Level Up Gents

Curtains make a big difference to a room/house. Remember when you moved into your place? Chances are, you put up some kind of curtains right away — if only that college standby, a tacked-up sheet or blanket.  Well you’re not in college anymore.

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Curtains provide privacy; they filter light; they affect the feel of a room. Most places if you rent come with some sort of blinds.  Typically they are outdated and dingy.  Depending on how cheap they are- they may not block out light as well.  A great alternative is curtains.

You can use curtains to change the look and feel of a room, and they’re a fast, easy and relatively inexpensive way to update your decor. Consider when and how the room is used, what’s outside, what exposure to light does the room have.

Stand back from the select window and envision what color, style and texture that you want.  Think about the furniture and wall color, etc.  Decide what would look good and serve your needs as well.  If it’s in a bedroom, you may prefer room darkening curtains.  If it’s in the living room or dining room, you might desire an airy look that you can still see some of the outdoors, like a sheer. Decide on the width and length.  Do you want curtains all the way across a wall?  Or just over the window?  Ceiling to floor length or just above window to window sill?  Make sure the proportions work for the room.

Stores I suggest for decorating on a budget include places like Ikea and Ross, other options are Target and Bed Bath & Beyond.

Choose the width and length of curtain, carefully.  Most curtains come in 63″ or 84″ lengths.  You can easily modify the length yourself with a no sewing seam tape that just requires an iron (this applies to non sheer curtains).  When mounting the rod and curtain, the rule of thumb for width is to add 4″ to each side of window for overlap.  This keeps the extra light from seeping into the room.  You can also layer curtains with sheer or non sheer under your main curtain fabric you choose, depending on what type of natural lighting you are trying to achieve.

Curtains are always a nice touch and alternative to blinds.

I’m not a stickler for having matching plates and glasses or having any type of fine China. I never really understood the whole nice China on the wedding registry.  Clearly I have no plans to have fancy parties to entertain lots of guests.  But at minimum have more than 4 sets of plates, utensils and cups.  This helps so you don’t have to constantly do the dishes or run out of something when you have guests over.

For those on a real budget Goodwill is a great place to pick up super cheap utensils, cups, and plates.  They may not all match but they are cheap and I think it’s better to have 6 or more mismatching forks than only 2. The next upgrade option is a place like Ross or Marshalls.  You can pick up a new set for a really good price.  And if you want to go big, get married and you can put some fancy silverware and crystal on the registry because it can get absurdly expensive.