Progress on the master bedroom has slowed down. My schedule has been pretty crammed. I have not been able to set aside time to work on the bedroom. I have had projects put on the back burner before. In those cases, I was able to tuck them out of sight. The problem with this project is I sleep in it every night. I face the unfinished bedroom on a daily basis! Of course when I am lying in bed I am thinking about what things I want to do next. Not very conducive to a good nights sleep. On the bright side, I was able to work on window treatments this weekend. I want to hang drapery on either side of the roman shades. I have beautiful white linen draperies from Pottery Barn that I have been using in our room for years. However, white will not work with the material I chose for the roman shades. So, I decided to dye them! I remember my mother dying items in our washing machine when I was younger. I went to the RIT dye website and it guided me every step of the way. It even has a color chart for mixing dyes.
Just to get everyone up to speed first I built the faux window to create symmetry. Then made roman blinds for each using Aubusson Aegeon fabric, by Richloom.
These are the drapes. I was definitely nervous because I really like them.
I took out the hem. I want to hang them high to give the illusion of tall ceilings..
I chose teal RIT dye. The directions said to fill the washer with hot water, add dye (in my case two bottles), one cup of salt and a teaspoon of dish soap.
Once everything is mixed together, you add the drapes. They suggest 30 minutes in the dye bath. If you want a darker color you can go up to an hour. After 30 minutes stop the wash and start regular machine cycle with detergent. Once done, you put them in the dryer. To clean the washer after, add two cups of bleach to hot water, machine cycle with a couple old towels. It was really easy and no mess.
After they were dry I ironed them and got them ready to hang.
I originally was going to hang a single drape on each side. Once I had them up I thought it needed the center panel also.
I am so happy I am still able to use the Pottery Barn Drapes. They came out beautifully! Who knew using dye was so easy!
Next on the agenda is buying or making a headboard, new bedding, and painting our existing bedroom furniture.