Family Room Curtain Options and GIVEAWAY winner

I have been struggling with what to do with our family room windows. 

Currently we have cream honeycomb shades on them. Since the windows on this side of the house face west, we get hit with the afternoon sun in this room. It's bright and gets way too hot. The translucent honeycomb shades do little to help this.

I thought about bamboo shades or roman shades, but Jacob didn't like those options. And I'm not crazy about blinds because I like having clear, unobstructed windows to enjoy the view of the backyard.

So that leaves us with curtains. And there are oh so many choices!

Whatever curtains I choose for the family room have to be the same as the ones over the sliding door. Originally I was going to do the same tan/white striped curtains in the family room as the ones I made for the breakfast nook, but I felt like that would just be took much tan in the space. While I love the look of the striped curtains (and they were a lot of work to make!), the color just isn't working.

I have been shopping for fabric for a few weeks and below are some of the options I've been considering...

1. Annie Selke Scramble Slate (JoAnn Fabric)

2. Braemore Conservatory Bark (Fabric.com)

3. Halo Mist (Beautiful Fabric)
4. Dwell Studio Botany Flora taupe (Fabric.com)

5. Premier Prints Towers Village Blue/Natural (Fabric.com)

6. Premier Prints Ozborne Village Blue/Natural (Fabric.com)

7. Annie Selke Links Slate (JoAnn Fabric)

8. Kravet Sommer 35 (Inside Fabric)

9. (Pottery Barn)

10. Braemore Fioretto Graphite (Decorative Fabrics Direct)

11. Dynasty (Designer Fabrics Online)

12. still looking for the source on these ones...

13. Gray Damask Fabric (Carousel Designs)

14. Fancy Lattice by Frontdoor (Spoonflower)

15. Grey on White Jaali by Emmy Upholstery (Spoonflower)

16. Taza by Dena Designs - Geo in Natural (Etsy)

 Obviously I want something with white/cream and a gray blue color. I was leaning toward #1, 10, and 14, but the prices just seem a bit steep for my liking ($49.99/yd, $34.25/yd, $18/yd respectively) and since I change my mind so often, I just can't stomach spending between $288-$800 on curtains!

When I saw these panels (fabric #10 above), I absolutely fell in love...

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So I started brainstorming how I could create this same look for cheaper. And then I came across Beth's tutorial for using a stencil on white Ikea drapes to create customized curtains!

Genius!

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I already hit up Ikea this week and purchased the Lenda curtains ($29.99 per 108" pair!) and I just ordered the Small Moorish Trellis Stencil from Royal Design Studio.

Total cost for fabric, stencil and stencil tools = $146 + cost of paint

I like that price much better.

The winner of the NOVICA gift certificate is Tamara, who wrote,

"Hi Erin, I would order the Soapstone jar, 'Jasmine Rose'. Love this new site, I'll have to visit often. Thanks for the tip!"

Congratulations, Tamara! I will be contacting you via email with the gift certificate info!