My bathroom is lovely.  A huge walk-in glass-encased shower. Double sinks. Plenty of space.  I never had such a beautiful master bathroom and simply began to enjoy the space since we bought the house.

But even in the beginning, the bathroom had two issues:

1. The very large master closet door is in the bathroom, not the bedroom. Typically I plan what I am wearing the day before, but if I decide at the last minute on something else, it can become awkward pretty quickly.
2. There is only one window in the room. It’s small, narrow, and right in the corner of the room.

Although Matt and I have worked out the closet door issue (sort of), that small window needed something to dress it up, as it looked a little too modern and cold in the space.

It’s the only natural light we get in the room and privacy isn’t an issue as it’s on the 2nd floor and it has built-in privacy glass (although I wish it didn’t).  Simply putting up a curtain would actually hurt the light we do get, which means I needed to get creative or spend a ton of money on something I would never be completely pleased with.

Lucky for me, on a trip to a local department store (Do they still call them department stores?), I was in the clearance section and found two very cute napkin rings for $1 apiece. Another search found two long, woven blue and green summer scarves, just $2 apiece.

So for a total of $6, I had the perfect items for a window treatment.  It wasn’t difficult to create. I simply nailed up the rings and looped the scarves through, rearranging them until they looked ‘just right’ to me.  It makes the area look softer, especially with the nice weave and details in the scarves, without blocking the light. Take a look:

This isn’t the first time I’ve been thrifty with a window treatment. When we first moved to California, I couldn’t find anything I liked to provide privacy but look nice in our rented condo. I found fabric tablecloths on sale for $8 that fit the windows perfectly and attached them to the curtain rod with clips.  The total for one window (with the clips) was $20.  And they were easily washable, too, perfect for young kiddos in a small space.

Another time I used washi tape to stylize the vertical blinds in that same condo.

Others also have similar ideas for chic, no-sew curtains and window treatments:

• Michaeli Marler made some out of sheets.
• Kathy at Pettycoat Junktion used dish/tea towels for cute cafe curtains.
• I seriously considered Rachel’s doily valance for my daughter’s beachy-boho bedroom. (Although she sews them together, fabric glue would work too!)
• Amy tied ribbons on a rod to make a very cheerful valance.

The moral of this story is you never know where you’ll find inspiration for your window treatments. (And keep an eye out in those bargain bins!)