Unexpected Decor Part 2: Landscaping Burlap

I've been staring at these plane, yet very long windows, for a while.

I decided that I wanted to try to make a light weight  and inexpensive curtain to soften it up a bit.

After pinning a few photos of burlap curtains, I thought it might be a good option.

So where does one go for burlap curtain fabric??

Lowe's of course!

This roll of burlap is at Lowe's outside department with the other landscaping cloths....

$9.99 for 24 feet I believe.

It is not as tight of a weave as the fabric store burlap which was $5.99/yard at Hobby Lobby.

So, once again, I got out the hemming tape from Ikea and hemmed one end of each roll.

Make sure you use a thin cloth as a barrier when ironing or the glue from the hemming tape will get all over your iron.

I put the iron on cotton setting, fyi.

My husband hung up the Ikea curtain rod (which can become up to 152 inches)

which only cost $5-6!

I then added a pack of clip on curtain rings with hooks evenly on each panel.

Then we put them up on the curtain rod and allowed the burlap to stretch to the floor.

Then I simply cut it the length I wanted and left it a little frayed at the bottom, on purpose.  

I can hem it later if I don't like the look.

I noticed that it wasn't hanging well so I pleated the burlap and used twist ties

to hold it in 3 places (top, middle, bottom), like so.

I kept it pleated for about 36 hours before taking the twist ties out,

which seemed to help them lay better.

There you have it.

I love that it doesn't block light,

 is neutral in case I choose to change paint colors,

and was so inexpensive.

With the left over burlap, I made a runner for our ottoman.

I did this by cutting it to the size I wanted and tying a "ribbon" of extra burlap

around the bottom to dress it up.

I also had a large piece that I am using on the dining room table.

This is great because it is hard to find a runner for a large table,

and it hides the seams where the leaf of the table has been added.

The best part is that I feel good about the price.

If I decide to change it one day, I won't be crying over a huge investment that was wasted.

I bought and used 2 rolls of the burlap at $9.99 and still have some left over after

making four 102 inch panels and two table runners.

The Ikea curtain rod was around $6 and the ring/clips were about $2 per pack. 

So the next time you are at a home improvement store, check out their burlap and give it a try.

So, now what do you think?

Paint or leave it neutral??