Home Remodel Estimator - Itemized costing guide for your home remodeling needs

A question that arises from new home owners of relatively small house units.  Will curtains be OK instead of doors.  Ah, it’s a question indeed and the answer to it lies on the owners activities and furnishings for such small spaces.

If you have too small space to work with then YES, doors may be too restrictive for indoor movements and so curtains will make sense.  Small space but less furnishings, ummm, then no, you may put doors in provided that you comfortably open and close the door without bumping on them.

The key really is for you to evaluate your comfortable living situation + the furnishings around you that play together with indoors.

So anyway, if you really want curtains for doorways let me offer you a few simple steps to get you started from ehow.com : 

Step 1:  Measure your doorway and purchase material. The width of the material should be 8 to 10 inches wider than you need for your doorway curtains. The length of the material needs to be at least 3-10 inches from the floor.

Step 2:  Cut your material in half from top to bottom to make 2 panel curtains. Sew in all 4 sides about 1/2 inch. Fold over the top 1/4 inch and iron. Then fold down 1 1/2 inches and sew along the bottom making a sleeve for the curtain rod. Then turn up the bottom 1/2 inch and hem.

Step 3:  Do the same as above only with 1 panel to make a 1 panel curtain. Make it a little wider and push it together on the rod. Use a rod at the top and the bottom to keep it in place. Use the small round rods with fancy ends and a thin material. Another trick is to sew 1 inch down from the top all the way across the width and instead of a hem, turn over 2 inches at the bottom and sew at 1 inch and again at 2 inches, creating the sleeve for the rod. You will have a little top and bottom piece and won’t notice the rods as much.

(photo by Veronica Toney)

If you have kids at home it is very important to create for them a little space where they can comfortably stay and study, read or be artistically motivated.  These are kids’ study stations.  It doesn’t need to be big areas, remember they’re children so a little space to wiggle around will be sufficient.  Look at the picture above and you’d see a general view of how a kids station looks like.

Kids need these areas so that they can be trained at structural behavior.  If they do homework everywhere at home chances are they’d do everything else everywhere.  Eat in the bedroom or living room, games in the kitchen or other things in wrong areas.

Supply for them enough drawers to keep their materials in, a small table to fit their daily school chores like homework and small projects.  A nicely decorated corkboard or pin-up board.  A few shelves and viola, a warm hug and kiss will surely come your way! 

Now’s probably a good time to think about what is needed to done during the winter season.  I mean, we’re all bound to spend 3/4 of the day indoors anyway (too cold outside for any other things).  I remember asking a neighbor yesterday “so what are you guys doing for winter”.  His reponse, “oh well, you know when it’s winter, we’d just be indoors most of the time after work playing with the kids or doing some things online.”

Winter is a great time to do small improvements at home!

Maybe you need something done in the kitchen, where you’ve procrastinated all year round.  Time to tighten some loose knots and bolts maybe?  Or re-arrange the grocery cabinet for instance?  Whatever it is, be sure to jot it down your schedules of things to do for the winter season.