IKEA Lenda Curtain Hack | DIY

I like working wall-by-wall.  It's a little less overwhelming than trying to tackle an entire room at once, not really knowing where in the heck to start.  So, during the current #letsroomtogether challenge, I really wanted to chip away at the to-do list for the whole living room but in three weeks?  It wasn't all going to happen.  You should see my list.  HA!  But, I knew we could probably hammer out this one wall.

And we did...ok, we almost did.  There's still some german shmearing and a new mantel to be had but, we made good progress in three weeks and are even farther considering what it looked like before we moved in:

Within that year and a half, we scraped and painted the popcorn ceilings, painted trim and walls, and hung some curtains.  It looked like this a few weeks before we started the challenge:

A Shady Ordeal

I recently played musical lamps and moved the big lamps from our living room (one was currently living on the piano) into our bedroom.  (I thrifted them years ago and we've had them in each living room ever since.  One year, I even painted them!)  We've had mismatched lamps in our bedroom for a good long while now and I just got to the end of my tolerance with it.  In the past few months we've acquired new (to us) curtains, a new rug, new pillows, and a new quilt and if you're anything like me, you'll understand that you can't make everything else look good and not remedy the lamp situation.  It'd be a travesty.  ;)

So, lamps?  Moved.  Great except they had these massive shades on them that didn't look so bad in a living room but in a bedroom on a side table?  They were just too big.  The hunt was on to find some smaller shades.  But, it wasn't an easy one and only took me oh, a couple of months.  Sure, I could've gone to the nearest retail store and grabbed a pair for whatever price they were but that's just not how I roll.  I kept my eyes peeled at Dirt Cheap forever but two of the same just never turned up.   

Within those couple of months, I also went to TJ Maxx, Walmart, World Market, Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, Marshall's, and Home Goods but the store with the best prices and a selection that blows the rest out of the water?  At Home.  (Pssst...this post is not sponsored by them.  They don't even know I'm writing it.)

I went out to ours last week and came home with three different shades because I couldn't decide in-store which would look best.  (Thankfully, they have a good return policy so I'll be able to return the ones I decide against.)  If I were smarter, I'd have just brought one of my lamps into the store with me.

I always seek out clearance first and at At Home, much of their clearance is mixed in with their original priced stuff.  Such was the case for the first shade I found.  It was the perfect size and color and it was 50% off at $8.99...but there was only one.  *womp womp*  I cried for a little bit and then put myself back together to keep looking.  Looking, looking, grab a couple of other shades, more looking.  Wait, what is that shade up there with the clearance sticker on it THAT LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE THE CLEARANCED SHADE I JUST WALKED AWAY FROM TWO AISLES AGO?!  Could it be????  It's on the tippity top shelf and I don't see any store employees around so I'll just run to the stool aisle quick and grab one of those so I can reach.  If anyone touches either of these shades while I'm gone, I will...they will...well, hurry Sheena.  RUN!  *grabs stool, uses stool, runs to put the stool back, runs to grab the first shade annnnnnd...YES!  THEY ARE THE EXACT SAME!  Dear Jesus, you love me.

I checked out with my plethora of shades and headed home to try them all on.  

Shade #1