DIY Curtain Closet

February 21, 2011

Living in an older home has its benefits. The moulding is to die for. The windows are enormous. The exterior is dollhouse charming, but the closets.....oh, the closets leave so much more to be desired. Brian has been using the bedroom sofa as his closet. Not only is it sad but it's messy and I knew we had to find a better arrangement to suit his suits;) I always planned on buying another IKEA aneboda wardrobe off Craigslist to match the other one (which I still would like to eventually do) but we'll have to drive out to either Philly or Baltimore to pick it up and I want to wait until I have more than one reason to travel out there.

For now I came up with this very inexpensive way to make a closet when you don't have built ins or enough money to purchase armoires. Honestly, I never liked the way curtains over closets looked. Whenever I saw them resort to curtain closets on "Design on a Dime" I cringed. They looked sloppy and almost worse than nothing at all. So instead of simply hanging curtains from curtain rods I made custom panels to lye flat and give the curtains a more decorative polished look.
The key to keeping this project cheap is uing materials you already have.

Materials:
1. Rod to hang panels- I used leftover bamboo I cut down a few summers ago and painted it with black spray paint I had on hand but any long piece of wood will do.
2. Two pairs of rod holders (sockets) for panels and closet rods. I had some two of these left over from another project which I never finished but if you don't have these they are only about $1.25 at your local hardware store.
3. Closet Rod. I bought mine for $5 at the Home Depot.
4. Fabric. I used leftover scraps and framed it with solid colored matching material at the top and bottom.

Since I used mostly materials in my home, in total I only paid $10 to make both curtain closets. Pretty slick.


First I made the curtain panels. To do this I measured the space between my IKEA closet and the walls. I then took that number and divided in two to get the width measurements of each panel. (Don't forget to add 2 inches on either side of each panel for hems). For the length I measured from the top of the IKEA closet to the floor. I used two yards of fabric for the decorative middle and subtracted that length from the length of the IKEA closet and used that measurement to cut the dark blue fabric for the top and bottom of the panels. (Don't forget to add 1" at the bottom for hems, .5" at the seams, and finally 5" at the top for folding over and making a casing.

After I cut my fabric I sewed the pieces together, hemmed the raw edges then folded over the top by 5" to make a casing for the bamboo rod. I made four of these.

I then screwed my rod sockets into the top corner of the IKEA wardrobe and the wall, hung my panels from the bamboo and placed bamboo into rod sockets.

Finally I screwed two more rod sockets into the IKEA wardrobe and wall inside the closet at eye level and placed closet rod into the rod sockets.

Done!

8 {comments}:

Miss Tami Lee said... Best Blogger Tips

What a great idea! I too live in a great old house with teeny closets, it's so annoying!

Kayla Moncur said... Best Blogger Tips

Great idea! I have a decent sized closet in my room but my poor boys have next to no storage space. I might have to try this.

Kayla
Freckles in April | a modest clothing blog

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

Very nice! Our home was built in '52... not a walk in closet to be found. Our closets are more like linen closets. This is a great idea.

Tennjenny said... Best Blogger Tips

These are FABULOUS. But if you have a Craigslist, check it for IKEA and people going to IKEA. Our nearest one is 4 hours away, but there's a guy on CL who makes regular trips and brings stuff back for a nominal charge.

Miss80Million said... Best Blogger Tips

OOh! These are simply beautiful! what a creative solution!

On a separate note:
I know your blog keeps you very busy. And as a new follower, I appreciate the time you put into it.

I just wanted to let you know that I am passing along a award to you that I recently received: The Stylish Blogger Award! ~whoot whoot~!!!

I'd love if you checked out my blogpost where I passed the award on to you:
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Thanks again for creating such a great blog!
~Miss80Million

Laura said... Best Blogger Tips

Nice job on the curtains! I think I'm in love with the polk-dot shirt hanging up in there!

EdgyK said... Best Blogger Tips

awesome!!!!!

KT Nielsen said... Best Blogger Tips

This article grabbed my attention. Is that a Forever 21 dress?

 
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