From Curtain Covers to Regal Repairs ~ A "Shabby Chic" Frugal Farm Lifestyle ~ Entry #4

"She maketh herself coverings of tapestry..."

~ Proverbs 31:22 a

Welcome to another edition of a "Shabby Chic" Frugal Farm Lifestyle! I am your hostess, JES :) If you haven't yet delved into the world of curtain covers, I am very happy to introduce you to them. They are the frugal decorator's best friend! All you need is an in-expensive spring-rod and some excess fabric (such as a tablecloth, curtain panel, flat sheet, you name it) and miracles are made! This concept was the solution to many-a-problem in our old farmhouse and can help to "remodel" many areas in your home. I am able to find beautiful fabrics in various forms at second hand stores for just a few dollars and these gems can transform! Like the Proverbs 31 woman before us, we can make-shift our own modern "coverings of tapestry" to embellish the humble parts of our home!

Here you see the author of this blog doesn't have a commercial kitchen! She makes do. The drawers wouldn't open well because they were warped so I removed two of the four and placed a large basket inside each remaining one. This took care of the problem and still gave me extra drawer space because of the deeper drawers the baskets allowed. The sink was 6 inches below standard size and we didn't have hot water for some time.

What makes this "shabby chic" is that you are able to hide the "eyesores" behind the curtains while introducing a pleasant print to your home decoration. For instance, our kitchen was barely a functioning kitchen when we moved onto the homestead. The one cabinet our sink had wouldn't open and close (without a lot of force) and was very undesirable to look at. We couldn't afford "new" anything so I simply removed the cabinet doors, inserted an old shower curtain rod across the area and hung a pretty panel I had. I didn't even sew it (it was safety pinned in place!).

5 years later, we were able to raise the sink (for which I am so thankful as my back was taking a beating), add hot water and purchase a new countertop. However, the cabinets were still out of the budget and so the curtain cover comes to the rescue again! As a side note, my hubby turned those difficult drawers into shelves for me. The third shelf lacks a basket that fits so a plastic tub sits there until something can be found frugally.

This is the same area in the kitchen (only painted) and with a different curtain cover! When I feel like a "remodel" or want to decorate with the seasons, all I need is a fresh piece of fabric to change the look of everything and with little or no cost!

Picture #1: This curtain cover hides a door which has a hole in it with an air conditioner sticking out! Yikes! I couldn't use a spring rod to cover it because there was no sill or ledge to brace it against. However, I found an old towel bar, painted it white and used that as my curtain rod. It isn't the perfect solution but it was free and keeps our room looking clean and tidy which is important to me.

Picture #2: You could see the white cafe curtain in the corner which hides our excess toiletries, toilet paper, bathroom cleaning supplies, etc. I allow the nicer items to be seen while hiding the rest behind the cover. What areas can use a bit of camouflage in your home to make it pleasing on pennies?

In our bathroom, there was an accordion closet door that did not function and it was quite creepy inside! Tearing out the accordion door cost nothing. A coat of paint inside gave it a fresh look. However, I didn't want everything in my bathroom "closet" showing so I curtained half of it off with a spring-rod and an old cafe curtain. It cleaned up the bathroom quite nicely and for just a few dollars (the price of the spring rod).

This storage table/shelf was made by my husband with leftover wood pieces found around the farm. I painted it white and added a spring rod. The curtain is a panel I found at a Goodwill Store for just a dollar. I simply folded it in half and pinned it in place. Cleaning buckets, rags and bulky laundry supplies are stored behind it. Any table can be made into a nice storage area with a clever curtain cover! 

In our first home, we repurposed an old-out-of-style-cast-off entertainment system that someone gave us (these can be found easily at thrift shops and garage sales). It was contemporary and I prefer the old fashioned look. However a storage piece of furniture is gold so I removed all the modern hardware and doors, painted it white, added an inexpensive spring rod across the top and hung a dainty white curtain over it. The end result was a pleasant "French country" pantry for my kitchen!

Using the same concept, book shelves can store items that aren't the prettiest to look at (such as your small kitchen appliances, cookie sheets, large stock pots, etc.) and can be covered with a curtain as well.

We have a large shelving unit of school work, plastic tubs of books, etc., that we store all our homeschooling "stuff" on. We placed a wire with a hook and eye across the whole wall and hung a flat sheet across to completely hide the storage and give the room a cleaner, less cluttered appearance.

When we couldn't afford a double door in one of our rooms, the spring rod/curtain system came to the rescue once again and separates the two areas. As you can see, curtain covers are the frugal solution for many home decorating problems!

"While I am a firm believer in less being more,

I am also an advocate of recycling rather than discarding..."

~ Rachel Ashwell, Shabby Chic

Moving on to the subject of "regal repairs"... I thought I was quite the thrifty housewife when I would find the best deals to replace what was no longer working.  What I didn't realize was the option to fix so many things, both big and small! This involves more than just the general repair of automobiles and appliances! My husband is such a blessing in this area (and was taught by his amazing mother -- you can read about her here) and I am constantly in awe at what he is able to do and think of to save us money. For instance, when we first moved into our home, we had two broken, hanging ceiling fans. My husband used the parts from both broken fans, put them together and created one working fan! Approx. savings $50 - 100.

Another example occurred during a very bad storm. A lightening bolt travelled through an electrical switch in our home and zapped my cell-phone charger which was plugged into it (our wiring is very old and probably way out of code). My mind was already thinking on the need to replace it when my husband started digging into our "electrical/computer cord" box that I keep of odds and ends. He pulled out an old charger from his old, damaged cell phone and spliced the zapped charger wire to the older functioning charger (this allowed us to keep the proper charging tip for our phone). A trip to the store was no longer necessary! This may have saved us only $8 (to some people's thinking) but continue reading to see how it grows! 

As I was clipping roses outside one lovely spring day, all of a sudden, the inspirational music was gone on my headset. To my dismay, I had snipped my cord along with the vine! I could have cried as it was a beautiful set of Bose headphones my husband had bought me as an anniversary gift many years ago! They were quite expensive and a normal splicing wouldn't work because the wires were fiber optic. He didn't give up, he purchased a mini-sautering kit (for less than $10) and after carefully putting the wires properly together here and there, and after many attempts, he was able to bring the sound back into the speakers! I wouldn't have replaced this as it wasn't a necessity but it kept the $150+ gift safe and sound!

Then there are the little things in life that add up. My plastic kefir strainer cracked last week (and "they" claim you must use plastic so as not to deactivate the grains). Hubby came to the rescue on the humble little strainer and another $3 was saved with just two small drill holes and a tiny piece of wire. A little here and a little there and you have saved much! Just the few examples shared here (both big and small) has earned us $210. Imagine a whole year of documented repairs!

"Simple industry and thrift will go far toward making any person of ordinary working faculty comparatively independent in his means. Almost every working man may be so, provided he will carefully husband his resources and watch the little outlets of useless expenditure. A penny is a very small matter, yet the comfort of thousands of families depends upon the proper saving and spending of pennies."

~ The Royal Path of Life, 1882

It is time for me to close this little chapter... I hope it encourages you to take a fresh look at your home and realize that most of those undesirable areas can be "covered" with a little bit of fabric and a lot of love. This creates a sweet patchwork of beauty and coziness for a "shabby chic" frugal farm lifestyle. And to maintain that lifestyle, before you begin to replace something in your home, try and think resourcefully about how it can be salvaged. We can be eager students of our pioneering and Depression Era ancestors with just a bit of creativity and ingenuity! These were the facts of life years ago and perhaps it is time to "rewire" our modern day thinking once again to those basic 5 R's... reuse, recycle, repair, resourceful and repurpose!

What about you? What inspiration can you share with us in the area of curtain covers and regal repairs?

Previous Posts in the Series:

A "Shabby Chic" Frugal Farm Lifestyle ~ Introduction ~ Entry #1
From A - Z {Alpha to Zucchini} ~ A "Shabby Chic" Frugal Farm Lifestyle ~ Entry #2
From Beautiful Books to Blueberries ~ A "Shabby Chic" Frugal Farm Lifestyle ~ Entry #3

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