Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Painting My Curtains: Never Again!!

How I painted my curtains and ruined my carpet (not that that's a bad thing!)
So I am one who likes to throw my paint clothes on in the morning, grab my materials, crush the project in a few hours and be done with it so I can blog it that night.  I totally assumed that's how this was going to go.  Measure, tape, paint, and hang 'em!  Not so....  Let me tell you how this disastrous project went down (in more ways than one!).

So after measuring and taping off the stripes (I paid a few extra bucks for the super clean line tape), I mixed my fabric medium into my "Kammy's Concoction" coral paint.  Yes, I just dump whatever I have together until I like the shade.  It's great having 50 gallons of mistints on hand at all times.  Make a note of that.
I used a sponge roller to roll it on.  So far so good.  Oh, and don't forget the drop cloth!  Yup, I laid it right on my bedroom floor and set to work.  It's a large work space and would have been just FINE....  I thought.....  
It soon became apparent however that I was NOT going to have enough of my never-again-to-copy coral paint as the fabric was extremely porous and was soaking it in like none other.  I rounded up  another mistint, a neutral color, to put down for the base coat.   That worked much better.  Why don't I think of these brilliant ideas before I'm down to squishing every. last. drop. out of my sponge roller?
And then there was the moment my brain hanging out somewhere in Central America and I went and rolled the stripe that was supposed to be white.  Ahhhhhhhh.  Seriously, Kammy?  How on earth do you have a DIY blog? Huh?! Tell me how you can have one and be so DUMB at the same time!  Sheesh.  so you know what?  I have back to Wal Mart - where I got these panels for $10 a pair - and they are out of white.  Every time I go.  I've checked at least six different times in the last few months.  And they don't sell them online.  What's a girl to do?  So one window just has one panel.  Ah well, such is life.  
I was pretty happy with the clean lines.  Except for one that got a little blotchy, but unless you're really studying it, you probably wouldn't notice.  
 And then there was the epic moment....  After I hung my curtains and pulled up the drop cloth to reveal....

How was I do know fabric medium would make the paint seep through my drop cloth?  Huh?  HUH?!  Nobody warned me about such things!  Pretty sure that warning should bold and big on the bottle.  Do not use this on your carpet!!!!  But, I've been wanting to rip that ugly carpet up in exchange for some gorgeous laminate anyway....  I had to go tell my hubby with my tail between my legs what I had done and try to convince him that I did not ruin the carpet on purpose.  Hopefully this winter...  my mistake will be a distant memory and my feet will be landing on some drool worthy flooring.
But wait!  We're not done!  The curtains are much too short.  Rather, I want them hung way above the window so the windows appear bigger (good trick to keep in mind) so I used some white fabric from my stash and sewed tabs on them.  Problem solved.
 Would you like to see a before of this room?  Why of course you would.  That's what makes a great makeover - beholding the awful "befores"! :)


So the far right window in this photo is the one missing the panel.

Okay. Now for a little more discouragement.  The painted part of the fabric is SO stiff.  I used a large bobby pin at the bottom to shape them, but the desired shape only seems to stay for a week or so before slowly working it's way back out.  I did this the other day.... it seemed to hold okay. Would have been better if I would have done a consistent accordion fold.  Another time my brain must have been Central America.

Okay, one more thing, then I'll show you another pretty picture and let you be on your merry little way.  You've probably never hung out on the Korner this long in your life!  So Dollar General is my go-to for curtain rods.  Yup, they're like $6 I think, and I like them.  I think they look cool.  Yes, they're cheaply made, but who's going to climb up on a chair and feel if they're made out of cast iron or not?  So since I'm a get r' done type a gal, I ran into Dollar General to get my curtain rods and they only had two black ones and a gold one.  No problem, that's why they invented spray paint, right?  I think gold might have actually looked better than the black?  But I figured then I'd have to paint two and also, didn't think I had gold paint on hand.  So black curtain rods it is!  And now you can go on to a better blog - thanks for sticking with me this long!!!! :)  Ya'll ROCK!

