Deb
When I think of burlap, I've always pictured fall decorations (scarecrows, pumpkins, etc.) I never really considered it as a decorator fabric until a few years ago. A friend of mine needed a window treatment for her son's room. To go along with the fishing theme, I used burlap to cover a cornice board, then attached a fish net from HobLob and some random fish thingies from the tackle box to it. It looked great. To carry the theme in the room, I also made a burlap dust ruffle for his bed. Super, super cute!!

Fast foward to our laundry room. Our laundry room is... well large... which is nice, but the room does double duty as an exercise room, which means I had to really think about the decor in there. I had to make the room somewhat masculine since my hubby is in there so much. So I started by painting the room a medium camel color, which is sooooo much better than the dirty white that was in there before. At least now I want to do the laundry.

As for the windows, I needed to make a valance of some kind so as not to have them ripped down with the weights. BINGO!! I opted for a yard and half of burlap which set me back a whole $4.78. Wow, talk about breaking the bank. Having sewn burlap before, I didn't want to have my "mistreatment" curling up on me, so... I glued it. Have I ever mentioned that I love my glue gun.


Anyway, I folded my burlap in half ... longways, and cut at an angle to make a pointed end. Then I cut two strips of another fabric and glued it to the ends all the way around. I made a pocket at the top to slide the repurposed and newly spray painted rod through. Have I mentioned I love spray paint?

The result, a pretty, but masculine window valance that didn't break the bank.


With the extra burlap, I decided to recover a bulletin board I had made that just didn't thrill me. Then I hung it from a rod iron scroll. Love the new look of the laundry room.




I plan to make a cushion for the two boxes below the hanging rack where the girls can sit and put their shoes on. I'm still thinking I need to find something else for that though. I'm thinking maybe a narrow coffee table converted into a bench. I may have to make a trip to Salvation Army once school starts again.

I just love cheap redos.

Have a great day. Stay cool... it's HOT outside!!

*ciao*
deb
5 Responses
  1. super cute!!!! i love a little burlap around the house! we should use this on PCAH...if you don't mind!


  2. Darlene Says:

    Hey Deb,

    Sorry I haven't been by in a while. You won't believe this but I'm NOT going tonight at midnight. My two friends that went to Twilight with me are going, but I am actually going to wait until Monday or Tuesday to go see it. Since I made that decision I am really finding it hard to not be there but I'll wait and still enjoy it just as much! Maybe more without all the talking and carrying on of the "teens". Hope you have a great time tonight!


  3. Darlene Says:

    Oh, and I LOVE the laundry room treaments. I have seen so much burlap around blog land and it just looks so GREAT!


  4. Darlene Says:

    Hi Deb,

    Just stopping by to let you know I saw New Moon Sunday and LOVED it! It is definitely darker and going into the love between Bella, Edward and Jacob but I thought it was great. As a matter of fact I am going again tonight!!


  5. these are GREAT ideas for burlap! and i love that they don't require sewing...

    kelly