White Farmhouse Style Curtains

Come and knock at our dooooooor,

We've been waiting for yooooooouuu...

Thank you Three's Company. Do you still have people come knocking at your door? I miss that. I miss having random friends or family just showing up out of the blue to visit. Has that been lost? Maybe it's because we live out in the boondocks and it's too far to drive? Or maybe because I have seven kids that people are afraid to show up unexpectedly? I'll be honest, if someone did show up, there will be toys on the floor, markers and coloring books on the table, crumbs on the counter, pillow strewn all over, and laundry baskets piled up somewhere. They can look past that right?

I love having company! I love just being with people. It doesn't matter if everything is perfect or not. I love the cooking and the eating and all the happy memories we make! I do a lot of entertaining through the year but after New Year's Day I take sort of a rest time. I never did it intentionally it just sort of happened. Then my kids started asking about why we haven't had any people over lately and I noticed that I don't really do any major entertaining January through about March. I'm just not in the mood. Is anyone else like that? It's nice to have a break for a little while.

Plus I like to do some refreshing around here and feather my nest. After Christmas is all put away and things have rested for a while, I always get this burst of energy and this eagerness to make things pretty for spring and summer. Spring is in less than two weeks!! I have all kinds of projects swirling around in my head including a bathroom refresh, a rocking chair to reupholster, porch ideas, decorations to make, and of course a garden to create! My poor husband!

One project we just tackled was some new curtains for the sunroom. Our sunroom is probably the most loved room in our home. We spend a lot of time in there. We do most of our school in there and hang out in there a lot! I love the light that pours through the windows but, sometimes, it can be a little too much sunshine, especially in the summer. I wanted to add some curtains, but nothing that would be too heavy or block too much light. Just something that would filter it a little bit.

So we came up with some farmhouse/shabby-chic kind of curtains. They are just perfect! I bought 2 sheer panels per window and then I sewed them together. Well, I'm sewing them together, since I've only got 3 windows done so far. Also, I didn't want a traditional rod to hang them on so we came up with the board idea after searching around on the internet for inspiration. I just bought some whiteboard from Lowe's and my husband cut them all to the right length. I stained them a weathered wood kind of look. After I sealed them, I rubbed some vaseline on the areas where I didn't want the paint to stick and painted each board with white chalk paint. After they were dry I sanded the boards a little bit and rubbed off the areas where the vaseline was. Then my loving husband painstakingly hung 72 perfectly aligned and spaced hooks on the boards. He sure loves me! And, after all, this was my Valentine's present! :)

The curtains have already helped a lot! Here is a shot before we hung the curtains and then after. Which do you prefer? I resisted adding curtains for the last few years but I finally decided to do it. I think the curtains add a lot of softness.

When I was out shopping at Hobby Lobby, I found these curtain tie-backs and we've been adding them to the windows as I get the panels sewed. They're so pretty!

This is probably my favorite spot in the whole house. This is where we laugh and talk and hang out together. (Obviously, there are usually far less pillows!) I read the other day that the prettiest homes are the happiest. It made my blood boil a little bit and I disagree with that statement. A perfectly styled home, doesn't make it happy. I think so many people are searching after perfection for their homes that they miss the good stuff. We are not meant to serve our homes, our homes are meant to serve us. And choosing to walk with a heart of contentment with the imperfections helps sweeten the atmosphere and those around us feel the grace.

I like making my home beautiful, but that is for the enjoyment of my family and others who enter in, not for the sake of beauty alone. Decorating is the FUN part, but it's not the SWEET part. My good friend always says, "Pretty is as pretty does". And that's true for people as well as homes. This is a pretty spot because this is where relationships are built. This is where we grow stronger and closer together. This is where a family is a family, with a couch bought off craigslist, with $10 curtain panels, with stuff that has been pieced together, that will all fade away and go out of style, or get broken, or whatever. But memories were made here, babies were snuggled here, hearts were shared, laughter was heard, and each helped encourage and strengthen people and that will last forever!

Anyway, to show you how far we've come with this room, here is a picture when we first viewed the house 4 years ago! Eek! Little bit by little bit we make a house a home. Home wasn't built in a day! :

I hope you enjoyed the new updates in the sunroom! Let me know what you think of the farmhouse curtains! The best part is they blow in the breeze!! (Squeal!)I love that!!!!