Yup, we finally called it. The old floral curtains couldn’t last another day. So we made a few jokes about Kim Kardashian’s Met ball dress and got ready to say goodbye.
They looked pretty fancy, but they just weren’t our style, so it was time to take them down and make a nice little donate pile for Habitat for Humanity. The funny thing is that when we got up on chairs and lifted them down, we discovered that these babies were pinned and even screwed right into the window at times! Cracked us up. I mean, we’re no strangers to using fabric remnants and wood braces screwed into windowsills, but seeing white pushpins sticking out of the blue molding was pretty unexpected. Gotta love those “make it work” DIY moments…
The most surprising part of Mission Remove Dem Curtains was… the time it took to remove dem! Thanks to the screws and pins (there were straight pins, safety pins, and even tacks and twine attaching them to windows, trim, and even themselves) it was a somewhat slow process full of “how is this thing still clinging to the window?!”
Finally, about an hour spent running around with the screwdriver and hammer (to be sure we popped out every last nail and screw so all the windows are ready for spackle and eventual paint) we were left with this pile:
And this pretty impressive collection of tacks, nails, screws, and pushpins:
And even though the curtains were riddled with tacks (and a fair amount of dust) I did this. Because I just can’t control myself.
My favorite touch was the curtain rod turned scepter. All hail Curtains McFlower.
Now that they’re down, more light is streaming in and each of those four rooms feel a little more like us. We’re dreaming of a nice swanky layered look for the curtains in our new house. Perhaps bamboo blinds with curtains hung high and wide over them? Sort of like this. Or this. Or this. Except not necessarily with plain white or cream curtains.
Oh happy day. It’s the little things. Playing dress up never hurts either…
Psst- We announced this week’s giveaway winner. Click here to see if it’s you.
Katie says
I seriously can’t believe what a HUGE difference pulling down the curtains made! Good thing the old owners didn’t think of doing it themselves before selling the house or I think more people would have seen the potential in it.
Laura & the Shell says
I bet I’m not the only one who would LOVE to see a post dedicated to all the give away winners. I rarely enter in your giveaways, because the odds seem so slim. It would be cool to hear from the winners. I really hope they are readers, and not just giveaway groupies!
Oh and Project-Take-Dem-Curtains-Down? Good job!!! And Sherry, I would have wrapped myself up in all that fabric too. Irresistible, right? Lol
YoungHouseLove says
Never thought about a post from the winners! We hear from them each week when we send them their prize info and it’s lots of fun! Maybe we can do a roundup or something :)
xo
s
KathyG says
Ok, maybe I need more coffee but I don’t get this…
the curtains seemed to be DIY at it’s best – (as a dusty blast from the past, I’ll give ya that).
But I don’t really understand making fun of whoever did this. Isn’t DIYing something to “look” better than it really is what it’s all about? I’m confused. :( #maybeIneedcoffee
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, it was totally DIY at it’s best! They weren’t coming down for anything – not cats or kids could get these to move! I was just surprised to find twine and push pins in the mix, but I’m no stranger to “making it work” myself :)
xo
s
Jo says
Floral drape couture dress for the win! ROFL
So, I’m a bit of a window treatment snob because I sell custom panels/Romans/blinds. They are ridiculously expensive (as in, you could buy a car expensive) and I could never afford them myself. I think that although what I do is one extreme, this house deserves more than remnants stapled on a piece of wood or no-sew, unlined, non- functional, single width panels. It would be the ultimate genius if you guys could create high quality treatments on a budget. That would be real deal DIY!
Laurel says
Do I spy future backdrops for Clara pictures?? Might be fun in an anthropologie kind of way? :P
PS would love to see a post about painting the windows!
Hannah says
Maybe you can keep a piece of your favorite fabric from one of the the old curtains (so hard to choose!) and frame it in one of your trademark white frames just for memories sake?
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, that’s a cute idea.
xo
s
Laura says
Love how the curtains were not only ugly, but nearly welded to the walls! We bought a house recently (and are renovating it slowly) that had very ornate (not our taste) window treatments, but the seller took them with when she left. We’re not too upset about that. ;-)
Anje says
If the curtains were held up with tacks, twine and screws that means they were NEVER EVER WASHED. Oh the dusty horror! Maybe they vacuumed the curtains? I shudder at the thought.
bekah says
We had VERY similar curtains when we moved in here, and i could not wait to rip those suckers down. They were SO dusty, were yours dusty? Maybe your previous owners were better housekeepers than ours, although to be honest I dont know how anyone could keep that many folds dust-free.
