork by the way is the talented Happy Go Lucky Creations. I met Lucky at a fair several years ago and fell in love with her and her amazing work. And yes, that's really her name. We have three prints in the children's room. I adore her work.
So the children's room is done. Next on the project list, cleaning out the garage. Good times, I tell you. Good times! (And strangely, I really mean that.)
What's on your DIY list for this weekend?
Lovely…I’ve been trying to find time to spruce up a bit around here…so hard.
Sometimes the smallest projects can create a big shift. Like hanging art or moving the couch.
Or say, in my case, vacuuming.
Those sheets were on my bed for years as a kid and teenager. We washed them, of course. I don’t mean to imply they were on for years on end. 😉 I love those sheets still. My daughter is now using one of the other pairs of sheets I had as a kid. Not so much in the elastic department for the fitted sheet, but they still work!
Nice curtains!
Sweet!
What a great idea. We bought plain off white curtains for our bedroom long ago. What a great way to spruce them up! Thanks.
Love your “new” curtains, Rachel.
My to-do list this weekend: Make jelly from Nan King cherries, huge potato salad for the party tomorrow, paint the laundry room and bathroom, make washing soda in preparation for making laundry soap, finish sealing the new flooring in the basement, vaccuum my crunchy house, see a client or two, reply to e-mails, study for my English assignment, get ready for my Monday road-trip. But first, get up off my butt. That’s the hardest part. 😉
Dang. You ARE ambitious!
Yes, I *did* get up off my butt, so I got to cross that off! I got about half the list accomplished, but a few other impromptu have-to’s got listed and kept me from finishing the others. Unfortunately I still have granola floors this week… and the list keeps growing!