20 January 2011

happy window

We have a long wish list for our bathroom. And though I dream of hexagon tile and retro light fixtures and claw-foot tubs, renovations are likely many years away. But one small cosmetic update is making me very happy right now: a fabric-covered window.

One of the best features of our house is the windows. They're all original to the house, so they're nearing 100 years old. They're beautiful. A few years ago, the previous owner of the house installed wooden blinds on the interior of every single window. I have a love/hate relationship with these blinds. They look nice. They're easy to use. I'm sure they weren't cheap. BUT, they cover up the windows! Especially the top, which is the best part. The blinds get dusty and they just seem so heavy visually.

So I am slowly liberating my windows. For the bathroom window, I applied starched fabric directly to the glass. I've seen this method floating around the blogs, and Melissa has a nice explanation of how she did it. It's surprisingly easy. I just used a can of heavy spray starch and cut the fabric carefully to fit.

The fabric is a very cheap swiss dot cotton that I bought for about $4 at Joann's. The dot pattern is subtle but provides just enough interest.

And the best part is that the window lets in so much more light now! Our bathroom is no longer dark and gloomy, it's filled with the most lovely diffused sunlight.

Matt laughed because I insisted on cutting tiny pieces of fabric to fit in the triangular spaces at the top of the window. But how could I resist?

3 comments:

Jennie said...

cool!! nice choice of fabric. i would not have thought of doing this -- is it hard to get the fabric off again later?

julieree said...

cherie! Nope, the fabric peels right off. It does leave some starch residue on the glass, but that comes off easily with windex and a little elbow grease. :)

Passionate Blogger said...

Very impressive work and you make it sound so easy - but I'm not deceived.... It's very elegant.