I recently decided to change out our living room drapes. Or, more accurately, I wanted to change my drapes for a long time and recently finally got around to it! The result of this overly drawn-out process is these custom color-block curtains, and I am inclined to say that they were worth the wait and effort!

It was tricky trying to find something that would fit our windows, because I needed 108-inch-long panels, and this limited my choice a lot when it came to ready-made panels. I looked at some custom options, but I didn’t love any of them quite enough to justify the price. In the end, I decided to piece together shorter panels to make my own custom color-block drapes. This was a bigger project than I expected, but I’m more than happy with the result.

They say, “Necessity is the mother of invention”… I started by buying standard 84-inch drapes in the main color I wanted, a creamy ivory. I then bought just a couple of panels of a coordinating color, a pewter grey, to fill-in the bottom. When I realized that I didn’t have enough grey, the color had been discontinued, and I was forced to get really creative and add a band of blue! While not the original plan, I like the way the blue adds a little color to these very neutral drapes.

I carefully measured the panels and joined them to make the full height that I wanted. This took more work than I had imagined (isn’t that always the way?). I had to unpick the side seams where the panels joined, hem all the bottom panels… join the pieces including lining… hide the raw edges… It really was a tedious project, but now that it’s done, I’m really happy.

And at last, I’m enjoying my one-of-a-kind window treatments! Here are some more pictures of the new drapes and a look at how our living room has evolved!

Would you try this, or did I scare you off?!

“Jewels”