Saturday, September 19, 2009

Stripes, zig zags and chevron and on and on


Six months ago chevron meant "gas station." Today, it means a classic yet trendy V-shaped pattern and/or an utter waste of time thanks to the extraordinary distraction of home design blogs.

I need a curtain for this doorway as a deterent to overnight guests shuffling out of the bedroom for a cup of coffee and literally catching you with your pants around your knees.



I was thinking that white would be nice. Then a few weeks ago, I posted about beach-inspired decor, which included black stripes and zig zags, which made me want a chevron runner for the foyer. Except throw rugs cost money and collect schmutz. Meanwhile lots of stripes and zig zags continued popping up all over the home design bloggie world.

Diane Bergeron via M.A. Bell



Little Green Notebook

Why not a striped or chevron curtain instead?

Stripes are easy enough to come by for $10 a yard or so.

Chevron ranges from $90 a yard for Rubie Green's East Village to $60 a yard for Schumacher's High Voltage. Interior Mall offers chevron in three colors for only $9.99 a yard. (Five-yard minimum.)

Interior Mall

Interior Mall

Then I got it into my head that what I really want is a grey chevron, since black and white is too bold for me, let alone hot pink. (Although I did consider a nice neutral on one side and a touch of bold zig zag on the other as done in this room from the Hampton Designer Showhouse.)

Elizabeth Bailey via M.A. Belle

Fortunately, Curbly has a how-to for taking striped fabric and turning it into chevron by ModHomeEcTeacher.


curbly.com

But, guess what, nobody makes gray and white striped fabric. So, I can't make a gray chevron by sewing. But what about paint? High Heeled Foot in the Door painted her own curtains with a bright yellow stripe.


Sunset Magazine provides a step-by-step project for painting a chevron pattern on furniture including a downloadable pattern. I could do the same on a set of IKEA curtains.


Sunset Magazine via Kelly+Olive

In the end I did nothing. I'll wait, and six months after I don't care anymore, some extremely cheap curtains will fall into my lap. They will probably be white.

Another long zig zag down the information superhighway.
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12 comments:

  1. Jeannine | The Small and Chic HomeSeptember 19, 2009 at 3:14 PM

    You won't believe what I'm doing right now...testing the painting technique High Heeled Foot in the Door used on her curtains. I almost testing it with a chevron pattern, but went for stripes. If this works, I might move on to the curtains.

    BTW, there are simple, 96" panels at Target for $26 right now. It's not that much and it just might work out!

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  2. SamanthaSeptember 19, 2009 at 4:37 PM

    Thanks for the tip. Let me know how that paint job goes. It looked like potential disaster for someone of my skill level.

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  3. KarynSeptember 19, 2009 at 8:48 PM

    Wait! There is a grey and white stripe at TS Fabric & it's lovely. The chevron pattern is just what I plan to do with it someday.

    http://www.tsfabrics.com/Vertical-Charcoal-White_p_583.html

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  4. PeggySeptember 19, 2009 at 10:09 PM

    Sure you can make gray and white chevrons by sewing. It'll just take a little more sewing since you'll have to actually construct the stripes first and then turn them into chevrons.

    ReplyDelete
  5. onegrandhomeSeptember 20, 2009 at 1:49 PM

    Oh the part about doing nothing and waiting 6 months and ending up with white is SOOO true. It is exactly how every trend from ikat to acrylic to ombre has passed me by. I like zig zags but I feel as though they've become so ubiquitous that I'll just end up thinking "2009" every time I see them so I doubt I'll ever make the financial investment or the time investment. Stripes seem more timeless.

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  6. Laura TreveySeptember 20, 2009 at 9:05 PM

    IKEA has the best deals!! Beautiful for $7.99/yard

    xo Laura

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  7. SamanthaSeptember 21, 2009 at 9:51 AM

    Compulsively Compiled - thanks for finding the grey stripe. Perfect! Now I can start my obsession all over again.
    Brogan's Momma - I can barely sew a straight line. But for someone with actual talent, that could work.
    One Grand Home - I had to Google ombre. I guess that's good. Yes, I have to say my beige on beige on beige is quite timeless.

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  8. AverillSeptember 28, 2009 at 10:32 PM

    Hah! Love this post and you're probably right, if you wait it out, the desire will fade and you'll inevitably stumble on something perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  9. modhomeecteacherJanuary 15, 2010 at 7:44 AM

    Once you get the hang of sewing the stripes to make your chevron pattern, you'll be so happy you created what you had in mind. NOBODY else will have it.

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  10. AnonymousOctober 24, 2010 at 9:56 PM

    Here's a gray stripe
    http://quilthome.com/product_info.php/products_id/8069

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  11. SamanthaOctober 25, 2010 at 9:20 AM

    That's a nice one. Thanks. And only $9 a yard.

    ReplyDelete
  12. WinsyMarch 2, 2011 at 1:43 PM

    I found gray chevron! Planning on make curtains for myself. http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/458795

    ReplyDelete

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