This decor walkthrough stays in the order the work happens.
Paint is one of our go-to ways to give something a brand new look. Designer curtains set you back a pretty penny, but so many of the designs that are popular right now are so straightforward to do yourself (either with some direct dropcloth curtains or with a basic pair of curtain panels). So we collected our go-to Handmade painted curtain designs to get you started saving money while making your windows striking!
look at all of the All Things Windows goodness here, and share using #AllThingsWindows on social media. Don’t forget to come link up your window-related blog posts or Instagram photos at the party, too!
Handmade Painted Curtains
We’ll get to all the fun patterns you can paint on curtains, but first things first: choose your weapon, er, paint of choice. You can use latex paint like I did on Etta’s confetti polka dot drapes:
or you can use fabric paint (by From Gardners 2 Bergers, here on Bekob)
or turn craft paint into fabric paint with a textile medium (from Our Fifth House)
You can also use chalk paint (via Perfectly Imperfect)
or even spray paint! (Yes, Life on Mars really spray painted her curtains!)
You can also use paint pens like you can find at your local craft store (by The Handmade Show Off)
Or you can dye your curtains, dip-dye style, like Vitamini Handmade:
and Nalle’s House (at 4 men 1 lady)
or use the dye to freehand paint on the drapery panels, like shown here (have your Google translate ready :).
Obviously, each paint method has pros and cons and can make for a different look, so now let’s look over some different styles of painted curtains.
Next page: Striped and Chevron Painted Curtains –>
page 1: Painted Curtains Basics
page 2: Striped, Chevron, and Herringbone Painted Curtains
page 3: Geometric and Stamped Curtains
page 4: Stenciled and Freehand Painted Curtains
Handmade Striped Painted Curtains
Stripes are the simplest pattern to paint — just decide the width of your stripes, use painter’s tape to mark off your lines, and start painting! Using thick or thin stripes, or a combination of the two, on a portion or the full length of your curtains, you can create curtains that are just right for your decor.
SAS Interiors painted 4 thin stripes across her curtains to get the designer look she wanted:
while Sand and Sisal went for a more traditional wide stripe full length curtain:
Squirrelly Minds used a metallic paint to make her wide striped curtains even more eye-catching:
Using a set of thinner stripes to add interest to the bottom of a curtain panel helps the design stand out without competing with other prints in the room (from The Turquoise Home).
A full length colorblock striped curtain adds a lot of color to a room without adding too much competing pattern(by PBJ Stories).
A color-blocked section along the bottom of a curtain is great, too! (by Miss Information)
And you can vary the width and color of the stripes to make your curtains a centerpiece in your room’s color scheme (from Infarrantly Creative).
Solid color bands at the top and bottom of a set of curtains give the room some height and look lovely! (inspiration image via DecorPad)
And don’t forget – you can turn your stripes to run vertically, too! I love the banded look that Bliss At Home gave these direct curtains. 
Herringbone and Chevron Striped Curtains
A very close (and trendy) cousin of the stripe is the chevron and also the herringbone. Chevron pattern has been popular for awhile, while herringbone is a more classic variation on the ages-old pattern. Both are straightforward to paint on wall or curtains.
The Blissful Bee painted her bright yellow chevron curtains as part of her dining room makeover (featured here on Bekob).
I love the ombre of the chevron stripes that Owen’s Olivia painted (walkthrough here) for her nursery (featured here on Bekob).
Designer in Teal painted thicker two-tone chevron stripes:
While The Handmade Playbook used a vertical herringbone pattern along the hem of her drapes:
These aren’t Handmade (they’re by Serena and Lily) but these would make a great painted curtain — the imperfectly straight lines would make the handmade imperfections look designer-worthy!
Next page: Geometric Painted and Stamped Curtains –>
page 1: Painted Curtains Basics
page 2: Striped, Chevron, and Herringbone Painted Curtains
page 3: Geometric and Stamped Curtains
page 4: Stenciled and Freehand Painted Curtains
Geometric Painted Curtains Using Painter’s Tape
Geometric patterns are trending right now, which is well fitted for DIYers because you can re-create them using just painter’s tape, or by drawing and then tracing in paint.
Smile and Wave painted a double diamond pattern:
Bambula shared this geometric roller blind — but this would look great on drapery panels, too!
Interiors By Kenz used painter’s tape to create this arrow motif.
This diamond ikat pattern is by Houseologie. 
Love Creative combined several different geometric shapes and styles in these “native inspired” curtain panels:
And My Sister’s Suitcase shows you how to do 3 different and direct geometric curtain patterns. (One isn’t painted, but it could easily be painted or stamped.)
Stamped and Polka Dot Curtains
Working our way up the difficulty scale, next comes the stamped and polka dot curtains. Now really, these might actually be faster, easier, and less frustrating than the stripes because polka dots and hand-stamped shapes can be a little askew and it just adds to the handmade awesomeness of them.
I still love the polka dot confetti curtains I made for my daughter’s room using cups as stamps:
But if you’re looking to go a little more grown-up perhaps, try spreading out the circles like Hello Lidy.
Or you can space the polka dots more evenly like Tiny Sidekick did.
I’m also thinking that this clearly direct stamped circle motif could look great on the right curtains:
52 Weekends of Handmade made these modern stamped triangle curtains
and you could follow her stamp-creating technique to make the stamps and create curtains with patterns like these (via Apartment Therapy).
Next page: Stenciled and Freehand Painted Curtains –>
page 1: Painted Curtains Basics
page 2: Striped, Chevron, and Herringbone Painted Curtains
page 3: Geometric and Stamped Curtains
page 4: Stenciled and Freehand Painted Curtains
Stenciled Curtains
When you’re looking for just the right pattern at the right price, using a stencil or freehanding a design can give you the high-end look without costing your kids’ college fund. Of course you can buy a stencil, or you could create your own like Crazy Wonderful did:
Unskinny Boppy used a couple smaller stencils to add interest to a plain white shade.
Proverbs 31 Girl used a tone-on-tone stencil to dress up her drop cloth curtains.
This multi-colored scattered herringbone stencil looks great in Paisley Roots‘ daughter’s room!
And this bold single color pattern really stands out at Design Par Deux.
While this more muted color and classic pattern is still just as lovely (at PBJ Stories).
A large motif looks lovely on these curtains (via Better Homes and Gardens)
or you can use a vinyl stencil to really make your curtains talk! (haha) like Less Than well fitted Life of Bliss
Or you can skip the paint and use fabric markers and a hand-drawn template for a subtle pattern like Nifty Thrifty Momma:
Freehand Painted Curtains
And what about freestyle painting? You could go Jackson Pollock but here’s some inspiration to show you what else you could also do.
How About Orange painted up some direct drapes for the office.
Christine Dovey hand-painted these patterned curtains for her home (featured on Eclectically Vintage).
Use fabric dye to paint on curtains for a hand-sketched watercolor look (from Plumetis Magazine).
This pic is inspiration only(via Cup Half Full) but just think how straightforward this curvy trellis pattern could be to paint?
Or if you’re REALLY an artist… just sketch out an octopus. straightforward-peasy… (via Casa Sugar)
So, now the problem is choosing just ONE style to paint your next set of curtains. (Should I mention that all 100 of these wall painting options would also work great on curtains? :D)
Handmade PAINTED CURTAINS
page 1: Painted Curtains Basics
page 2: Striped, Chevron, and Herringbone Painted Curtains
page 3: Geometric and Stamped Curtains
page 4: Stenciled and Freehand Painted Curtains
