Category Archives: Window Treatments

DIY Window Treatments, Step by Step

HometoCottage.com DIY window treatments in Breakfast Room

I made the window treatments in our Breakfast Room with just simple sewing techniques. The styles of window treatments I’m about to show you, are some of the easiest to DIY… it is just basically stitching a few rectangles.

Since I just found out the Waverly fabrics I used for these are 50% off through March 21, 2015, I wanted to get this out to you ASAP! (I have the links to all the fabrics and materials needed for this project listed towards the bottom of this post)

Here are some tips of my techniques and details about my style selection for these window treatments: Read the rest of this entry

Our House: Home Office/Library DIY Window Treatment

The home office at ‘Our House’ has recently had a makeover. I showed you what a difference the paint color can make, as well as moving a bit of furniture and changing up the accessories, today we’ll take a closer look at the window treatments I made for this room.

Because in my design business, I designed, sold fabric, trim and rodding and even sometimes constructed the window treatments myself, I would end up with click here to read the rest of the story…

Our House: Changes in the Library

The library in ‘Our House’ has changed a lot over the past 17 years that we’ve lived here. In fact, when it first started out, it was the dining room for the previous owners.

Here’s a little look at how it was and how it is now:

First, it was just a super plain box of a room… basically everything has changed inside the walls of the original room. click here to read the rest of the story…

Someone Else’s House: Vintage Bungalow Sun-Drenched 2nd Floor Office

Back to the craftsman style vintage bungalow… today I’m going to show you the transformation of the second floor office.

When this house was purchased late last year, the previous owners used this room as Click here to read the rest of the story…

Someone Else’s House… Antique Craftsman Style Home’s Dining Room ReDo

The dining room in this antique craftsman is now gorgeous!

This is the dining room that belongs to the young couple of the home which I’ve already shown you the Master Bedroom, the Anthropologie Styled Bathroom, the Creatively Numbered Stairway, with the Amazing Closet Transformation, the Amazing DIY Wall Pot Rack, the Living Room Fireplace, with Horse Inspired Details, and now here is the before and after of this now gorgeous dining room.

The dining room has through the decades click here to read the rest of the story…

Why a Roman Shade with Cafe Panels was the Right Choice

The other day I showed you the ‘Anthropologie’ inspired bathroom. In that room we made a roman shade with coordinating café panels.

By cleverly mounting the roman shade way above the actual top of the window trim, it instantly tricks the eye into believing the window is larger! (I am always amazed with that trick!) click here to read the rest of the story

Our House: Family Room Changes, Starting with Re-Doing Window Treatment

A little bit ago I shared with you, over several posts, how I had ‘lightened up’ the living room on our main level. Well, now it’s the lower level’s turn for some lightening up and neutralizing!

In case you missed it, I started with the hallway that leads to this family room by making this fun faux zinc lettered sign for it.

Now, moving into the family room, I’ll show you how the valance was…

Cute and colorful, but I’m ready for a little more neutral in my life…

For the past several years the family room has been very colorfully decorated with bright cottage colors, but as we’re preparing to sell our house, I’m trying to tone down anything that may appear a little too specialized and open it up for ‘the masses’. Ha!

Part of the family room walls are papered with a yellow background paisley print, it is a very nice paper, and I’m thinking that with everything else now being changed to mostly neutrals, that the wallpaper with just a tiny pop of color on the other side of the family room will be a fun accent.

This window treatment is one of the first changes to the family room, it’s an upholstered board valance above the 8’ sliding door that leads out to the screen porch and beyond to the patio, grill etc.

Here’s a before and after pic: click here to read the rest of the story

Window Treatments in the Master Bedroom, How I Accomplished Form and Function

All of the windows in ‘Our House’ are treated according to what the privacy and light control needs (function) are for each space, as well as treated for the aesthetic quality (form). In most cases it’s difficult to accomplish all those needs with only one treatment per window. Usually, I have a treatment for the privacy and light control, and a separate treatment for the ‘look’.

In the master bedroom, the Hunter Douglas plantation shutters on the windows are on read more…

Ever Thought About Dressing Up Your House with Shutters?

Timberlane Shutters

As I’ve been working on painting the exterior of ‘Our House’, it’s brought me to do some homework, because I am considering adding shutters to some of the windows on it, but if I do, I’ve seen plenty of beautiful shutters on houses in towns we’ve been to in Maine and the East Coast to know that most of the ones I’ve seen around here in the Midwest are not properly installed… and unfortunately can look rather awkward. READ ON…

Someone Else’s House… Kitchen Valance Window Treatment

I’ve been able to share with you some of my friend’s beautiful home,

like her sun-filled sunroom that started with a very unique sofa for the inspirational piece, her entry with the great DIY painted wood floors, her dining room with the mixed seating at her wonderful old plank topped harvest table, and the repurposed window treatments from the living room at ‘Our House’ to her office windows…

there are many more wonderful things to share from her gorgeous home…

Here’s a peek into the kitchen, by way of the window treatments I made for her. READ ON…