Rescuing and Repurposing Drapes

You know how much I love rescuing relics and repurposing pieces that would otherwise be destined for demise in the dumpster. So when I had the chance to…

save these gorgeous (but damaged) linen drapes I said “heck yeah”…no hesitation on my part!

 

Here is little bit of the history of the oodles of yardage of pure white Belgian linen that now reside repurposed in the master bedroom and in the living room (more on the living room drapes later:-)
Our family business is construction and remodeling. We work in the high~end field of both condos and homes in the area, and the photo above is a remodeling job that we had in a condo in the Ritz~Carlton that was flooded by a storm (and poor window installation…another story altogether!). The drapes were custom made for the massive windows and suffered some water damage and since the homeowner was insured they were replaced with new. Throw out the old? NO WAY…so we took them home and I washed them and laid them out in the sun on the grass to dry. The water stains were gone for the most part…yay!
The drapes were not sized for my windows and they were made for traverse rods, which I’m not a fan of personally…so I set out to sew. LOTS OF LINT comes off in sewing with linen, and since I want to be able to wash these from time to time I serged all of the ends to prevent fraying.I don’t want to see my serger or sewing machine again for a good long while now!
(Note to self…do not wear black workout pants when sewing white linen!)
I still need to do some more steaming to the linen and they should relax wrinkling with another round of that.
Our master bedroom is white, and the linen drapes add a nice elegant touch.
With all of the white I’d been debating replacing the candle covers on this old massive white tole chandelier, that are yellowed with age. If you look at the first photo you’ll see how they look replaced. Still on the fence about this.
Some rearranging on the bedroom mantel and will be working more on that over the weekend.
Favorite vintage trophy cup, faded hydrangeas and a few “fantasy pumpkins”, as they are often called in their pale colors and odd shapes.
Just a touch of pink with the prettiest roses in soft colors to break up all of the bedroom white.
I’m so happy to have saved those drapes from the landfill and the work that was put into them was definitely worth it!
Have a great weekend…I’m thinking ahead to some relaxing planned…

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

10 Comments

  1. I am too Janet,they look gorgeous in your room.Hmmm about your chandelier,I like either one of those covers šŸ™‚

  2. Replace the yellowed candle / bulb holders in your chandelier? Why not just cover them with white paper cut to size and glue stick them in place? I can also see them in soft pink! They could easily be changed out according to your mood or the seasons!
    Love your blog!

  3. Oh- I LOVE those repurposed drapes. I hate when I have to work with something "linty" like that though-but there is nothing like the drape and feel of linen! They are wonderful. xo Diana

  4. Checking in about the chandelier, the new ones seem too white, the old ones too yellow, I'm worried about covering them with paper due to fire hazard, but perhaps you could use a chalk paint color that would enhance the whites in the room. Honestly, the dark beads are a bit of distraction for me personally, I think I would replace those too. Love love your "new" linen drapes!

  5. You did such a good job with the linen drapes, what a great find! They look gorgeous in the room! The chandelier is beautiful either way, I think the white looks lovely but also, the aged ones add a little more character…but both look lovely:)

  6. Suzan Sweatman says:

    Wow – the drapes are gorgeous – but the entire room is magnificent – thanks so much for sharing – I'm off to pin!
    XOX

  7. Love love love the room! As for the chandelier candle stick..there is plastic spray paint where you can spray them any color, but if you did an off or vintage white then they won't look stark white or yellowed. Mellow vintage to match the chandelier. I just painted some turquoise to match a Kitchen light and it works great.

  8. Norma Rolader says:

    Wow thank you for this I love the thought of using for other areas of the house Have a blessed week