curtained!

after nearly five years of living in our house with no curtains (just shades) in the living room, i told thatcher i wanted curtains from him for my birthday present this year (file that one under "signs that you are getting old"). i've wanted curtains forever, but have never bought them since (1) they are expensive and (2) i was never quite sure what i wanted. 

we bought chocolate brown panels a good 5 weeks ago, but last saturday was the day we finally got them hung. we bought them at ikea and the price was right, but they were like..feet too long! my best friend kelli was nice enough to hem them for me. saturday i ironed them, which took me over an hour. confession: i don't even own an iron, i had to borrow my mom's. (embarrassing i know!). here's a picture of what my living room looked like before we hung them: 

as you can see, my house is a constant mess these days. just keepin' it real! 

and here is what it looks like with the curtains hung. such a difference! i'm in love! sorry the lighting is not great in these pictures, it really looks better in person. 

here are a couple other angles of the room...  

 from the front door

our "dining room" 

i'll be the first to admit that my living/dining room has a weird set up. it's because it's a really goofy "L" shaped space that's hard to arrange furniture in. we've set this room up like 5 different ways since we've lived here, but this one seems to be working out the best. so, there you have it! a small project, but a big impact (in my opinion).