If you're near an Ikea, try checking there. I have friends with screened porches who got curtain panels there at a low cost. And greater ease of mind --- who cares about pollen, rain, etc. when you haven't spent a fortune.

I have heavy plain beige cotton curtains from Ikea for the back patio/porch because the angle of the late afternoon sun is brutal here in Texas!

Bought the ones with large steel grommets (can't remember the name ....) and they come unhemmed and are VERY long -- I just left them that way so that they would be long enough for the roof of the porch AND heavy enough to handle the wind. May be buying another pair to expand the sun-blocking ability.

I HAVE done long king-size sheets for the curtains -- basically I turned them upside down -- and opened the "top edge or hem" (now along the bottom) -- and filled sandwich bags with clean kitty litter -- and pushed them inside that hem to weight them down. Lots of windy afternoons here in Texas! THEN I added grommets along the top and used shower curtain rings to run them along a rod .....

The Ikea curtains are SO much easier!!

Jan

I have lusted over this patio on RMS...Ive included the link. She uses Home Depot painters tarps. Its really quite beautiful!

Here is a link that might be useful: Rate My Space patio

wow.. love the painter's tarp! I guess my concerns are different from most people's since my porch isn't protected from rain.

Those are lovely and man, for the price, I wouldn't think twice before I was in the car and off to pick some up.

KeeKush, WOW, thanks for that link!! That lady's patio is spectacular! I've wanted to put up curtains like that for sooooo long, but the price of Sunbrella scared me off too. I'm off to HD tomorrow! :)

Here's a whole page of Sunbrella fabrics on Ebay.
I've won bids 3 times for Sunbrella and have never been disappointed.

Scroll down a bit to get to the auctions/Buy It Now that have 10-20 yards for One Bid/Buy It Now.

If you need more than that, email the seller and ask if there is more available.

I covered a set (4) of porch chairs with Sunbrella from Ebay.
Two of the chairs sit in direct S. Calif. sun from noon until 4 or 5 p.m.
This summer will be three years and so far, no change in the fabric, no fading, nada.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ebay -Whole page of Sunbrella Fabrics

NHB, thanks for posting this thread - what a beautiful inspiration. I have considered using bamboo shades on my screened porch, but never curtains, until now! It looks beautiful!

That room on RMS is wonderful - thanks for posting it. When she says they are painters tarps that are "pre sewn", what does that mean? To hangm I assume you could do either thing they describe in the Lowe's ad - use snaps or rods with hooks and rings? Great ideas!

I have used shower curtains many times for outside curtains. They are water proof and machine washable. I have also used the same shower curtain fabric to cover my chair cushions and make place matts for the patio table.
Bonnie

Here is a link that might be useful: Farmhouse Treasures

I saw a neat idea on a landscape show recently that could probably be adapted here. They hung a piece of lattice on the narrow end of a porch and then planted flowers (sweet peas I think) down below which would eventually grow up and cover the lattice. The neat idea was the way they hung the lattice. They just screwed two of those large screws with the eyes on them (the eye was about an inch across on the ones they used) into the underside of the porch ceiling trim, and then just used S-hooks or something to hang the lattice from these eye-hooks. I was thinking you could do a similar thing by sewing a casing across the top end and bottom end of a piece of painter's canvas. Insert a dowel in each casing, which will keep the fabric nice and taut almost like a panel. Use S-hooks on the ends of the top dowel to hang it. It would be easy up and easy down for laundering, etc. It would also take less fabric than some of the other ideas.
Lynn

bestyears - I like your idea and I could adapt them with roping to make as roller shades. Buying custom canvas roller shades is way too expensive and none of my openings is standard.

farmhousetreasures - I assume you mean the fabric shower curtain liners and not the plastic type. :) In any event, good idea, but they would not be long enough for my high ceiling porch.

keekush2 - I will have to read the RMS article more closely. Love that look!

I'll check HD for the painters canvas and for length. Also, IKEA, but we don't have a store, so I would have to pay shipping. Thanks teacats and arleneor!

amity - eBay is an option I haven't thought of. Thanks!

We also get a lot of wind, so I would have to put some sort of weights at the bottom of the curtains.

Well, off to look at all the links!

www.coolaroo.com/northernupdate/html/proshadesails.asp
Go to the DIY section & there are instructions on how to make the shade

magothyrivergirl - I'll take a look at the instructions for shades, but I found the painters canvas at Lowe's (polkadots - they appear to have finished hems) and they will be the perfect size and weight for curtains (going to get the Heavy - not Super Heavy weight).

Now, to figure out how to hang them. The cheapest would be to use wire or rope. Rods would be too expensive and hard to find the long ones (my porch is 20' long). I don't know how expensive plumbers iron is these days, but that is an option. I want to be able to open and close the drapes easily by pulling them, so the hooks will not work.

I also don't like the color of screen that the builders used and would love to change it to the "copper" that was featured in the Lowe's Creative Idea magazine. As long as the screen is being redone (if DH would allow it), maybe I can talk DH into letting me have the porch columns trimmed nicer and painted.

Our builder dropped the ball when he finished our porch. I had the following in mind when I asked for a screened porch.
{{!gwi}}

Instead, this is what we got! Unfinished treated post, with vinyl tacked onto the outside. We were going to add a pergola over the patio to help the looks of the rear house, but it is not in our budget this year.:(
{{!gwi}}

I loved my porch from my old house:
{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Lowe's Painters Canvas

You can buy the sheets of vinyl to wrap the wood posts. Home Depot or Lowes (maybe both) carry it. We looked at it when we considered updating our screened porch. We ended up enclosing it as a sun room with the sliding windows (with screens). So much better for us and the amount of pollen we get here (plus I'm allergic).

