Nautical Curtains

Reposted from former blog, Just Add Sparkles.


Remember those nautical coasters we made? Well those are just one piece to my nautical themed living room.

When it came to decorating I decided that of course I NEEDED blue and white thick-striped curtains. But apparently the world doesn't just supply those exact curtains for those of us that NEED them. It's just rude.

So I just had to make do. (By the way I did try and find the blue and white striped fabric to just sew my own curtains but I couldn't find any stripes that were thick enough.)

I stumbled across some images on Pinterest saying that you could just paint stripes onto the curtains, so I of course thought, "well I can do that!"

So here we go.

I bought my curtains at Ikea, they had the texture I was looking for at the best price. Score! Below shows you the exact kind I bought. They come with 2 curtains in the package for $25.

So the first thing you need to do is measure and tape off the stripes. Welcome to your worst nightmare.

Okay, so it's not that bad but when you have four curtains to do, it really stinks. Oh, maybe before I start I should worn you that this project IS. NOT. FUN. But you'll just have to evaluate how much you want thick-striped curtains. Or hire little minions to work for you.

You have been warned.

• • •

Welcome all you brave ones who have decided to stick around, let's do this!

I measured each stripe to be 7 inches wide and it fit perfectly on these Ikea curtains.

Oh and just a quick tip with taping. Make sure you tape off the WHOLE stripe you intend to be white. I thought I could be careful enough and not drip. I was wrong.

Once you've tapped and laid down some kind of floor covering start painting!

I used Olympia Blue Tang for my paint. I used a roller to start my base layer of paint and then took a small paint brush to fill in whatever the roller didn't get. Now this fabric just soaks up paint, so it takes a bit of paint and effort to fill in the stripe. For two curtains I used about a full quart of paint and had to buy another quart for the second set of curtains. So it might be cheaper to get a gallon of it. I know - it's a lot.


This project took me four days to complete. I would work on one curtain each day after work and leave it there to dry overnight. Then just rinse and repeat for each curtain. (Okay I never rinsed anything I just wanted to use that saying.)

And wha-la! They were done.

Although I talked about how "un-fun" this project was, I'm not trying to deter anyone who might want to tackle it. I just want everyone to know realistically that it takes a long time. Maybe I'm just a baby - but I didn't expect the painting portion to take as long as it did. That being said, enlist a friend or family member to help and I'm sure it will be done a lot quicker.

Or like I said, find some minions.