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40 comments:

  1. This post totally made me laugh...I do DIY the exact same way! Nice to know I'm not the only one =) Your room looks so lovely...hope you get that new flooring!

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  2. sounds like a typical day here, lol, they look great

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  3. sounds like a typical day here, lol, they look great

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  4. Your transformation is going great in spite of a few snags. I'm making over our master bedroom a piece at a time also and it won't be complete until the carpet is gone and the wood floor is down (and the walls are painted). But I've only got one piece of furniture left to makeover! WooHoo! I'll be done with that piece in less than 6 months I'm sure....

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  5. Kammy, you forgot to mention that your kitty cat decided to walk across your freshly painted curtain! But, it still looks fabulous!

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  6. hahaha....grab you a fabulous animal print rug...and accent that floor!!! I can't tell you how many times I've done things just like this! I think it's the right brain....not letting the left operate! Life is good....IT LOOKS FABULOUS!!!

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  7. Love this story! You crack me up! It looks great!!"

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  8. They look great, as does the entire room (minus the carpet mess, of course). But I say, woohoo! new flooring! No, really, the room looks amazing!
    http://www.the-finishing-touches.net/

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  9. LOL! Sounds like something I would totally do! They look fantastic! BTW... I have that same horrible carpet in the entire upstairs, which is slowly being ripped out room by room. Love those curtains girl - and if you get new carpet out the deal... Even better. (And I totally burnt my grilled cheese sandwiches reading this. LOL!)

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  10. They look great - and all the mishaps make for a fun post (I know, it's only fun if it doesn't happen to yourself). Hope you get really nice new flooring!

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  11. Wow, the remodeled room is really gorgeous! Good job!!! Too bad about the carpet though! I would have just DIED!!

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  12. Oh my goodness you crack me up and I LOVED reading all of your post!! I'm here til the end girl!
    Not to mention that would TOTALLY happen to me. We must somehow be related I swear!! But it looks great now, pain, sweat and tears aside. Your room looks beautiful!!

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  13. Doesn't the fabric medium soften up the more you wash it? I'd try that if the curtains aren't falling right. :) Thanks for this post, I've been debating painting myself some curtains!

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  14. I can't believe this happened to you! :) The story of my life! LOL I love the curtains! The colors are beautiful and the room is looking gorgeous! If you dislike carpeting as much as I do, then, what happened to you was not such a bad thing! LOL

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  15. This is all so good to know! I've been debating for a while about painting my own, and this is all great stuff to keep in mind. Thanks so much!
    Stacia@http://feathersandsunshine.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. Oh, and I love the color of the dresser in the corner. And your comforter is to die for!

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  16. I love this redesign!! you brightened up the whole space and made it gorgeous, light and airy! (even if you did ruin the carpet!) this color scheme is very similar to my own which is really cool and inspiring! great job!
    here's a link to what i did with my bedroom:

    http://thesepiapuppy.blogspot.com/2012/08/furniture-revamp-challenge-final-reveal.html

    Thanks for dropping by to say hello and follow if you've got the time! I just followed you and can't wait to see what all you have coming!
    <3 Bethany @ The Sepia Puppy

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  17. Kammy,
    Been following you for awhile now and never commented. You are awesome! I lived in MI for years and now am transplanted down to TX (which is awesome, BTW) but I love reading about all your DIY projects and picturing your stomping grounds in my mind. Rock on, girl. You're the best!

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  18. Hilarious! I found you at linky party. I think the curtains look great! And thanks for the tip I have been wanting to do striped curtains for a long time, I will remember about the carpet....hmmm, or maybe I shouldn't?

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  19. I'm going to paint my own curtains too. I don't know if you have an IKEA close, but they are my go to for curtains since a pair is only $10 and more reliable than Walmart to have in stock. I think they look so great and you can't tell there are any mistakes. Thanks for the journal log too-I think it's great to hear the disasters behind the beautiful After's! Came over from Someday crafts link up and I can't wait to hear more about your DIY's!

