Installing and Hemming Ikea Curtains


Last week I welcomed you to our new home. I also left you with some very scary pictures of our place looking a bit crazy and cluttered with boxes.

Good news: We’ve been working on getting those boxes unpacked and outta here.

Better news: That means I can work on decorating our new home. #finally

This is our new home!  Time to decorate!

Here is our current family room situation. Not finished in any way, but looking pretty dang good for just moving in (if I do say so myself!)

But you see those big windows to the right? Well they were just begging for some curtains. Begging I tell ya. ย So I ignored my mile long moving-in to-do list, and decided to drop everything and get those babies some curtains.

Then I looked at the windows a little more closelyโ€ฆ

These deep windows in our new home were begging to get some curtains.

โ€ฆand thought, “where does the curtain rod go?” Good question.

Normal curtain rods would not work for this project.

See, normal curtain brackets and rods look like this. You attach above the windows or to the sides of the windows and rest the rod in the lip on the bracket. But my windows are deep set, so I didn’t really have that option.

With deep windows, I decided to attach the curtain rod to the ceiling.

That’s when I came up with the crazy idea to attach the curtain rod to the ceiling instead. As long as I could find the right brackets that would encircle the rod on each endโ€ฆI could make this work.

Enter a trip to Ikea. Yes, I do love that store and their products. No, I do not like leaving 3 hours (3!) later with $500 out of my pocket. (Everything they sell is so tempting, and I couldn’t resist. Plus we did need a to buy a few big purchasesโ€ฆI swear!)

I purchased a pair of RITVA curtains 57×118 in all white. I threw those babies in the washing machine, then the dryer, and finally I ironed them. Note: They will lose about 4-6 inches of length when you do this. When those were done, Finn and I got to work on installing the brackets and rod.

Here are the supplies for installing and hemming IKEA curtains.
Installing curtain brackets was easy with a few simple steps.
Step 1: We used our electric drill and drill bit to create 2 holes in the ceiling. We then inserted 2 wall anchors, so the screws would have something to grab onto.
Step 2: We then screwed the bracket onto the ceiling.
Step 3: We followed Ikea’s instructions, and installed the circular piece that would hold the curtain rod.
We repeated this both in the center of the windows and on the other side, until all 3 brackets were hung and sturdy. Then we simply put the curtain rod through and hung our curtains.
Boom, done! Oh waitโ€ฆ
The curtains are way too long and need to be hemmed.
The curtains were a bitย wayย too long. ย Back to the store in search of some no-sew hemming tape.
No-sew hemming tape to the rescue for fixing our long curtains.
I found this little roll at Target near the sewing supplies.
Hem your curtains using no-sew tape.
I simple followed the directions on the back of the box and got to work.
Rookie Tip: Fold the bottom part of your curtains up and use pins to secure. That way your line at the bottom will stay straight and secure.
Iron the tape both horizontally and vertically for amazing results.
Rookie Tip: I used the sewing tape across (horizontally) and also on the sides (vertically) to keep the seam looking smooth. Seems like it is worth the extra work to me.
It took me about 30 minutes to get those babies hemmed, so they were up and hanging in no time at all.
These hemmed curtains look gorgeous in the deep windows!
These flowy white curtains finish up the room so nicely.
As a girl who has never hung curtains, I’m totally loving them (and feeling really domestic.) I like the flowy white fabric and I feel like it really finishes the room.
 IKEA curtains installed like a boss!
To paint or not to paint?  That is the question!
But, I am thinking about jazzing them up just a tad. Maybe with a DIY paint project? I’m envisioning a light blue pattern painted on at the bottom.

Casey

What do you think? Keep them plain & whiteโ€ฆor add some detailing??

The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.