One of my favorite projects has always been to sew curtains. Knowing how to make your own curtains really increases your ability to decorate the house. After all, curtains are one of the most bright, noticeable, and decorative elements in interior design. What is so great about curtains, however, is that they are also one of the easiest things to make.
Making the right curtains for my bathroom decor, however, was a little bit harder than usual. Not that there is anything hard about making bathroom window curtains in themselves. They are every bit as easy to sew as normal curtains. You can even use no sew curtains to make things a little bit easier.
The problem with bathroom window curtains has to do with the typical design of a bathroom. Most bathrooms have small windows. Good bathroom window curtains have to both preserve privacy and maximize the amount of light. Ideally, a bathroom window curtain will also brighten up the design of the room. After all, most people are short on bathroom decorating ideas. Bathrooms tend to be such dull drab places that any swatch of color will be a welcome addition.
Most people use typical Venetian blinds for bathroom window curtains. These solve the problem of preserving privacy while letting in light admirably. You can even get airflow through the bathroom with Venetian blinds. The problem is that these bathroom window curtains do not add a splash of color. They are actually some of the most dull and boring curtains that exist. They get dusty and gray, and even at their newest they do not look very pretty. In short, they will do nothing to make your bathroom a more welcome or inviting place.
I designed my own bathroom window curtains. I stayed away from most of the traditional window curtain designs. Instead, I made my own unique design. The bathroom window curtains were actually made up of strips of fabric. They would hang down sort of like a beaded curtain. I made the bathroom window curtains out of a heavy fabric so that the wind would not disturb them overly much. There are gaps between them to let in light while preserving some privacy. In addition, you can open the bathroom window and let in air through the curtains. Really, the design works something like a sideways Venetian blind. The advantage is that it looks much better. I don't think my bathroom window curtains would work well on a large window, but they are great for a small one.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Designs Of Houses
When I told my friends that we were going to build our own house, they thought that was crazy. They assume that I was just being impulsive again – something that I definitely have a reputation for. Nevertheless, we did not come to a decision rashly. We had been contemplating designs of houses for a long time, and have concluded that we couldn't find one that really worked for us.
When we first began to look at blueprints of houses, we had no idea that we would build our own. We were just simply looking at designs of houses as a way to get ideas for what our ideal house would be. We knew about what size we wanted, we had some idea about the neighborhoods that we were interested in, but none of the house plans that we had seen had looked quite right. Part of it was that we lived in an old neighborhood, and many of the interiors of houses were a little bit too closed for us. We liked the more modern, open design.
It was more than that, however. As we talked about designs of houses more and more, we realized that we both had a very specific vision that we had worked out over years. We knew exactly what our house design should look like, and so there was no reason that we should buy one. Although we didn't have the money to contract with a builder to create the whole thing, we knew that with a little bit of help we could probably build it ourselves.
My wife has some background in drafting, and this helped us to make a design of a house. Of the two of us, she is definitely a planner and I am the hands on one. She comes up with the ideas, I come up with the best ways to implement them. It works for both of us, and with designs of houses the specialization of tasks was almost indispensable. Designing a house, you see, is an extremely, complicated process. Just coming up with a floor plan takes a lot of work, but coming up with the structural design is even more difficult. People are so afraid of construction of houses that they never even contemplate making their own designs, but I am here to tell you that you can do it. Our house is beautiful, and according to the building inspector, it is completely structurally sound.
When we first began to look at blueprints of houses, we had no idea that we would build our own. We were just simply looking at designs of houses as a way to get ideas for what our ideal house would be. We knew about what size we wanted, we had some idea about the neighborhoods that we were interested in, but none of the house plans that we had seen had looked quite right. Part of it was that we lived in an old neighborhood, and many of the interiors of houses were a little bit too closed for us. We liked the more modern, open design.
It was more than that, however. As we talked about designs of houses more and more, we realized that we both had a very specific vision that we had worked out over years. We knew exactly what our house design should look like, and so there was no reason that we should buy one. Although we didn't have the money to contract with a builder to create the whole thing, we knew that with a little bit of help we could probably build it ourselves.
My wife has some background in drafting, and this helped us to make a design of a house. Of the two of us, she is definitely a planner and I am the hands on one. She comes up with the ideas, I come up with the best ways to implement them. It works for both of us, and with designs of houses the specialization of tasks was almost indispensable. Designing a house, you see, is an extremely, complicated process. Just coming up with a floor plan takes a lot of work, but coming up with the structural design is even more difficult. People are so afraid of construction of houses that they never even contemplate making their own designs, but I am here to tell you that you can do it. Our house is beautiful, and according to the building inspector, it is completely structurally sound.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)