2024 is going to be the year of refresh in our house. I’m hoping. But probably not, since it is November. I did get a few things done earlier in the year, though, so I’m going to get those posted.
I have all sorts of plans on my Todoist list for things I want to get done, in both sewing and home decor. Mostly home decor. A lot has been neglected since we were busy running with the kids, but that is okay. Priorities change over time.
First up was refreshing the library curtains. This involved taking off the side curtain holders as they were falling off the wall, and having to spackle and repaint the big holes. That is hard when you have a custom paint job, so hopefully the new paint blends in well enough. I was not going to repaint it. This room took 3 days and many layers.
The curtains then needed to be replaced as the old ones were sun bleached. I decided to just buy the long velvet side curtains and sheers off Amazon. It is not worth my time to make them, since the fabric would be as much or more than the finished curtains. I ordered these velvet curtains on Amazon and these tassels. The sheers were just from Zulily (which has since shut down), but they are just basic tan-colored sheers that were extra-long. I wanted that flow onto the floor, so purchased them longer. I did a command hook for the tassels, since I didn’t want to make holes in the wall again. Super classy, but they are mostly hidden by the curtains.
I did make the valances.
The valances suffered from my non-attention to details this past year. I had to make a lot of adjustments to how they initially went together, and then they were not wide enough for the extra width on our curtain rods. I had to make 4 small panels to go along the side to make them fit. They do look pretty. I didn’t have to buy any fabric for these, and just used what I had in my stash. I did 3 pieces with the two sides overlaying the middle half circle, but then the overlay did not cover the length I had for the decorative trim (again, just using what I had in my stash). I decided to bring up the sides and do an origami overlay where I was just placing the fabric every which way to get it to cover. Then I had to match that overlay on the next 3 pieces. It took a bit of time, but I really do like how the valances ended up looking.
Our library is very fun and unique, so wanted to keep that old school library vibe. The heavy curtains help with that feel.
I made new pillow covers for the bolster pillows I have on the chairs. I need them for my lower back during long reading sessions, and the covers were starting to look pretty worn out on the old ones. I had purchased this design in velvet, and of course the colors were off from what they should have been (brown vs. olive green). Velvet always prints super off. It matches well enough to the library, so I updated them with a fluffy fleece on the opposite side.
We have a violin that has been sitting in its case for many years, so I also decided to put it up on the wall. I’m sure it’s not good for the bow to get dried out, but oh well. If I have to re-string it or get a new one eventually, it is what it is. It wasn’t cheap and it is a pretty violin. I got the holder on Amazon here. It actually came with 2, so maybe I’ll put up the cheap guitar I got the kids. Not sure yet.
After Christmas, the whole thing was a bit of a mess. The tree is in the room, and the cats love sitting under the tree. So. much. cat. hair. After putting Christmas away, getting the books in a better order and updating everything, here are the full room pictures of our little book haven.
