a giant roman shade - getting settled, day 6

First - did you think I forgot about my 30 days of posts about my new house? I never said the series would be rapid fire style, or that it would only take 30 days ;)

Remember, I'm the one who writes the posts...this series could take years.

Or I could give myself a deadline...I'm arbitrarily picking Nov. 20.

You can hold me to this:

By Nov. 20, I will have completed 30 posts about my new house.

Pinky swear.

Back to draperies...ahhh window coverings...one of my favorite things to obsess about.
I'm trying really hard not to obsess too much.
To say "This will work, let's do it."
And then execute my plan.

It worked in my little granny bath.
And every time I scrub the toilet and disinfect the floor (hello 3 year old boy!), I look up and smile at my sweet little curtain.

Now, the exact opposite emotions consume me every time I glance (and it is always accidentally) at the horror that is the vertical blinds in my kitchen.

And then one day I was reading blogs and saw a roman blind on a window over a kitchen sink.

Thanks for the inspiration Centsational Girl!

My mind started to go into overdrive...can I do this on a huge scale?
I decided that I can, and I will.

I'm calling my project "Giant Roman Shade"
Super original, eh?
I pinned two Roman Shade tutorials (A, B), and I'm working from both.

Because I will need a chunk of fabric 85"x101.5", I decided to use a drop cloth.
I happen to have a few hanging around...

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I have more drop cloths in storage. Almost.

After measuring, I realized not a single drop cloth is large enough.
Sad face.
Then grumpy face.

little helper

I hit up The Home Depot and found a 9'x12' dropcloth.
Happy face!

Except when I unfolded it I found this:

argh!

Not one, but two seams! And it is filthy.
Angry face. And maybe some expletives.
And I am totally making hubs return it.

I took a few minutes to regroup and came up with a solution:

I like to fill sketch pads with room and project plans...and then I never share my ideas with anyone.

Use a drop cloth base and  build a frame around it, then add some coordinating ribbon to accentuate the design.
After doing a little math I realized that I won't even need to cut the dropcloth I am using!
Is that kismet, or what?!

Tomorrow I shop for fabric and ribbon...and I'm bringing both boys...

I think I will require an expensive coffee ;)

What's your favorite expensive coffee?

Any bets on how long it'll take me to finish this project?