You've probably never seen this corner of our kitchen, but it's the one part in here that's evolved the most since we've lived here. It first was a door to the room behind the wall, but then we closed it in. Casey's stepdad then built a hall tree there with a bench. We never used the bench area and desperately needed more storage space so last year we turned it into built a bulit in shelving nook and ever took pics and video to show you how we did it, but to this day we never actually completed the shelves. Classic!
We actually wanted to paint them white and have cute baskets and have everything there organized in open shelving. Thank goodness we didn't actually spend time painting everything because after using this space for a year, we realized that in reality, we cannot keep this space looking neat and nice enough to be on display.
We sure tried, but the things on the shelf move in and out and around so quickly. We decided we needed to be able to use this shelf however we needed for our own sanity. We considered building some doors over the shelves. We never could really figure out how to easily do it without messing up the moulding up top. Also, we needed a solution that was quick and easy, so we decided a curtain would be the way to go!
We decided to go with a plain white curtain, as we didn't really want the curtain to be a feature. We just wanted it to fade into the background and hide the clutter. We wanted it to be like a breath of fresh air. And let me tell you, that's exactly what it has been!
This DIY is simple. To get started, you will need:
1. A
Curtain rod. I used a
lock seam curtain rod. You could use a
spring tension curtain rod if you want to skip the drilling process. However, screwing in the lock seam one will be more secure, which is what we are more concerned with. I don't want to swipe the curtain open and accidentally put the whole rod down.
2.
Fabric. I ordered 7 yards and didn't end up using all of it, although I did use most of it. I went with a cotton gauze fabric because it has a natural crinkle to it and will disguise any wrinkling of the fabric. This is one of the fabrics we used to use for kimonos and we LOVE it! I will say, if you wash this fabric, it will crinkle up even more, which is okay! It may seem scary because it will look like your curtain has shrunk. However, if you iron it out it will go right back to normal. If you don't want to iron at all, wash your fabric first AND order way more than you think you need. That way when you wash it, there will be no surprises.
3.
Curtain Clips
4.
Drill,
Metal Drillbit, & Screws. Make sure you get screws for the type of wall you have. If you will be drilling into a stud, the screws that come with the curtain rod will work, but if you are going into drywall, get drywall screws. Also, make sure you are using a drill bit big enough for your screws to go through, but not so big that the head of the screw goes through.
Okay let's get started. The first thing you need to do is use your metal drillbit to drill two holes on each side of the curtain rod. If you are using a tension rod you will skip this step.
Before you screw the rod into place, you will need to slide your curtain clips on. I'm using 20 of them. Since we are screwing this into place, you won't be able to slide any of them on once the rod is installed.
Installing the rod is as simple as putting it where you want it to go and putting screws through the holes that you drilled and attaching it to the wall. It was a bit tricky in the nook to get the drill in the right place, but it all worked out.
I'm using wood screws and they went right into the stud in the corner. You can also see here that I installed the rod a little further out than the wall because I don't want the curtain to rest on the shelves or any item that may be sticking out. I want them to slide back and forth freely.
Now, since we are using curtain clips, you don't necessarily HAVE to hem the edges of the fabric. You could simply cut it to size and then clip it up. That would be the easiest route possible. However, I want to be able to wash these and move them around without the fabric unraveling over time. So I measured how long I wanted the curtain and hemmed the top and bottom seam. I left the long sides as they are. I also made two curtains. I wanted there to be enough fabric to really cover up the space.
And they I clipped them up and bam! Everything looks so much neater. We love it. It moves out of the way very easily and closes without fuss. It's exactly what we needed to made this space feel less cluttered.
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