The Hunt for Curtains is Over!

Naturally when we were in the process of building and moving into our house, I had so many people asking me how I was going to decorate and style each space. My response was always the same. I had no clue. I had a color palette (neutrals, of course!), more ideas than a Pinterest board could hold, and a love for everything farmhouse. But, I didn’t want to rush. I really wanted to take my time with setting up each space. I wanted to feel the space and be inspired rather than rush to put up decor I wasn’t fully in love with for the sake of it being done. To those of you who have wondered why I’m still not 100% unpacked, I promise I’m not lazy. I’m just way. too. thoughtful.

That brings us to where we are now. Since we moved at the end of November, I’ve been going through the internal struggle of finding the perfect curtains for the dining, kitchen, and living rooms. With these rooms being the heart of our home, I really wanted the curtains to be cozy and inviting while making a statement. On top of that, they couldn’t block out the natural light that I love so much. It seemed like an impossible task.

The One Time I Love the Unexpected…

As a planner, I traditionally like to go with what I know to be tried and true. The unexpected can be a wedding planner’s timeline worst nightmare. Meanwhile, as a designer I really love bringing the unexpected into a space and making it a statement piece. It really doesn’t matter whether that be for styling homes or weddings. I knew that I wanted these curtains to be patterned yet the perfect balance that didn’t completely overwhelm the space. After all, I had 12 panels to shop for!

Sitting in my dining room over my morning coffee, I toyed with the idea of some sort of Buffalo Check. I actually had buffalo check curtains in my online shopping cart for the longest time. I was one click away from purchasing them. But, I always kept coming back to the idea of floral patterns. Needless to say, my husband was a bit hesitant. And when I started telling people I’ve been on the hunt forever for the perfect floral curtains for my dining and living room, I got a lot of weird looks. After all, the 80s and 90s were coming back. But, floral curtains? I’m pretty sure most people wanted that trend to burn in the 80s with their grandma’s floral couch.

The Perfect Farmhouse Floral Curtains

I already teased these on Instagram stories because I couldn’t wait to show y’all. But, I’m beyond excited to say that the hunt is over, and I’ve found the perfect floral curtains for our modern farmhouse. I found these when I least expected it and immediately fell in love. (That’s how love stories always happen, right?) They’re from Wayfair, and you can shop them: here. I got mine in black in the 95″ length to make our windows and rooms look larger. They’re currently 41% off in the 95″ length, and that makes them about only $20 per panel. I paired them with simple black curtain rods from Walmart that were about $8 each. What a steal!

• Shop my curtains: here

Curtain Hanging Tips

You’re probably the type of person that feels almost naked when you leave the house without your jewelry on. It’s the final touch that can bring your whole outfit together. Well, the way I look at them, curtains are the jewelry for your home. They really have a way to bring your space together and to another level. The proof can definitely be seen with my dining room. I’m honestly blown away at the difference that it made.

When it comes to hanging curtains in your space, there are definitely some do’s and don’ts to follow:

• To create the illusion of higher ceilings, hang your curtain rod higher above the window. Typically about halfway from the top of your window to the ceiling is a good rule of thumb. I hung my curtains 11 inches from the top of the window.
• To create the illusion of a bigger room or bigger windows, hang your curtains wider. Ensure the rod is wide enough so that when the curtains are open, the inner edges just cover the window frame and not the window itself. Using too narrow of a curtain rod will make your curtains hang in front of the window itself and cause you to lose natural light. I hung my curtain rod brackets 4 inches from the side of the window and extended my rods past that about 2.25 inches based on the amount of space I had. My dining room was tricky with the corners! Overall it gave the look of about 6 inches of width to my windows.
• Double or triple up panels for wider windows. You want curtain panels to be wide enough to still have a bit of fullness to them even when they’re closed.
• For a more romantic and luxurious look, purchase panels that are about 6 inches longer than your rod to floor measurement to have them puddle onto the floor. However, this may not be ideal if you’re like me and dog hair comes with your territory.
• However, don’t use too-short of curtain panels! For a more modern look, hang curtains so that they sit just above the floor 0.5 / 1 inch. For example, I knew that I wanted 95/96 inch panels in my house, so I measured up from the floor and came up with my measurement of 11 inches above each window.

My Curtain Hanging Hacks

When it comes to hanging curtains, the part that I personally dread the most is measuring. After double and triple checking each measure and praying that they’ll hang level once you drill the holes, so much time is wasted up on a ladder. After learning about this hack from my mom, I will never go back to wasting time measuring and marking over and over again for each window. With this hack, you’ll do the measuring once and get the perfect mark every single time.

It’s a lot more simple than you may think, and involves only some scrap cardboard. Cut a square off the corner of your cardboard piece to get a 90 degree angle. This will be put up to the corner of your window to make sure that you’re getting a straight and perfect measurement each time. From that corner, measure out the width that you’d like to hang your curtains at. Then, from that dot you’ll measure out the height that you’d like your curtains to be hung at. That is where you’ll be drilling your hole! It’s that simple!

You can line up your bracket with this final mark and mark the second bracket hole underneath if you have one. Simply punch through the cardboard with the tip of your pencil to make a small hole to be able to mark your wall. You’ll even be able to flip the cardboard template and use it on either side of your window. Not only will this save you so much time from having to measure for each hole, but you won’t have to worry about messing up as you go.

You only have to measure once, and you’ll get the perfect hole every single time while using the template! 

What do y’all think about floral curtains? Anyone else love playing with patterns and unexpected pieces to make a statement in your home? I hope this inspired you to try something new in your home decorating. You can shop my floral curtains, here, and some more darling picks below! My next hunt is for the perfect vintage rug for under our dining room table! xox