Dirt Cheap Drapes

The search for dining room curtains has become downright exhausting.  Everything I seemed to like was ridiculously priced.  Like these puppies that would have set me back $200:

I have a lot of windows in my house so that is not a habit I need to start now.  I kept searching and searching, all the while getting really annoyed with the old curtains that were hanging on the window and the fact that it was holding up any other projects in this room.

This past Sunday I decided to see if IKEA had any solution for me, even it it was just temporary.  Boy did they!  They had some grey panels that I figured would be fine for now.  I thought they were $9.99 a panel but they turned out to be $9.99 for a set!  At that price I got all fancy and grabbed white ones as well.

After ironing the panels I slide them up on my rod.  I actually love the way they blend in with the wall!  In person they are basically the same color.

They allow the rug to stand out more and grab all the attention...which is good since the rug was not $9.99 and needs to earn all the attention it can.  Once the table and chairs are painted black it is really going to look nice and then I'll be able to focus on bringing in more pops of colors.

The other great thing about IKEA panels, aside from price, is that they are always super long.  Usually you have to pay more for longer panels.  As you can see I still need to hem mine, but that will be a piece of cake!  For now I'm just celebrating the retirement of the gold silk panels, may they rest in peace.