Do you have a room that serves more than one purpose, like a children’s playroom combined with an adult home-office or exercise area? Ceiling mounted curtain panels on a track system can serve as an inexpensive, versatile, and stylish way to create a visual division between the two areas. These work especially well in finished basements, where ceilings tend to be low and “off the rack” curtain panels from mass retailers are just the right height and can be found at reasonable prices.The first step in this project is to measure the length of the ceiling area where the curtain system will hang. Next, purchase a ceiling mounted track system in the correct length – these can be found easily and inexpensively online or in up-scale fabric stores. Alternately, you can mount a simple curtain rod and curtain clips by using ceiling hooks – this alternative works well, but remember that your fabric will hang a few inches from the ceiling because of the circumference of the rings. Next, simply purchase pre-made curtains (usually 84”), or any fabric of your choice cut to the correct length. Purchase enough to cover two-times the length of the area so that the fabric hangs in folds (unless you want a simpler and cleaner look – then just purchase what you need to cover the area). Finally, clip or sew your curtains/fabrics to the rings, and you have an instant, retractable, and attractive room divider!
Stacy Curran is an attorney who decided that the practice of law is just not creative enough for her. Beginning in 2003, she started studying interior decorating. She opened her business, South Shore Decorating, in Marshfield, MA in 2008. Since then, she has worked on everything from remodeling projects to whole-house pre-construction consulting. She can be contacted at www.southshoredecorating.com or at (781) 264-2473.
