Turning a curtain into large wall art

Today is an exciting day around here! I have two posts that have gone live, both that are part of a group of bloggers and both with tons of inspiration shared between us all! This specific post is something I have been wanting to do for a while, turning a curtain into large wall art. I have a very large fireplace area in my living room, and getting large art for it is crazy expensive. I found a canvas on clearance when we first moved in and have not changed it since. I finally figured out a way to get the large wall art needed without breaking the bank! This post today is part of the Ready, set, craft challenge! Myself and 4 other blogging friends, Gav & Ro, Amber Oliver, XO Kerry and Lugi Mom blog  are all of the ladies behind this challenge. Each month we pick a new item to work with and we get to crafting. This month is is all about fabric!

I know, fabric for wall art? Just go with me on this, the idea is a great one to keep costs down but the wow factor high for home decor. Like I said earlier, this fireplace of mine is massive. I adore the scope of it with the stones and the vaulted ceiling. However, I have always struggled decorating it to scale. Large spaces usually mean large items in place. I got a canvas that was big enough years ago. It is pretty, but my style has shifted and this picture no longer for with that look.

I explained my desire to go bold and bright with my decor. I changed up some pillows and recently a few new additions went in this living room as well. I will be sharing those new additions soon! I am smitten with the more bold look. When i first started decorating I was wanting to go super shabby chic. However, I am not too shabby or very chic. See what I did there?! I am more casual, loud, and fun. We are a young family with lots of life in us. I want our home to reflect that. So I have been transitioning into a casual, relaxing, bright, and full of patterns look to my home. With elements of rustic because it is so dang perfect to decorate with too.

For this turning a curtain into large wall art idea to work I needed a curtain! I found this one that has a subtle pattern on it with a mix of light and dark blue. I purchased it from Target. I love to decorate with coastal touches and felt this was coastal-ish. The ‘ish is added because it is subtle with the colors, not bang you on the head nautical themed.

Because I am a crazy DIYer we have a lot of wood laying around, this also means I am a hoarder or building supplies. I had a few 2×4’s in my garage.

I cut them in half down the middle, then measured out the space where the picture will go. This frame is 42 inches wide by 48 inches high. No real reason for these measurements other than it is the size I wanted the picture to be. The great thing about DIY is it is always custom!

I cut the 2×4’s down to that size. Then nailed them into a rectangle frame.

Once that was done I put the curtain fabric over the newly built frame. Making sure that the material was center and not leaning to one side or the other.

The next part was a two man job and I recruited Dale to be my other “man”. While one pulls the fabric tight to the side of the frame, the other uses a heavy duty staple gun and staples it in place. One hundred staples later the fabric was attached to the frame.

I had a lot of excess fabric, but first needed to get the fabric attached to the back of the frame. I attached it to the side first so that it is all secure with no movement. Now stapling to the back of the frame will allow the end and frayed fabric to stay hidden.

Once it was all stapled on, I cut off the excess fabric around the back of the frame.

Technically I could have been done after this, but I wanted to have a more finished look. So I used some trim pieces I had in my garage (remember, serial DIYer and hoarder here).

I cut them in half long ways as well and they were exactly the size of the side of the picture itself. It is a little under 2 inches thick on the side.

After they were cut I used my favorite dark walnut wood stain. It is a major love affair I am having with this stain, and I would say it is pretty serious. I have been happily using this stain for 2 years now.

I did one coat of the wood stain, and left it to dry.

I secured the new frame, let’s call this the fancy frame to the picture. I call it fancy, because it is not needed to complete the project however it makes the picture.. you guessed it… fancy! I used standard hammer and nails to attach this to the 2×4 under the fabric.

Then my friends I am done! Hang it on the wall, sit back, and enjoy the new wall art!

My first thought was “that is huge!” I know I wanted a big wall art here, but it makes that whole space feel so much larger now. The eye goes all the way up to the vaulted ceiling now.

I would say total for this project for me was $25, just enough to purchase the curtain. If you are needing to purchase the wood and the stain it would most likely be about $45 total for everything. I spend more than that on the smaller picture that was there initially, and that was on clearance. I have seen some large scale pictures, but they are much more expensive.

The great thing about this is there are so many options! You can use a curtain panel, fabric, or even a shower curtain! I can also take the frame apart and swap the fabric out for something else, using the frame again when I am needing an update.

Now getting large scale wall art does not have to be pricey at all. Also, no longer settling for the handful or large piece art you can find.

I paired this art with more bright and bold items like the paper vase redo I did. Those were made by using wrapping paper. I like the combination of the bold but simple art and the busy accessories. The pattern of the fabric is not very obvious when standing in the living room, which I actually like. It just looks like colors with some texture.

 

This living room is coming together in a new way and I am falling even more in love with it! I guess my style has transitioned slightly and I am running with what feels natural to me. That is right now bold, bright, and casual, with a hint of rustic and a lot of coastal. You think that is a legitimate style? Probably not, but is mine and I like it.

 

This idea of the Turning a curtain into large wall art is one I was eager to share. Because even if you do not like my choice in fabric, you can still use the idea of the large frame and DIY art. We all want to create our own oasis and dream home. We all want to do it for at low cost as possible, this is a great way to combine those two wants and turn them into reality.

Don’t forget that today you also get to go and see what the other ladies of the Ready, set, craft challenge! have done with their fabric projects. I am excited to see as well!