The Look for Less - Two Story Drapes

When we built our house, one of my favorite rooms (on paper) was the two-story living room. Big open ceiling, lots of natural light, space for a beautiful over-sized chandelier and just the right amount of wow factor for our entrance. Nine months later, the blue prints became reality, and suddenly it all sunk in...

How will I decorate these huge walls? 

Where will I find 18 ft drapes? 

Who in the hell is cleaning those second story windows?

The answers were really quite simple:

How will I decorate these huge walls? 

I will sift through every Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware magazine, find pieces I love, cringe over the price, and find a way to DIY that bitch.

Where will I find 18 ft drapes? 

I won't. Especially not ones I like. Custom quotes coming in at $600-$900+ per panel! Ouch! Add it to the DIY list!

Who in the hell is cleaning those second story windows?

No one. Ever. Seriously. 

Though I am am admitted RH, Pottery Barn, West Elm junky... my bank account is not, so I spend a lot of time trying to figure out ways to get the look for less. My living room drapes were one of my best steals yet.

After receiving custom drape quotes that were going to have me about $4,000 out of pocket, I decided to go a different route. I took a trip to Hobby Lobby looking for random shelf tchotchkes and ended up strolling down their fabric aisles. I stopped when I came across the perfect linen blend roll in a soft beige/yellow with very thin brown striping. It's as if the exact panel I had been searching for jumped from my brain straight onto their rack. I absolutely loved it, and knew I'd be walking out of the store with practically the entire roll. There was only one problem...I can't sew for shit (beyond a simple button falling off a shirt). 

At an unbelievable price of $15.99 per yard, with a 40% coupon in hand, my get-er-done attitude kicked into gear and I purchased 12 yards. Now what? That's where Craigslist comes into play. I posted an ad looking for a seamstress to take on the project and requested bids from those interested. For a skilled seamstress, this project was fairly simple.

Sure enough, within a week I had worked out an agreement with a woman who does wedding alterations by trade, to create my two story drapes at $50 per panel with a one week turnaround. 

Quoted custom linen drape price:
$600-$900 per panel + shipping (Roughly $4,000)

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My DIY linen drape price:
$115 in fabric + $200 in labor = $315 total (holllerrrrrr!)

Other additional costs included an 18ft ladder rental from home depot for install and 4 drapery rods 

(additional $150) 

Here are the specs of the project:

Linen striped fabric from Hobby Lobby (12 Yards Long x 56" Wide)

(I preferred a relatively flat & thin panel, so the width was perfect to cut directly in half!)

Final dimensions of each panel: 211" L x 28" W

No lining (to allow light through)

Simple finished hem

Loop tabs at top

My hubby (who clearly has no fear of heights) rented an 18ft fireman's ladder to install these babies. 

Was terrifying, but we (he) did it!

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Here is the finished product:

(don't mind my chandelier appearing yellow in the daylight -- always comes out weird in pics!)

Other items featured here:

Restoration Hardware DIY Vintage World Map Wall Art (see my previous post)

Ballard Designs Olivia Mirrored Side Table x 3

Select Blinds Premium Faux Wood Plantation Shutters in white

Walker Edison 52" Corner TV Stand with louvered doors in white (fit 55" TV perfectly)

Pottery Barn Scroll Tile Rug in Porcelain Blue

Over-sized Accent Chair (similar)

Martha Stewart Saybridge Leather Storage Cocktail Ottoman

Accessories from HomeGoods, Hobby Lobby & Etsy!