Auda says
Wow, it already looks 100% better!!! The curtains remind me of all of the lovely rompers and dresses I wore as a child in the 80s.
Michelle says
Well at least you have hardware to reuse when you tack and screw your own curtains up. ????
Leah K. says
Hey guys – Are you going to take your window coverings or light fixtures from your old house to your new one?
YoungHouseLove says
All of the lights and most of the curtains are being sold with the house. That’s pretty standard in our area :)
xo
s
Janel says
Good laaawwwwd (said a la Troy from that Swamp People show on The History Channel – come on now, who doesn’t love Troy?!?!)!!!
At first I thought maybe you can repurpose them, but no – those things are some of the most offensive pieces of fabric I have ever seen. Take it out back and shoot them to make sure they’re not “zombie-like” and try to rise up from the dead.
#zombiecurtains
#choot’emSherrychoot’em!
bethblntn says
Scarlett O’hara!? Is that you!? lol. love it. Sharry you crack me up XD
Priscilla says
HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHA! Sherry and John … you two make even the most mundane task look like fun. I’m still laughing/crying about Sherry’s floral curtain gown. Hilarious!
Megan Poletti says
Ohhh, Kim Kardashian. What a horrible fashion choice that was. I didn’t even know about it until I saw this tweet from Robin Williams, and pretty much laughed my face off: https://twitter.com/robinwilliams/status/331974971826003968/photo/1
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahaha! I love Mrs. Doubtfire so much. Seriously, best movie ever.
IT WAS A RUN BY FRUITING!
xo
s
Megan Poletti says
Hahahaha! I need to watch it again. I’m pretty sure I saw it in the theater, which makes me feel old. I wonder whatever happened to Mara Wilson…
Elizabeth says
I’m really excited to see what blinds options you end up with. It’s hard to tell the depth of your window, but I know when I was wanting to replace current blinds in my house I couldn’t do the ones I wanted (1 inch-wide slat blinds) b/c there wasn’t enough room for an inside mount. Bamboo blinds seem like a good compromise for privacy and bring in great texture, but my husband is concerned they are too “Tropical” looking. (I disagree!)
Corrie says
I would have worn the curtains, too. Except maybe wound them around my head like a turban.
Aimee says
I’d love to hear a bit about how you decide what to donate vs. what to trash. References to pitted hardware/flimsy curtain rods just made me think of my mom helping me move away to grad school. I wanted to donate a bunch of old cookie sheets that had seen better days (warped or scratched but in my eyes still usable), and my mom asked “If you don’t want them, what makes you think someone else would?” So I was just wondering about that with you guys– do you send to Habitat just for a way to “recycle” greenly or is it a true donation in that you’d think someone would buy? Do you ever just throw anything away?
YoungHouseLove says
Great question! We just try to think about ways people might use things. For example, if these curtains were run through the wash, they could be awesome for a school play or some sort of set design so we thought donating them was nice since they could live on for someone looking for an old floral pattern. Same with the hardware – although some of them are straight up broken (won’t lock) some others are still functional but just not in new condition, so we’ll donate the ones that are in good (but not mint) condition since someone else might not mind the semi-imperfections, but for the straight up broken ones, we’ll trash those.
xo
s
momlady says
There are days it’s just not safe to eat or drink near the computer! Lol! Fabulous just fabulous… you really rocked that look,girl! This is one of those times I wish you had a like button for comments. Not only was your post hilarious but the comments have been priceless. Thanks for making my day.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, you’re welcome momlady. Your comment name = hilarious.
xo
s
Sara B says
Just a quick question – is it common knowledge that you should leave the curtains when you sell your home? I’ve only lived in rentals. I think I read that you’d be leaving the window treatments in your current home, which seems sad, because they’re so great!
