Take The Drapes! How We Repurposed Window Treatments From One Home To Another

How to repurpose drapes.

When we moved last year, I took our drapes with us. Sean thought I was NUTS. But guess what?! We were able to get SIX ROOMS worth of window treatments in our new house from just THREE rooms of our old one. Now he knows…mama is always right 😉 PRO TIP: If selling, just exclude them from the contract.

If you’ve been toying with the idea to get window treatments, I hope today’s post encourages you to GO. FOR. IT. Despite what your future may hold, drapes make one of the biggest impacts to a space. Even if you plan to move, you’ll see how we benefitted from ours in more ways than one.

The Benefit Of Calico

To make this happen, we ordered additional fabrics and trims to accommodate the higher ceilings and wider windows. Since Calico is a one stop shop, they handled everything. The amount of headaches we avoided and time saved is what sets them apart.

How We Got Six Rooms Out of Three

A year prior to listing our home, we installed several window treatments in our dining room, Penelope’s bedroom and the living room. We knew we’d eventually move, but they made our home look dynamite for selling. The house showed beautifully in person and in photos.

NOTE – we left the roman shades (as those are very specific widths), but with panels there’s wiggle room.

The biggest question mark was where and how’d they fit in a home with a larger foot print. Despite doubling in size – we got SIX SPACES out of THREE rooms from our previous house. This decision literally saved us THOUSANDS of dollars.

Today – you get to see four of these spaces.

Shoutout to Interior Designer – Melissa Mahoney of MMDH Studio

Of course, a BIG shoutout goes to Melissa, our interior designer, who saw the vision and managed it all with a local seamstress. She went through our home and determined which fabrics would work best in what rooms. She also sourced the hardware. So thank you Melissa for being the best creative problem solver!

I cannot believe how well they turned out! Especially since they were intended for an entire different house.

If you’ve been toying with the idea to get window treatments, I hope today’s post encourages you to GO. FOR. IT. Despite what your future may hold, drapes make one of the biggest impacts to a space.

THE RESULTS

ORANGE & TAN DRAPES

Previous Dining Room

We LOVED this dining room and it’s the one that got us in Martha Stewart Living! Despite it being on the smaller side, we had two sets of windows. So we were able to repurpose these SAME drapes in BOTH our library AND our dining room. The dining room (not pictured) is still a work in progress but they look SO good in this moody space. We even used the previous hardware. Just as repurposing elements can enhance spaces, consulting a plumber in Adelaide for innovative plumbing solutions can optimize your home’s functionality while preserving existing systems. The low water pressure in our area prompted us to invest in a low water pressure water softener to ensure efficient water flow throughout our home.

New Library

how to repurpose old drapes - library

CORNICE BOARDS + PINK DRAPES

Penelope’s Old Room

So what you see here are two cornice boards combined to make one long one. My GOD do I miss those scallops, but to leave behind Scalamandre would be a sin. So this was a big leap of faith to take these with us.

But after seeing the final result, you’d never know this cornice used to be TWO. However, if your window ac unit not as cold as it used to be, it might be time to check for issues like clogged filters or low refrigerant levels to ensure it continues to function effectively.

Penelope’s New Room

The drapes are black out and we loved her wallpaper so much we put it in again! It truly makes the space and Penelope loves her cozy room. Taking her headboard, pillows and dust ruffle was the easy part! For added safety and security, consider fire shutter installation services to protect your home.

Since Penelope’s old room had two sets of drapes – we will use the other set in Chloe’s nursery – which is also a work in progress!

BLUE DRAPES + ORANGE TRIM

Old Living Room

So this is the biggest transformation! Our great room has high ceilings and windows which meant “stacking” two panels together for the length. You can’t even tell where the seam is! 

Melissa sources some extremely affordable rods and rings {they’re so high up they aren’t a focus} and we are beyond happy with this space! If we were starting from scratch, we’d want wider panels here – but it truly does the trick and freed up some big time budget to buy other things for our new home!

New Great Room + Eating Area

Between the kitchen and the great room is where we eat every meal. There’s a sliding door so Melissa suggested we put one panel on the right side – and it marries this in-between space SO well.

We still have a lot of furniture and decorating to do, but we are thrilled with the results!

Even if you aren’t moving, you may want to replace your window treatments because they’re old or you want a new look. Just remember, the old ones have potential to be something wonderful in a different room or space!

To find the closest Calico design shop, click here!

Thank you Calico for partnering on this post.