French Café Kitchen Curtains!

I finally put up new curtain hardware! And we went French, baybuh.

This simple (but effective!) kitchen tweak has been on my to-do list for eons. Long ago when we got the new casement windows I kept teetering between fabric or pull-down. Fabric or pull-down. I wanted to something billowy and airy, but would it be a simple print? A white gauze? Or would we keep it clean with a sheer-ish pull-down shade from Ikea? It hurt my head, so for the time BEING we went with temporary pull-down shades.

Like these. And I mean, they’re FINE. Just not exactly what I wanted. And you know I cannot sit still and always need a project.

So one day I spent 2853 hours on Pinterest and landed on some pretty French café ideas on various sites and blogs. And my heart soared. CAFÉ. Of course! Gauze-like flowy material for the curtains. Raw hem, no sewing, clips and rings, brass everything. Yes, please.

I found the French return drapery hardware from Ballard Designs. I’ve never shopped on this site before, but was super pleased with the product. Very chic. And the clips and rings from the same place. I’m in love! With a clip and a ring. I heard it, too.

The fabric is from JoAnn’s. It’s called Bright White Bubble Gauze, and I’m obsessed. I honestly just measured the windows and had her cut a little over those measurements, for extra drape. And it’s gorgeous.

I just love the romance of it. Such drama. Yet delicate. It is exactly what I wanted.

I don’t have photos of actually nailing it all in because every single person here has done this before so that would be boring. Ya just hang hardware like normal.

Oh, the creaminess of the sliding is just unbearable. You’ll see it in the reel I’m about to post. CREAMY, you guys.

It really softens the room in a way that I can’t articulate. The way the breeze moves the curtains, the diffusion of light in the late afternoons. You know that HAPPY FRIDAY FLOTSAM we all talked about a couple of weeks ago? I’m adding this. Immediately.

I still need to repaint the trim and hang new lights in the kitchen, but we’ll get there. I’m still a good person.

One more photo and that’s it, I swear.

The end! Let me know if you have any questions. You have the links! I have the gush.