By the end of last summer we had finally finished re-screening and painting the back porch. Let me tell you it was one long and tedious process, but in the end well worth it. To furnish the space I used some free wicker furniture cast-offs I had received, of which I promptly painted white, and Mr. Rosemary Lane built a new tabletop for an old farm style table base we had in the basement. New cushions were purchased as part of Pier One's summer clearance along with a couple of cute clearance lamps from the Christmas Tree Shops. That was as far as we got, which was pretty good considering how late it was in the season. But I never had the chance to look for new curtains or decide on just how to hang them.
This spring, once the weather started getting nice, it was time for me to revisit the whole curtain thang! I decided to do a little web surfing and almost instantaneously fell in love with the idea of grommet top curtains with a more industrial looking rod. What a great contrast to my traditional wicker furniture. Galvanized steel...the way to go if you want to keep cost down and you know I am all about that!
I started by measuring the length of the 3 walls which were going to hold the curtains, and figured I need roughly 50 ft of electrical conduit pipe. I made my way over to our local Lowes and picked up these items.
The total for all materials came to just under $50 before tax. Although I had a full 50 ft. of piping I ended up purchasing another 5 ft. pipe. This is because the remaining lengths of pipe after cutting ended up being shorter than the 5 ft. I needed to finish the rod system.
Lineny white grommet topped curtains were purchased at Walmart. At first I thought $20 per panel was a wee bit too pricey, but after looking around the Internet for a couple days I realized that $20 was actually a pretty good price for curtains with a lining. I made sure these were machine washable before I brought them home.
The pipes were then threaded through the screw hooks. (Note: the screw hooks I used are by Hillman. On the front of the pack it has #0 x 4-15/16 in. The 3/4 inch pipe fit perfect in this hook) I screwed the hooks in to the wood frame about every 4 to 4 1/2 feet and slightly closer at the corners to provide a little more support. Coupling was used where ever two ends of the pipe needed to be attached.
I am really happy with the way the rods look and how easy the entire project was to do. To be honest the toughest part was using my hack-saw to cut two of the pipes. If I had it all measured out before I went to Lowes I would have totally had them cut the pipe. Oh well...you live and learn!
There are a couple more screened-in-porch projects in the works that I will be sharing with you in the next couple weeks so please stay tuned!
In the meantime have a great weekend!!
XO
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This is great! Great ideas for outdoor rooms!
ReplyDeleteLove the curtains and the porch is fabulous.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic idea! I love all things galvanized.
ReplyDeleteBrenda
Barbara, you have another winner on your hands. How peaceful and beautiful your porch looks and I love the addition of the curtains. We have a small porch off of the master bedroom and I want to screen it in. We have birds that just make themselves at home there and too many bugs. I love to eat dinner out there. We plan to get to it soon and hope it looks as nice as yours. Happy Friday..xxo Judy
ReplyDeleteBarbara, great idea! Love your porch, and I know you will enjoy it all spring and summer! Pam @ Everyday Living
ReplyDeleteLove those and the galvanized pipe for the rod. Yes, that price is cheap because I have been looking for a couple for my deck. I will check these out at Walmart.
ReplyDelete