YoungHouseLove says
In our area it’s standard to sell a home with the curtains and rods and light fixtures (since they’re “attached” to the house, they convey). I think when people buy a turn-key updated house, a lot of the things they like are lights and curtains so it makes sense that if they buy the house they want those too :)
xo
s
Abigayle says
We have similarly hideous floral curtains all over our rental house. And our landlord insists on us keeping the curtains for whatever reason. We’ve only taken down and replaced the curtains from the master bedroom because seriously, they had to go. I had a pretty similar experience trying to get those suckers down, but what shocked me the most was everything that our landlords had jammed into the valences to make them poofy. I had a huge pile of rolled up poster boards, tissue paper, 2×4’s, etc, and I only took down two curtains. It was ridiculous, but this post totally reminded me of it!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so funny! It was like a clown car! Too bad you didn’t find a wad of cash up there! Someone commented about finding lots of money in their heater/baseboards – like a thousand bucks!
xo
s
Christine Somers says
When we closed down my mother’s home, the guest bathroom valence was expertly installed but the dust was about the only thing holding the fabric together. For many people decorating their home is a one time event.
Becca says
I almost peed myself over the “who wore it better” LOL
I can’t believe how much better it looks already! Excited to see the progress.
Kirsten says
I love your new house! You may have mentioned this and I missed it, but how big is your lot?
YoungHouseLove says
It’s about the same size as our first house and current house’s lot (almost an acre) – but just like those homes, a lot of it’s naturalized/wooded :)
xo
s
John says
Check out the new cool designs and window treatments at jcpenney.com. by Jonathan Adler. Go to the “For your Home” heading. Thought you might like this for your windows.
YoungHouseLove says
Off to check them out!
xo
s
Dustin says
How soon until interior painting starts? Home Depot has $20 off 5-gallons of paint this weekend, time to stock up!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, not that soon! We have hardwoods to lay before move in day! Ack!
xo
s
Cortney says
I think you can get them in white and bring them back to be tinted when you are ready to use them free of charge? Might be worth looking into?:)
YoungHouseLove says
No way, who knew they did that!?
xo
s
Andrea says
Wow! What a huge difference! The potential of those rooms screams at you now that the curtains are gone! The natural light looks amazing in your pictures. LOVE. Makes you want to just dive right in, buuuuut, you’ve got floors to install! I’m such a distracted DIY-er :-)
Kelley says
The resemblance between the kitchen curtains & Kimmy K’s dress is uncanny!
Crystal @ 29 Rue House says
I haven’t got to read through the comments yet but am I the only one who thinks that the floral fabric you’re wearing would make for some cool pants? sort of like these leggings… http://www.zappos.com/gabriella-rocha-turmi-floral-print-legging-black?zfcTest=fcl%3A0
I do love floral though…:)
Crystal @ 29 Rue House says
Of course you’re totally working the dress form too!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my gosh, I actually love those. Too bad I have a love/hate relationship with my sewing machine…
xo
s
Erin says
Oh man, major improvement losing those! I just love that you have a new space to renovate because it really does excite me to see each thing you’re going to do next. It’s almost as exciting as updating my own house but with way less work on my end! Who can resist a good before and after?!
Erin says
Hey one other question, maybe you don’t know yet or don’t want to spill all your ideas, but have you guys considered doing a room with your painted trim in a color? I have seen some really awesome rooms with bold trim colors (not your current blue of course, haha)- especially in House Beautiful or those kind of eclectic, designer rooms. I am not brave enough to do that in my house, but I think in some rooms it can be pretty amazing.
YoungHouseLove says
I think we’re definitely open to seeing where things go as this house evolves over the years! I’ve seen some gorgeous window mullions that were painted charcoal with a cool painted french door (soft blue, almost black, etc). We’ll have to see where we end up :)
xo
s
Sandi says
I am seriously loving these posts about the new house! Totally inspires me to continue on with our renos. Can’t wait to see what you pick for everything.
Alicia says
When I saw this pic (link below), I instantly thought of what your upstairs hallway could look like!!
http://homedecor-designpics.blogspot.gr/2013/03/home-decor-and-design-photos_1536.html
YoungHouseLove says
OOH! That’s BEAUTIFUL!
xo
s
Annie R says
I feel like the house just looks cleaner with those curtains down! Excited to see what you guys come up with-I always love how you don’t seem to just follow the most trendy thing, but to really think it through and make it your own!
