On Happy Accidents and Power Tools

Well, I finally got some window treatments up in the Master Bedroom. And it only took three years.
Mike loves it when I call him at work to ask where the drill is. Actually, I did okay - no errant holes (in the wall OR in my skin).

I'd been meaning to hang drapes in the MB for a while, especially after seeing the dramatic difference drapes made in some of our other rooms. I wasted a lot of time drooling over several panels from Pottery Barn and Anthropologie, but in the end, I just couldn't justify the prices. Which, unfortunately, ran from $99 to $248 per panel. Times six. Ouch.

The Ella Drape from Pottery Barn $99/panel (96")

The Audrey Drape from Pottery Barn $99/panel (96")
The Adorations Drape from Anthropologie $178/panel (96")
The Avignon Drape from Anthropologie $248(!)/panel (96")
Had I been absolutely, positively sure that the MB would remain the same for a while, I maybe, maybe would've saved up and taken the plunge with the expensive drapes. BUT I'm not sure about that the room WILL stay the same, for a few reasons. For one, I'm not crazy about our headboard and would like to get a new bed sometime soon, if the budget allows. Also, I've had second thoughts about the paint color, which I do love, but Mike does not. So, rather than buy some crazy-expensive drapes that were going to look nice in THIS bedroom, I figured I'd play it safe for now and buy some cheaper, neutral drapes that would look nice in almost ANY bedroom.

So, my sister and I headed out to Target. Although I have three windows in the MB, I initially tried to get away with using only 4 panels, in another attempt at keeping costs down. I thought I could maybe hang just one drape in the areas between two windows...


Soooo, after digging through a VERY picked over window treatment selection (almost the entire aisle was on clearance - which was good and bad), I really didn't see anything that jumped out at me. I settled on a Thomas O'Brien herringbone drape that looked like it had promise. The color on the package said "White," but these drapes are most definitely NOT white. They're more of a cream or ivory color. I told my sis that I had a feeling I was gonna get the drapes home and either hate them, or end up loving them and this would be one more happy accident to add to the list. Luckily, I snagged the last four 95" drapes. No small feat considering the state of the drapery aisle. As an added bonus, the panels had been marked down from $34.99 to $24.99. I also picked up three black curtain rods on clearance for $9.99.

I went home with my panels and curtain rods and got to work. An hour later I was staring at some surprisingly nice drapes in a room that looked liked someone had cut some serious corners by trying to use four panels where there definitely should have been six. It seemed I had underestimated the angle of the bends in the wall and there was no way the four panel plan was gonna work, short of me buying an expensive rod system.
I already knew I'd gotten the last four panels in my local Target, but a quick Internet search showed that they were available online and in a Target store a few towns over. The very next day, my wonderful mother stopped in to said Target on her way home from work and picked them up for me!

And now that I have all six panels hung up and looking pretty, I am officially declaring this one a happy accident.

P.S. Happy Birthday Dana!