Decorating My MBR - Part II - Treats Are Up!

No more blah and boring windows in the master bedroom - the window treatments are completed and installed!  Yea!  

Remember this picture of my blah, boring, messy sitting area from Part I?

Well...here is that window now.

Right now it looks pretty plain, but a round table with a custom tablecloth and chairs will be added in front of this window.

Here are the treats on each side of the bed.  (Ignore the power cords.  They will be dealt with!)  I'm giving you a sneak peek at the new lamps too.
  I'll reveal both of the windows on either side of the bed in one photo once the bed linens have been completed.

Left side of the bed

 Right side of the bed

Here's a close-up of the "skirt"

In Part I, I promised that I would show you how to reduce the cost of your drapery hardware.  Here is the big secret! 

This started out as a 10' long x 2" diameter piece of pvc pipe that I cut into 24" long pieces (that's how long I wanted each one of my drapery "rods" to be).  I purchased the pvc pipe for $6.78 at Lowes.  A wooden, 2" diameter x 8' long, "real" drapery rod would have run $25 or more.

 The finials are attached to the pvc pipe using a type of pvc coupling that fits inside the pvc pipe.

 
This piece allows you to screw the finial into the end of the pvc drapery rod.  If you are unable to locate these pieces, you can simply glue (someone from Lowes or Home Depot should be able to tell you if you have to use a glue made especially for use on pvc products) the finials to the end of the pipe.  I ordered mine from Rowley Company which is a supplier of drapery and upholstery fabrication products. (If you have a business, you can order from them too.  You don't have to have a tax ID.)  Here's what it looks like with the couplings inserted and secured with a small screw (to keep them from falling out or twisting around).

 

(that white thingy on my hand is a sliver of pvc made when drilling a hole)

I've only used pvc pipe for rod pocket draperies, but I suppose you could spray paint them if your drapery rod is going to be exposed (like draperies that hang from rings or tabs). 

I chose to mount these with "L" brackets instead of purchasing real drapery brackets.  Real drapery brackets would have run $11/pair or more - I needed four pairs.

I won't bore you with detailed mounting instructions (but please don't hesitate to email me if you would like any additional information).  I simply measured where and how high the draperies needed to be, attached the L brackets to the wall, inserted the pvc pipe through the rod pocket, attached the L bracket to the pvc pipe and then screwed a finial onto the coupling at each end of the bracket.  We won't talk about how I had to redo the brackets on each side of the bed, patch a hole and touch up the paint...ugh.

I decided not to make this a post about the details of how the window treatments were made, but again, please email me if you'd like to know anything.  I'm more than happy to share!

And just in case this post isn't long enough, here's one more picture of the installed draperies.

Part III will be pillow shams and maybe decorative pillows (depending on how much I can accomplish by then!).

Happy decorating!

I'm linking up to these fine parties!

Between Naps on the Porch

Addicted 2 Decorating

Funky Junk Interiors
Sew Many Ways 

***Update***

I'm entering my window treatments in the CSI Sewing Challenge!