The things that get the most attention at my house on Halloween are my drapes. I actually take down my year-round, ho-hum, match-my-decor drapes and put up new ones for Halloween. Want to see them? They are gorgeous. In that shabby chic, not-lived-in sort of way.
I have them in my dining room and living room. I think the reason people are so taken with them is that they are amazed I would go to so much trouble: the making them, the taking down my regular curtains, the hanging the Halloween ones, the switching back after the holiday.
Here’s a little secret: It’s no big deal. I’m telling you. Of all the stuff I do for Halloween? This is the least time consuming. I made the curtains in an afternoon before a party. It takes 10 minutes to take down the regular curtains and hang the Halloween ones. You can totally do this and it will transform your house.
- Measure how long you want your drapes to be. (I wanted mine to double over the rod so I wouldn’t have to sew anything and I wanted them to puddle on the ground.)
- Go to your local fabric or craft store and buy however much gauze you measured for.
- Come home and cut into strips for each window.
- Brew some very strong coffee. Put the coffee in a spray bottle.
- Hang the gauze or lay it on a tarp in the garage or outside (I used a vinyl tablecloth in the garage).
- Spray the gauze with the coffee. It doesn’t need to be uniform. You’re just making it look weathered.
- Let it dry for a few hours. (I stuck mine in the dryer because I was in a hurry to get it done for a party that night. It worked fine.)
- Hang the gauze by doubling it over your existing curtain rod. A twist would be to take down the curtain rod and replace it with a dowel or a board.
- Take some scissors and stab and drag so you make a hole. You can cut the gauze, but I found the stab/drag method made them a little less uniform. Don’t drag too much, though, or you’ll rip down the curtains (and, no, that didn’t happen to me but it could have).
You, too, will have a haunted-looking house! How fun! The next thing I want to do for my living room is to coffee-stain (or tea-stain) some muslin my mom gave me and drape it over the furniture. I think that will really give it the atmosphere I’m going for.
This post was originally published on October 10, 2006.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Like your ideas for Halloween party decoration, they are superb.
OOOOOH! So scary and cool!
They DO make a statement!
That alone is enough to make everything else look creepy.
I like to decorate for most holidays but Halloween IS the most fun, isn’t it?
Like your ideas for Halloween decoration.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your Halloween drapes! TOO creepy! Happy Halloween!