Question- when you looked at the house first was it empty like now? I’m not trying to knock the former owners design but I am picturing what their stuff probably looked like! :) did you guys do any cleaning besides the power washing before you showed us the house?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, the house had actually been unoccupied for almost a year, so other than a few rugs and the curtains and a few boxes and a filing cabinet it was completely unfurnished. So we did a little bit of dusting and vacuuming when were over there doing things lately (making the video tour, ripping up the carpets) but it pretty much sat there until we got the alarm put in and switched into “new house mode” a few weeks ago. It felt too overwhelming to juggle two houses, so it was easier to hold off on diving into the new one until the current one was all done :)
xo
s
Liz says
I love the Kim K. reference! Half the reason I read your blog is because you guys are so darn funny.
rachael says
You know what your new house reminds me of? Lori and Greg’s house from your house crashing adventures! Except yours is the before and there’s is the after: classic, cozy and family friendly with pops of color and even black to ground the room.
I’m looking forward to seeing how your style evolves with this house!
YoungHouseLove says
Totally!!
xo
s
Jackie says
I am a Charlottesville decorator specializing in drapery and woven wooden blinds. Those windows will be beautiful with a layered treatment of both, and the look will be timeless!
Megan says
The picture of the orange/red room, with the red brick wall…I feel like you always have a room in one of your houses with this! :) It reminded me so much of your “den” family room in the first house. That might just be me though. :)
Loved how the curtains were hung, I did this in my office for like a month, while I waited to find the right rod for me. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! That room totally reminds us of our first house’s den! That was our favorite room, so it was awesome to see it there waiting for us :)
xo
s
Jennifer says
It bothers me some that you make fun of someone else’s taste. Maybe somebody liked those curtains and all that blue trim…
YoungHouseLove says
I LOVE that someone loved this house 30 years ago and put their mark on it, and I’d never want to make fun of their taste! That’s why I say things like “they looked pretty fancy, but they just weren’t our style” and not “ugh, they’re terrible!” because I don’t believe that. It’s all personal preference. We’ve heard from the original owner of our first house and the previous owner of our second house and they both said they loved watching what we did to breathe new life into their homes and weren’t offended by us updating things, which was awesome to hear :)
xo
s
Julianne says
You are too funny! :O)
LibraDesignEye says
Now that traffic has slowed, allow me to say that the rest of us are kinda wowed by that Dragon party. Makes me want to tell of the year I made my toddler son bark pants out of the maeleleuca on brown paper chaps so he could be a tree by weaving autumn garland around the rest of him. But that’s just one thing – and that party had a dozen brilliant ones. Bravo. Know you do this for a living for a reason, and one reason is to love what you do. Bravo for honoring lifes passages with rituals – you guys must be operating on super planner mode right now but celebrations are wowsa.
Love the forum, u guys know i’m a big fan. Depend on you for my pop culture references (Kim! who knew? have read GofT 4 books thru before the show began – luv the settings and costumes alone)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks so much! You’re so sweet :)
xo
s
myamogabi says
OMG! I can totally see Kim K’s dress in those curtains! So glad you are replacing them!!!
seabluelee says
The simple stripped-down look is so much nicer than those curtains. I know you’ll eventually put up something beautiful in their place, but wow, what an improvement already!
Blinds.com says
Yay for clean windows! We’re all in favor of the woven wood shades + draperies look. It will make the space a lot more contemporary, plus you’ll have versatility when you want complete light blockage.
Good Luck!
P.S. You’ll have to make matching jumpers for the whole family With your new abundance of fabric a la Sound of Music. They’re a necessity for frolicking and bursting into song!
sarab says
what do you guys think about painting the inside window trims black? it seems to be very in right now, kind of parisian looking?
YoungHouseLove says
I love that look for a window over a kitchen sink or something. Definitely open to it, so we’ll have to see how things evolve :)
xo,
s
caroline [the diy nurse] says
That photo of Sherry is right up there with the rap video. Epic.
Also: new facebook profile photo ;)
Christie says
I can’t wait to see the “lots of white walls with natural floors and pops of color” … sounds just like what I want to do someday.
I also see this as your forever house. Future projects need to be just that … projects. Let this be your home! :-D
[email protected] says
Love the new outfit! So stylish and summery ;)
maude says
There might be something wrong with me, but I find buying new curtains to be very exciting…lol. They can totally change the look of a room or define it. One of my favorite stores for curtains and drapes is JC Pennys, they have a great selection.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, curtains are total room game-changers! I agree!
xo
s