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  20. It looks just beautiful Kammy! And no one better come to my blog for a stress free project either - I had a week from hell with dressers lol

    Hugs,
    Suzan

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  21. Your room is looking cute! That's a fast way to get your new floors...

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  22. The room looks beautiful, I am so sorry it cost you your carpet, I hope the laminate comes soon!

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  23. They look so pretty! I've been thinking about doing this for a while, will definitely put something on the floor when I do it...lol. Thanks for the share :) New follower here!

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  24. I LOVE the after pictures!! That is seriously the best color....can't believe you mixed it yourself :) I was laughing my way through your post (not at you:) but thinking about the many times I'd screwed something up too! :) Great post! Found you at Tatertots and Jello link party.
    Hugs,
    Brooke

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  25. I think they came out great anyway! Get a big throw rug and cover up the carpet... you can probably find one with a similar pattern to match your pretty bed spread!

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  26. Oh no. I am so sad for you about the carpet. BUT I absolutely LOVE the new look of your room.

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  27. This sounds like every diy project I do! Thanks for sharing the BAD part of your makeover. I find it discouraging when bloggers make everything look so easy!

    And the new curtains look amazing!

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  28. OMG the look really nice. Sorry to hear of all the problems.

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  29. This sounds exactly like my painted curtain extravaganza!! I actually realized half way through my project that I had taped off on the wrong side of my marked lines (so the white panels were bigger than the painted). Then the next day when I went to do the 2nd panel I grabbed the wrong but VERY similar can of paint but you can definately tell the curtains are different colors AND to top it off while drying one of my doxies snuck down to the basement and trambled all over the wet paint soooooo....I now have painted paw prints all over my curtains...LOL(thank goodness I got them for $6 at Goodwill!) At least yours turned out lovely but oh my gosh I would have peed my pants over the carpet thing...LOL

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  30. Ha Ha Ha girl you are so real I simply adore you! You did a lovely job here! I also the the furniture colors:)Stop by sometime:)

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  31. I came so close to doing this exact same thing (in the exact same color) but ended up buying some fabric on a really good sale. I can't beleive it went through to the carpet but they look great now! I have had lots of things go this way. Thanks for keeping it real even when real is not much fun. Would love to have you share at my party if you get the chance:
    http://kraftykat76.blogspot.com/2012/09/gettin-krafty-with-it_24.html

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  32. I too have many mishap projects! Just had to change directions when my original bright idea turned out to be a dull bulb one! LOL! In the end, looks fabulous ...

    :)

    Linda

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  33. Your room is looking so beautiful.You did a lovely job here.

    Curtains Melbourne

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  34. Love the curtains and the room! Yup, I do stuff like that all the time and have to go to the hubby and try to convince him it was on accident :)
    thanks for linking up.

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  35. You cackle me up! We work the exact sane! Mistakes and all!

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  36. You did a great job, love how fresh and bright your room is!

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  37. Ok, I just love what you've done to the front of your house. But I must say that your curtain project was my favorite. You did something crazy and it looks amazing. When I first got the emails of you pointing your curtains, I thought "What is she DOING?" LOL But it looks amazing and you did a fantastic job. There is nothing like these curtains anywhere that you could have bought-and that-I LOVE! Thanks for sharing all of your awesome ideas with us, they are truly inspiring. :D

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  38. Hey has anyone painted their bedroom set inside the house?? Maybe if I did one piece at time then went to work the smell would be gone? I cant carry it by myself to put outside as I also live in an apt. Any suggestions ????
    Barb

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  39. OMG I did the same thing only my paint going through the curtains happened on tile, and luckily I was able to wipe it up just before it dried. I thought it would be the easiest project ever and the curtain (I did a fabric shower curtain) soaked up so much paint that I had to scrap my project.

    Your curtains look lovely though!

    Britt @ Creating Space for Five

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