I wish I were a better sleeper. Trust me, I really do. I’m sensitive to light when sleeping, so room-darkening window coverings are a must! I’ve found some quick tricks that I’m excited to share for adding lining to existing curtains. Also, bonus pictures of my new bedroom curtains (which are my old color block living room curtains, with new lining sewn in).

1) If you have grommet panels, it’s easy to buy blackout grommet panels in a matching size and simply stack the room-darkening panels behind your decorative curtains. I did this in our rental house with these blackout grommet panels. They are not completely blackout, but they do block a significant amount of light. Grommet panels stack really neatly, and this was sooo easy!

2) If your existing curtains are not grommet top, there are other types of room-darkening panels that are designed to attach using drapery hooks. When we moved into this house, there were pinch-peat drapes in my bedroom, so I added these blackout panels. They are small, so I needed two panels for each of my drapery panels. They are also not completely blackout but helped a lot ( picture below on the right -left is without the panel, and right is with it). Finally, I’ll also note that they are smaller than regular drapes, which makes sense, so they can fit a variety of curtains, and the panels and aren’t visible from the front. Although this leaves some gaps where light can come through, I did achieve better sleep, which was the goal!

Finally, in a less-quick project that did require sewing, I bought blackout lining to add to my color block curtains, and I am so happy to see them again. The living room in our old house had very high ceilings, as does our new bedroom, so I raised up the curtain rod, and it literally elevates our room! Hanging your window coverings from close to the ceiling is a trick that never fails!

Julie AKA “Jewels”

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