This past week I made these patio curtains out of cheap paint drop cloths:
Since I don't live out in the country :( privacy is an issue in my back yard. See the neighbor's house just beyond mine? Those people are super nice. But, they LIVE outside! Summer, Winter, Spring and Fall, they're outside. I go out back to let the chickens out of the coop at around 7:00 a.m. and the neighbors are out there. I go out in the afternoon to give the chickens a snack and check on the garden...they're out there. I go out in the evening to put the chickens back in the coop...they're out there. I think you're getting the picture?
As I said, they're very nice people. But, when they're standing at their back door, they're looking directly into my yard and onto my patio. Sometimes I just want to be able to go outside in the early morning with my hair sticking out all crazy and not have to see anyone. These curtains have given us a bit of added privacy. Well, at least on the porch.
I had seen these curtains on Pinterest and it seemed like an inexpensive way to solve my problem. I did this project on the cheap. So along with the painter's drop clothes, I used wooden replacement broom handles for the rods. At $7.00 each, they were the cheapest option I could find at Home Depot. I think they look great!
You can see how I attached the wooden rods here:
I used those metal brackets that come in different sizes. I had to push them out a bit from the wall with those additional small pieces of scrap wood (see them? behind the brackets?). Otherwise the curtain rings wouldn't slide to open or close because they would have been right up against the wood. Like I said...I went cheap here, so I just made it work.
I simply hung the drop cloths with clip-on curtain rings from Walmart. I slid them onto the broom handles, then attached the broom handles (with the curtains hanging on them) to the wall with screws. Once they were hanging, I got my trusty scissors and cut the bottom of each curtain to the length that I wanted. I didn't bother to hem and no one has noticed.
For the tie-backs I used pieces of the scrap drop cloth that I had cut from the bottom. I folded the edges over and used my hot glue gun to secure the seams (no sewing thank you very much!). Then, I marked off a stripe with masking tape and painted it black. I attached some velcro to the ends, staple gunned it to the wall and post. And viola! Curtains. When I want to close them, I just undo the velcro on the tie-backs and slide them closed. And, the whole project took about an hour and a half. Love them!
Happy Day!
Tracy
