My First Curtains (And the Most Complete Room)

So I have never hung curtains.  I have never been inspired to own curtains - blinds were always enough.  I can't remember if I had curtains in my room as a kid; I remember blinds.  There are curtains now in what my mom calls the "blue room" but I don't recall them being there before I moved out. Most likely not.   

It only took 31 years for me to have curtains.  I didn't know where to begin. There are many styles and ways to hang curtains, I was lost.  I read blogs and other "how-to's" to get an idea of what I might look for in curtains.  I was still lost and confused.  However, to play off the inspiration I had for the exercise room, I knew I wanted something nature related.  Also do the nice view and the natural sunlight, I didn't want something opaque.  I wanted something sheer. 

I recently painted the room a bluish grey and accented it with three lime green stripes. Matching the lime green stripes was nearly impossible.  I was thinking white curtains with something.  I happened upon a bold pink color curtain from Ikea (which I can no longer locate to share), but I was steered in another direction and am so glad I was.

Side note about the paint. I went to Home Depot with a color in mind (I wanted what my sister painted her living room), and I found an Oops paint for $5.00 that was very close to the grey my sister used. So for $5.00, I took home the grey paint.  The green paint, however, I had to pay the full price because it was hard to find the right lime green and match it with any available oops paints.  Though I didn't need nearly as much green paint as I did grey, so the cost wasn't that much.

Unfortunately, the lighting does lend well for taking pictures of the window and its curtains.  Or I haven't figured out how to take the picture.  I've tried during the day and at night, but between the sunlight and the light fixture, I can't take a clear picture.  So I suggest you come see it in person. :) I swear to you, it's awesome.  These are from Target, and I also found them cheaper (and faster shipping) on Amazon.

The curtain rod is actually a tree limb from our yard that fell during the ice storm back in February.  While perusing Pinterest one day, I happened upon this idea, although the Pin had a white painted limb.  I didn't want white, and I wasn't sure about a bold color, so I left it natural.  I coated it with polyurethane to seal the limb.  No one wants termite bait.  Using the limb took several iterations of trying to put the curtain panels on, and realizing that another knot or smaller limb needed to be cut in order for the panel to pass over it.  It was relatively simple, and the limb really fits the feel I wanted for the room. Nature inspired and peaceful.



So do you want to see the rest of the room? Here are some panoramic views of the room:

And here are some close ups of the equipment in the room:

I use a lot of this equipment for P90X, but I have ventured into using the bands for P90x, but I have used them when I created my own routines.  I have the padded mat great for jumping on or doing push ups.  Then I have the yoga mat, well...for yoga.

The chair is used a lot, and I want to paint it, and I have an idea, so hopefully I'll work on that soon.  I want bolder, brighter colors.

I love to use the elliptical in the winter, but during the warmer months, I prefer to run outdoors.  The pull up stand can easily slide across the floor so the elliptical mat and elliptical extend backwards.  I use the pull up stand for chin ups and pull ups with the assistance of a band.  I also attach bands to the lower portion and do hip adductions and abductions.  The stand can also be used for dips and ab exercises.

My favorite, dumbbells

And the decor:

I wanted a plant in the exercise room.  It was part of my zen, my inspiration, my view for the space.  I like that this plant is growing straight up - it reminds me of the yoga routine where there is a lot of reaching up.  So the plant is reaching up.  The second great thing about this plant is Lowe's calls it the "plant of steel".  I'm not a good plant care giver - I forget to water them.  This is also my first indoor plant, too!  I was also fortunate to find a bold plate pot on sale!  Color! Hot pink - perfect.  Too bad there weren't more pastel pot holder/rolller thingy.  Whatever the technical term is.



So I perused Pinterest a lot to find ideas for sayings that I wanted to post in the room.  I didn't want to buy what someone else made if I could do it myself. Plus, I could have the colors I wanted.

 I searched for white or plain frames that I could paint purple, but I didn't find any locally or on Amazon that was a reasonable price.  So I made my own...but I had one mistake.  I was measuring the frames to frame out a photo that was slightly smaller than 8.5" and 11".  I measured the horizontal side correctly BUT I didn't want to waste any of the wood, so I split the remaining piece into two instead of measuring out for an interior dimension of 10.5".  OOPS.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize this mistake until after I assembled them, painted them and was ready to hang them. That's when I went to print out my sayings using my home printer and tried to fit the picture into the frame.  Too short!  So I ordered one from Vistraprint and the other I created with leftover craft board and letters.

Finally, I saw many motivational sayings with pictures of other people on them.  I loved the saying, but I didn't really want other people hanging in my exercise room.  So I waited until I had the strength to pose for some of yoga positions before I set up a tripod and took pictures of me. (go ahead and puke, lol).  Once I did the photos, I turned them to black and white and used Picasa to add in the sayings.  Finally, I was able to print the photos off at home and add them to the frame.  For the larger picture, I had to send it to Walgreens.  On the screen, all of the text was visible, but I did not check the photo at Walgreens.  I realized after I hung it that some of the words blended in with my shorts.  So eventually, I'll replace the photo.


There are a few other things I want to add to the room as time goes on, but I'm also moving on to the next room.  I have some thoughts for the master bedroom, so I hope to work on it next.