Our flat has had vertical slat blinds for about 10 years. But some of the slats began to break in early in 2019. We did our best to keep them hanging but in the end I knew we had to have a more permanent solution. I’ve been a huge fan of interior design books, shows, Youtube channels, you name it. And when I kept seeing how beautiful a space with curtains looked… Well I was sold. I watch channels like The Sorry Girls and Lone Fox, so I knew that putting up curtains wouldn’t be too much of an issue. We did run into problems though. And that meant we needed creative solutions. And so this is how we ended up hacking our own LENDA curtains.
The Search
I knew I wanted to shop local stores and help out a smaller business. The issue with that was… Curtains are super expensive! We have large windows because our windows are French doors. We needed something tall enough and wide enough to fit and not break the bank. In the beginning I found curtains starting at €600 for one window. That’s so expensive! And we had 2 French doors plus a smaller 3rd window to furnish! There was no way we could afford something like that. So I began to consider my options.
The Find
I was on Ikea one day and found the LENDA curtains. I loved how they needed little work to be installed. The tab heading on the top meant we didn’t need to buy rings. Put up a rod and slide those babies in. Simple and clean, they were thick enough to block light but still allow a decent amount in. Which meant we could even keep the curtains closed during the day and not be in the dark. There are sometimes when the weather outside is disgusting, and I don’t want to see that! The white shade of the curtains was even super close to the white trim we already had in the flat. These curtains were perfect. What wasn’t perfect.. Was the size. While they were tall enough, they weren’t wide enough to cover the French doors.
The Problem
The LENDA curtains are 140cm and we needed something that was at least 270cm per panel. That’s a lot of fabric! It was understandable that buying something that would fit the space, would also cost an arm and a leg. I spent months searching for another solution and then it hit me. Why not do a little of my own DIY? I could these curtains into something that could fit the space. The idea was super simple too.
The Solution
We would buy double the amount of curtains and sew two panels together to make one large panel. Would it work? I had no idea, but I had faith that I could make it work. So we took the plunge and bought 5 sets of LENDA curtains. Since we had a smaller window we didn’t have to worry about that one. A single panel worked fine for that one! Thank goodness for little blessings, huh? We put up the single panel and figured out the length of what we needed. The panels are super long to fit any space! So another hurdle popped up. I would need to sew not only 2 panels together, but take it up from the bottom as well since 300cm was way too long.
So I borrowed Sander’s mom’s sewing machine and set aside a few hours to work. First I took 2 panels and sewed them together, starting at the top so that they would match up. This was the correct way to work, as the panels didn’t match by the time I got to the bottom. Of course, panic set in until I realized that I was cutting off a chunk of the bottom and that it didn’t matter either way. Once the bottom length was hemmed and cut, we had some beautiful looking curtains that draped like a dream and had more than enough fabric to cover the windows.
The Verdict
I never thought I would love a space this much. The change in tone of the room is like night and day. I wish I had photos of the old space for a comparison but I don’t! Needless to say our living room looks elevated and even a bit chic. We’re still working on our flat little by little to achieve a home that we’re both proud of. I love that we finally took the plunge and installed curtains. This is such a huge step in the right direction for our place. And we didn’t spend more than €300 for this makeover. This is the first step in changes around our place that we had planned for the spring! Be sure to come back and see what else we decide to do!
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