DIY Curtains with a Metallic Twist

1. Use Metallic Paint to Create a Pattern (Copper Painted Curtain)

The first pair of curtains I created was kind of a happy accident 🙂 I started out with the idea to create a geometric design on the curtain panel with a Bronze Sharpie. When I drew the first lines of my pattern, all the metallic color soaked into the fabric and it just looked like an ugly brown. So I went to plan B… my Copper craft paint!

For metallic paint, I prefer Martha Stewart acrylic craft paint, and this shade is Rose Copper. To prep the curtains before any of my embellishments, I ironed them to get a nice smooth surface. I laid each panel down on top of a plastic tablecloth before I started to paint. To get my initial lines, I marked off the horizontal lines every 14 inches down the length of the panel. Then I used a yardstick to connect the dots and make a nice straight line. (I used a Sharpie for this, but I would recommend a pencil so you won’t see the lines after you paint.)  Once all of the horizontal lines were drawn on, I painted over them with the copper paint. I wanted the brush strokes to look kind of messy and hand-painted:

Then I just filled in my triangle pattern, totally free-handing it. It was much faster because I didn’t have to measure anything, and it adds to the look I was going for. I love the final result!

2. Use a Fabric Paint Marker and Stencil (Silver Hexagon Curtain)

For this curtain, I wanted a cleaner design. I used a 12″ hexagon shape, and traced around it one at a time to create this geometric pattern. For my template, I used a wooden hexagon like these, but you could definitely cut the same shape out of cardboard and trace around it. I used a Fabric Paint marker in Silver, you can find these at any craft store. This was the easiest and quickest of the 3 curtains I made and I am thrilled with how it turned out!

3. Use Heat Transfer Vinyl to create a simple pattern with repeating shapes (Gold Triangle Curtain)

I think this last one might be my favorite! I used the VIVAN curtains from IKEA, which are only $9.99 a pair. This is the perfect way to experiment with a design that might be a little out of your comfort zone, or on the trendy side, because you won’t feel bad if you get sick of them in 6 months and need to replace them. Including the vinyl, I spent less than $18 for this pair of gold triangle curtains!

I cut my triangles with a Silhouette, but they would be really easy to cut by hand too. I fit 40 triangles on a 12×12 sheet of gold heat transfer vinyl, and that completed one entire panel. I always get my vinyl from Expressions Vinyl… their quality and service is truly the best around!

Once all of the triangles were cut, I laid out my curtain on the floor, plugged in my iron and went to work! I started in the middle of the curtain at the top, and adhered the first triangle. Then I added one on each side to complete that “row” of the pattern. I alternated in the next row, and placed 2 triangles in between the 3 above it. I just eyeballed it, didn’t measure anything as I went.

On a few of the triangles, I added a second one to the pattern to make a cool double-triangle arrow thingy 🙂 I really like how this one turned out!

You guys will have to let me know if you try any of these curtains out at home. And now, I have one more very exciting bit of news! I am sharing my first post at Tatertots and Jello today as a new Home Decor Contributor!! Jen has always been the biggest support and inspiration to us, from the very beginning of our blog. We are so honored to have this opportunity. I hope you guys will give me some love over there and check out how I made this Wood Shim Dresser: