PVC Pipes in the Bay Window

Because I am in love with our large replacement windows in the dining room bay window, I didn't want to cover them up with blinds or heavy curtains.

These light linen (Alton Print) curtains from Bed Bath and Beyond ($35 per 84-inch panel) were exactly what I had in mind, and the contemporary branch-stenciled design is a perfect reflection of our style: natural, contemporary, and light.

When the curtains are closed, they provide just enough privacy while still letting light in, and the branches look like they could be shadows from the trees outside. The grommets are great for this kind of set-up as well; sliding easily and fitting the rod perfectly.

Because I wanted to be able to slide the curtains all the way over and to the small gaps in between the windows (so as not to cover up the prairie grids), the hanging method was tricky to figure out. Thanks to a lot of Googling, we decided to give simple PVC pipes a try. This required a couple ten-foot 3/4-inch PVC pipes (cut to size), two 45-degree angle PVC connectors, two PVC caps, and five curtain brackets.

For the brackets, we chose these circular ones from Allen+Roth at Lowes (about $7 each) into which the pipes just barely squeezed (this was probably the hardest part to figure out).  

The whole contraption was given a couple coats (2 cans) of spray paint with Rust-oleum Metallic in Flat Antique Nickel. There is one curtain panel on each side, and two for the big picture window in the middle.

By strategically placing the brackets, and being able to slide over the little connectors, the curtains can hang in just the right places without blocking the beauty of the windows at all. 

My husband made fun of me for saying that my vision for the dinging room was "elegant, whimsy"…I wasn't sure how to pull it off, but I think the new light fixture and the curtains help a lot.

(Dining room on day 1)

(Dining room today)

Brassy to Classy Dining Room Light

I haven't posted in a while, but that doesn't mean we haven't been working on the house…we're always working on the house.  There has been more doing and less writing going on while my dad was in town to help us, and my crazy new job got busy.

One recent update we made was to our dinging room chandelier. I thought about trying to update the brass light fixture that came with the house by spray painting it (a la ideas from Pinterest), but I couldn't decide on a color, and changing the color still wouldn't change the traditional/cheap style of it.

Original brass chandelier in dining room

I wanted something modern yet warm, and I had a very specific vision: a stylish silver fixture with distinct lines; small shades to give off a warm light; light linen shades to match the linen curtains we have, and all of this for $150 or less. 

Westinghouse Parker Mews five-light brushed nickel chandelier was exactly what I was looking for priced at $148 from Home Depot.

The light is great, but the journey to install it wasn't easy.  The first chandelier that arrived from Home Depot has some rust/corrosion around the bulb base.  I didn't think much about this until we installed the light, turned it on, and only four of the five arms worked.  The whole unit had to be replaced, but of course Home Depot was out of them so I had to order a second one from Amazon (luckily the same price).  The second chandelier worked like a charm but two of the lampshades came wrinkled and damaged.  Since we still had the first light, we could easily swap out the bad shades.  Obviously, the quality control on these lights is horrible, but once you get one that's in good shape, it looks fantastic.

It was a long journey to get here, but now that it's finally up and all the parts are working, it adds a much more elegant and warm look to the dining room.  The ability to flush-mount it and skip the chain was an added bonus.

Dining room before

Dining room now

In the next post, I'll cover the pretty new bay window curtains you see in the background.