French Doors Window Treatment

After I got the french doors painted, I decided to, well, cover them up!  I know - you would think I would want to see my lovely painted doors all the time, right?

Sally photobombed the picture.  Can you spot her?  :)

I'm truly happy with how they came out, but ever since I bought the house, I have been debating on the window treatment for the french doors.  I was never in a big rush to get them done, though - I don't have any neighbors that live directly behind me, since there is a big sports park right behind my house.  So, over the last few years, here have been my ideas for window treatments:

1)  Bamboo blinds - I really love those.  However, all the windows weren't very wide and they would have to be custom ordered which means big buck$$.

2)  The old style curtain rods (I remember these from back when I was a kid).  But, I wasn't sure exactly how to attach it to my metal/steel doors & sidelites and if I changed my mind later, I'd have good sized holes left in the doors.

3)  Magnetic rods.  For quite awhile, I thought that this was the best idea because they could be easily installed and removed without damaging the doors & sidelites.  But, I wasn't sure how they would hold up to being opened and closed everyday.  Also, since there would be one rod per door, the curtains would obstruct a lot of the light since I wouldn't be able to push them completely out of they way of the windows.

4)  Install a single curtain rod over all the sidelites, french doors, and the side window.  I figured this might be the best & cheapest way to get them all covered up.  Also, when I pull back the curtains, it would still allow all of the light in.  The only issue was still how much it would cost exactly because of the width of both french doors, both sidelites, and the side window.

Now, it was time to research...I had looked online and at different stores for curtains and could never find a pair that were wide enough (they needed to cover at least 121 1/2 inches).  I would have to buy more than one pair and with everything being at least $20, this was going to add up.  I even considered using painter's drop cloths and sheets, but with the width I needed, it was still going to not be cheap.  I also looked into the hardware (curtain rods, finials, curtain rings) and everything was expensive and a lot of it wasn't my "style".  I didn't need or want anything really fancy looking.  So, after a lot of research, I hopped on the Ikea website to see what they had.  I had perused their window treatments at the store in the past, but I was only just browsing.  They didn't have much of a selection to choose from, but the prices were excellent.  So, I made a trip to Ikea and here is what I got:

Racka curtain rod x 1 @ $4.99 ea
Raffig finial x 1 pair @ $1.99 pair
Betydlig bracket x 3 @ $1.49 ea
Syrlig rings/hangers (set of 10) x 3 sets @ $2.99 set
Vivan curtains x 2 pair @ $9.99 pair

My grand total was $40.40 (+tax) which completely covers the set of french doors, the set of sidelites and a side window!  Not bad at all!

I installed the brackets with no problems.  It was pretty easy - the only thing is that they didn't come with screws, so you will need to make sure you have some on hand (I needed 2 screws per bracket).

Please don't mind the gross popcorn ceiling.  They will be gone one day - hopefully soon.

And then I put together all the rings with the clips on them.

I decided to install the curtain rod as close to the ceiling as possible to give height to the wall.  I also took down the blinds in that side window - they were cheap, aluminum blinds and I always left them up anyways.

Since I needed 2 pairs of curtains to cover the width of all the doors and windows, I ended up sewing each pair together - so 2 pairs ended up becoming 1 extra-wide pair.  They were also too long - I generally don't mind the "pooling" look, but since I would be opening & closing the curtains everyday AND since the curtains were covering a main entrance to the house, I decided to hem them so they just barely hit the floor. 

The curtains I bought were a bit see through (obviously), but they aren't completely mesh and still give me some privacy.  You definitely can see any sources of light through them though (the tv, the lamp), but anything else is mostly safe from prying eyes.

I love how they turned out and think they are nice touch to the wall.


Originally Posted by Adventures in DIY

Linked up to:

Creatively Living's Monday Funday

Love Grows Wild's Time To Sparkle

Home Stories A to Z Tutorials & Tips

Homework's Inspiration Board

The DIY Dreamer's From Dream to Reality

The NY Melrose Family's  & Smart School House's Whimsy Wednesdays

Lil Luna's Link Party

The 36th Avenue's Link Party

A Bowl Full of Lemons' One Project At A Time

Love of Family & Home's & Liz Marie Blog's Inspire Me

House of Hepworths' Hookin' Up With HOH

Live Laugh Rowe's Live Laugh Linky

Tatertots & Jello's Weekend Wrap Up

Too Much Time's Get Schooled Saturday

It's Overflowing's Share Your Creativity

Thrifty Decor Chick's Before & After