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I will admit that I have commitment issues with my home decor. I know I have said it before around here. Nothing is safe in my house. There isn’t a single day that something doesn’t get moved or changed out. It’s just how I am. I like change and I like quick and easy decorating projects. I’m a huge fan of fabric glue and command strips. A few years ago I read The Nesting Place by Myquillyn Smith. She’s a home decor blogger that I have followed for years. I loved that book and I still come back to it and read it often. It might be one of my favorite books, actually. It’s such a good reminder that your home doesn’t need to be perfect to be beautiful. And, most importantly, you do not need to spend a ton of money to decorate your house. You do not need to have your drapery lined and hemmed perfectly, you do not need the most expensive furniture with expensive fancy pillows, or expensive artwork lining your walls. A house takes time to become a home. It’s seriously such a good book. And every single time I sling a random piece of fabric unhemmed and usually wrinkled over a curtain rod to make a new valance for my kitchen I think of this book.
This is my third kitchen valance in this house and we’ve lived here for less than 2 years. I like to change them out per season and as I grow tired with whatever I have up there. I never spend more than $15 though and I can usually reuse whatever was up there for another project.
My first valance was an old fabric shower curtain that I have had for years, in the fall I switched it out for a buffalo check valance and now with the warmer weather I switched it out again for something more “summery”. Each time I add a new valance, my method is pretty much consistent. I literally throw some fabric over a curtain rod and find a cute way to tie it up. I did the same thing this time too. I found the cutest blue and white striped fabric at Hobby Lobby and it was calling my name. If the budget allows for it, I normally always purchase three yards of fabric at a time. That’s the magic number in case I want to turn my fabric into drapery. At least I know I will have enough to make one curtain panel just in case my fabric is destined to be curtains. So I purchased three yards of this fabric and came home and started analyzing where it would go and…ding ding ding…my kitchen window was the winner. Since I had so much fabric, I folded it half and threw it over my curtain rod with the folded part in the front. It is the lazy girl’s way of NOT having to hem since you only see the fold. I did not hem a thing on this fabric actually. The raw edge is still showing on the sides of the fabric. Guess what? I don’t care (gasp).
Since this fabric was so light weight I gathered it up on each side like I did with my shower curtain valance but this time I used thread. My goal was to have the fabric look gathered on the sides without seeing anything. Kind of like it was sewed that way but nothing was sewn. Make sense?
That is seriously all I did. It took 5 minutes and I have an inexpensive window valance that I love…and will likely take down in the fall for something else. But that’s the fun part and I never have to feel guilty about changing things out. I’ll use this fabric for something else or save it for next spring when I want a change again. It’s amazing what you can do with just three yards of fabric. And look closely…you can see the wrinkles and creases in my valance. Yep, I don’t care…
Side note: I love reading and having home decor books around my house. Not only are they informative but they are so pretty and make beautiful table decor. Here are some of my favorites:
- The Nesting Place
- Young House Love (both books are great) This one and this one.
- Domino (just the cover alone is worth buying)
- The Inspired Room
- Miss Mustard Seed (one of my first favorites)
- Sarah Richardson: This one and this one…my all time favorites
- Mark D. Sikes (if you love decorating with blue this is the book of your dreams)
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