Hemless Blackout Curtains

The most current photo of our living room (although missing our 2x4 Jalousie Rear Media Console), sports different curtains than the free bedsheet fold top curtains I sew before we moved upstairs.

In April, as we were settling into our unfurnished apartment, we installed a home theater system and blackout curtains.   I ordered 54'' Wide Roc-Lon® Blackout Drapery Lining from Amazon.com at about $6 per yard.  Using 10 yards, our new living room blackout curtain fabric cost me about $60, which is $60 more than our free bed sheet fold top curtains now in the nursery.

Clothespins to Clip Rings

Originally, I clipped the blackout curtains with clothespins until we purchased the first set of curtain rings I've ever used: Levolor Classic Clip Rings, Set of 7, Brushed Sienna, also from Amazon.com, which cost a total of $32 for 4 sets, the same price as the curtain rod and finial sets I purchased from Ross.  

This has put a defined dent in our living room furnishing budget, in the shape of $92 for our blackout curtains, or $124 if you include the cost of the rods.  I spent $124 to cover my windows with blackout fabric?  Ouch.  

Our living room furniture budget (costs rounded up to the next dollar):

• Purchased Papasan chair:  $223 Purchase
• Hand-painted floor cloth:  $40 Project
• 2 - 120" curtain rods:  $32 Purchase
• 2 - Small end tables: $5 Project
• 3 - Hanging Wood Lanterns: $25 Project
• Wooden Lantern Tree: $4 Project
• Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table:  $5 Project
• Reclaimed 1x6 Topped Media Console: $29 Project
• 2x4 and Jalousie Rear Console: $10 Project
• C End Table: $1 Project
• Hemless Blackout Curtains and clips:  $92 Purchase

$34 left for repairing and slipcovering those sofas...uh oh.

Although the price is not favorable for my budget, the blackout fabric is great because I learned I didn't need to hem it.  It doesn't fray at all.  I cut leftover pieces into a curvaceous bracket shape for my watercolor blackout shades, and the fabric has held the shape of the cut.

Living Room: $500 Furnishing Challenge

Furnishing a nearly empty room with $500

Remember the living room progress we've made?

In January 2013, I set a goal of furnishing our living room for $500, what was left of a $10,000 loan I took out in May 2012 to afford renovation materials for the bedrooms, our gutted bathroom, and our gutted kitchen (which took the bulk of the money).  We kept our electronics budget separate, thankfully, which includes the home theater, software, fans, air purifier, and various discs (CDs, DVDs, blu rays, Games). 

To honor my husband's 3-item dream home list, I knew I had to purchase a papasan chair first for the living room, which used nearly half our furniture budget.  We knew that if we wanted furniture, we needed to build our own.

It has been a 6 month furniture building journey, and I've loved every piece -- knowing we built and designed them, knowing building has saved us money, and knowing that we could custom create pieces we wanted. Using reclaimed wood, scrap pieces, and wood already in the garage, and using the same 3 paints for furniture and 1 container of stain has helped cut down costs, but also coordinate the looks in the living room.

We've kept a list of every piece of furniture we've purchased or made for our living room to help keep us on track with our $500 goal.

Our living room furniture budget (costs rounded up to the next dollar):

• Purchased Papasan chair:  $223 Purchase
• Hand-painted floor cloth:  $40 Project
• 2 - 120" curtain rods:  $32 Purchase
• 2 - Small end tables: $5 Project
• 3 - Hanging Wood Lanterns: $25 Project
• Wooden Lantern Tree: $4 Project
• Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table:  $5 Project
• Reclaimed 1x6 Topped Media Console: $29 Project
• 2x4 and Jalousie Rear Console: $10 Project
• C End Table: $1 Project

$126 left for repairing and slipcovering those sofas!  Then I can crunch numbers for a living room decor budget.  I have pillows to sew, plants to nurse, and second-hand decor for which to hunt.  =D  Admittedly, this is also the part for which I'll need the most help.  Here's to soon turning another new leaf, old living room.

Living Room: Fast Forward, Summer 2013

We have been creating our living room from a wanton base. After the renters moved and returned to claim their belongings, all we had in our living room were the modular sofas my parents purchased in the late 80's and a ceiling fan that stopped working a few months into renovating.  Although our space is not yet complete, it is functional and getting closer to where we would like to be.  :)

After starting the Prezi, press the right arrow key on your keypad to advance or click on the on-screen arrows. Click on a photo to go in any order you choose.  Go full screen by clicking on the expanding rectangle in the bottom right hand corner or set the timer to 10 seconds to auto-play the slideshow. =D
 

C End Table, Papasan's Helper

My summer will end in a few weeks, but I'm not returning to 10 hour days on campus.  I made a decision to favor time at home with my family and will halve the pay I bring home.  My principal graciously allowed me to be a half-time teacher this upcoming school year, a position without a homeroom, which meant that while I moved in to our upstairs home in April, I was moving out at work in May.  Our upstairs home.  It's amazing that I can say that now.  :)

Back in April, my husband made his first furniture request.  He asked for an end table that could tuck into his papasan chair.  Here's what we came up with, complete with my daughter lounging in the chair:

I originally had photos of each part of the building process, including a few changes we made to make the height just right, but those photos were deleted when I had to format my SD card.  :(

Until I learn how to make 3-D models, here's a brief written overview of how I built this table:

1. Using 2x2s and pocket hole screws, I built the bottom rectangle first.  
2. Then, I attached 2x2 pieces for the height of the table.  
3. Next, I attached two 1x6s together to make the table top.  
4. I attached the table top to the height pieces of the 2x2s.  
5. Finally, since the papasan chair base touches the floor, we attached 2x2 squares to act as feet.  I simply drilled screws up through the middle until it attached to the base.

This chair was built using reclaimed 2x2s from Re-Use Hawai'i, my newest go-to building material source.  The 2x2s had paint on them already, so painting it Napoleon, instead of staining it, worked out well both for my husband and for me. :)

Link Party @ Mocking Bird Hill Cottage

2x4 Rear Console Finishing and Glazing

See how I built the console

Our house is full of old jalousie windows; it is pretty standard where I live.  So spare jalousies are like a pest problem, because they are usually only imagined as glass louvers.  When they are no longer needed as louvers, they hang around in stacks in garages, like mine.  It struck me that our jalousies are sturdy, perhaps tempered, glass panes that could become a free glass accent for our rear console.

After two days of building, I worked over the period of 3 days to finish the console while making the bracelet display for Humble Ride Apparel.  This console marks the first time I had worked with glass and glazing compound, and now have our first mixed material furnishing: