Certain items call me when I am at a flea market, and curtains are right up there with chandeliers. They’re my specialty. I can convert anything — from a dish towel to a shower curtain — into a window treatment. Sometimes it’s because I prefer the fabric, other times, it’s the only affordable alternative. When I don’t always find what I am looking for at a flea market, I have what I call “Plan B” that allows me to get the vintage style I want but remain true to a second hand or clearance budget as long as the item is at least one of these three criteria: is it 1) Original 2) Vintage 3) Found
WINDOW #1
Client needed: Dress two large kitchen windows dressed for their 1903 Queen Anne style Victorian home.
Style: Whimsical, but neat.
Budget: Low
Solution: Two Green shears, from Marburn Warehouse; centered a dish towel with a charming yet whimsical bird applique, from on clearance Anthropologie; flanked by two matching green and red napkins at Home Goods.
Two wooden clothes pins to hold the dish towel in place
Final Cost: $35
WINDOW #2
Client Needs: How to continue to dress their laundry room windows.
Style: Whimsical, but neat.
Budget: Low
Solution: Three Cynthia Rowley dishtowels on clearance at Home Goods. Each one picked up the melon and golden touches in the room and yet they fresh, crisp and white linen with hand embroidery that perfectly added the touch of “originality” I look for in a find.
Final Cost: $10
WINDOW #3
Client Needs: How to continue to dress window in the adjoining bathroom to the laundry room.
Style: Whimsical, but neat.
Budget: Low
Solution: One shower curtain on clearance at Home Goods and vintage necklace I strung across the top for a charming embellishment.
Final Cost: $20
