DIY Painted Striped Curtains

If you’ve been wondering if I’d given up on my DIY life completely after a long break from home projects this summer, I have news– I’m back!  And since it’s been a really long time since I shared some DIY curtains here, I figured this was a good time to come back with something fun for windows.  I polled my friends on Instagram a few weeks ago about rather they prefer to buy or DIY when it comes to curtains and there were mixed reviews!  As for me, it depends on the situation, and in this case, I decided on DIY for cost reasons and for the fact that the ones I was considering were on backorder and I am too impatient! 

Remember the curtains I’ve had since the beginning in this room?…

I’ve been ready for a change for a while, but our dog also kinda made the decision for me when he decided to mark these as his own.  (It’s a sore subject.) But, I’m thrilled that I switched them up because I’m loving the new brighter, cleaner look!

I had found my inspiration curtains from Ballard Designs when shopping for a client, and I loved them so much, I decided our own dining room needed them!  But I have to say I’m thrilled with my DIY version even more!

The concept for this DIY is simple, but it does take a little time!  Rather than sew these from scratch, I decided to buy some plain curtains and start from there! I found a pair I liked at Home Goods, but this pair from Pottery Barn are currently on sale for a great deal and would be perfect as well…

I first hung the plain curtains to get the correct length and then did a quick hem.  

Then I got ready to paint the stripes! To get the stripes perfectly straight and evenly spaced, I needed a pattern.  So, I created one with some wrapping paper, which fortunately already had some striped lines!  

I first covered my table with a drop cloth, then I simply took a marker and drew the lines for the pattern right on the paper, spaced 7 inches apart.  You could also do this using brown kraft paper or plain white paper.

Then I just needed to lay each panel over the pattern so I could see the lines I needed to paint.  This step does take a little time and attention as you want to be sure to line up the panel on the pattern so that it’s perfectly straight.  So I recommend measuring and re-measuring just to be sure!

After that, it’s time to paint!  I just used acrylic paint in the color I wanted (Midnight Blue), and a small artist brush.  

After that, I just turned on the TV and started painting! I actually find it fun and relaxing to paint these simple stripes.  And I would paint some, go make lunch, paint some more, go run some errands, and so on until I finally got them all done! 

Once a section of stripes was painted, I waited until they were totally dry to move the pattern down the panel to be sure wet paint wouldn’t bleed onto the wrong parts.  Then it would have to be measured carefully again to be sure it was straight! Not hard, but just takes a little patience! 

After the stripes were totally done, I just hung them back up and I am loving them!!

It’s such a brighter look for this room! And since I have some other big plans coming for this room very soon, these panels are going to be a great fit for the big design plan as well! Who’s ready to try this idea?? So many ways to customize it and DIY it your own way!  

And if you’d like to shop this room, click on the pics below…