I can't really picture the wire or rope. You could make your own rods using dowel rods (paint or stain). You can have that cut to length.

A pergola would look nice. Is your hubby a DIY'er? My hubby built a lovely arbor coming off our patio. It was not expensive, looks wonderful and did so much for that area. We practically live in our sunroom/patio/backyard.

tina

No, DH is not handy, at all!

I would love to see a photo of your arbor.

Are the "sheets" of vinyl different from what is on the outside post?

I've seen wire in magazines. It really doesn't show, as it is hung from the ceiling and the curtains are strung on it.

I've just found some panels of painters canvas on eBay that are 4' x 15' and they come in packages of 6. Best part is that they are made in America and are made right up the street from me. I could save $5 on each panel, instead of buying the "Made in China" panels at Lowe's.

I could tie back a panel on each post, if I could get them to sell me an extra two panels for a total of 8(I have already written them), and the panels would be the perfect width when closing in each screen segment.

If you painted - actually put a solid stain on the posts and all the wood either white or matching your house, it would make a huge difference.
I do not think the wire will support the wgt of the canvas. Before you go to all the trouble, wet the canvas, like it would get wet in a storm, and make sure that it doesn't shrink alot & that you still like how it looks after it gets drenched and dries. I have washed drop cloths, and they are terrible after.
If you have JoAnne's near you, look there for inexpensive decorative round, rods. I bought 3 for a very long wall & patio door and combined them to achieve the span. I think they were $14.99 ea & came with the rings!
Your porch in you other home is so inviting and warm - I see why you miss it.

We have planned on staining the wood a cream color to match the house, and were waiting for the wood to cure. It has been two years, so I guess we can go ahead. :)

Thank you for the canvas tip. That's why I emphasized that the cloths were made in America. They are 100% cotton and I think I will just hem up the excess to make a thick and heavy hem - to weigh the cloth down. That way, I can let some out if I end up washing and they shrink.

The problem with rods is that I have to hang it from the ceiling. Not sure how I would work curtain rods. The wire is not your ordinary picture wire. It is heavy duty rope type cable. I would also screw short pieces along each segment of the porch, so that one long piece is not strung along the length.

Here is another photo of my current porch (I have posted before).

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

So should I order the canvas 4 x 15 panels? I heard back from the seller and he said that I can order 2 extra.

Newhomebuilder, your porches are just lovely! And so are the views!! I think the drapes would be the perfect touch!

I'm following along with you here. I loooove that inspiration photo that Keekush linked to. I'm going to try to duplicate it---I have soft arches on my patio.

I don't think you're wire idea will work. I still can't picture the logistics that you're describing, but in any case, it will sag or eventually stretch. And if you add supports, then your fabric cannot retract there.

What windows are you trying to cover? The only way I see it would be to do two sets of panels on either side of the door, then maybe leaving the space above the door bare or putting plywood there to make a "wall" of it (if it looks funny to you). You can run a rod at the very top of your walls where you have that 2x4". If you want them to open and close regularly, you will need to put your drapes on rings and not rod-and-pocket.

I bought the painter's cloth at Lowe's, the very same one you were looking at. It's the 12x15' and is very heavy. When I opened it, there were some areas that had "red" on it---I think the canvas is all second-hand fabric. But I'm able to cut that portion off. I'm guessing the other panels will have "flaws" as well.

I bought enough to make 3x the width of the opening and am making french pleats at the top. So far I have stitched on the header and it handles very nicely.

Good luck!!

You are a busy bee! I think I will just wait and see what you do. LOL

I'm not really understanding what you are asking. I am not covering windows. I plan to gather a 4' wide panel of canvas cloth over each porch support post. Then the panels will be able to open to the right or left, by way of wire cable (see links below). I got the idea from HGTV, but instead of stringing one long wire cable, I will use short 4' pieces between each of the 7 porch segments (including the door area). This will make the wire stronger.

I think that clip-on-rings would work the best, but I am going to first try stringing the wire cable through the hem. If it doesn't work, I'll try something else. :) I have my daughters bedroom curtains on a rod with rod pocket and have no problem pulling them closed when needed.

I do not want much fullness, because I don't want to cover the view from inside the house. I just want something that will soften the look some. Once opened, the panels will be flat (like the panels in the Lowe's article). I will probably add snaps at the bottom to keep them secure. If that doesn't work, I can make the roll-up shades that bestyears described.

If the canvas doesn't do the trick, I will not be out more than $50. I am hoping that the locally made, American made tarps will not have flaws. :)

http://moderninmn.blogspot.com/2007/03/my-friend-wire-rope.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Curtain Wire Cable

You could buy canvas drop cloths from lowes or a hardware store. They are canvas, durable, and can be hosed down to be washed if need be. They can also be dyed with fabric dye if you wanted a color besides the cream/white color they come in. Oh yeah...did I mention cheap for the amount of fabric? They run from like $5 - $20 depending on the size.

Good luck and be sure to show us a picture when you are done! :)

Ummmmmm, rhapsdy - I hate to be the one to point this out *LOL*, but canvas drop cloths are what we have been discussing in the last several post because of keekush2 post.

I gather you posted without reading the thread. :) That's alright...we all do it from time to time. :)

Now that I see what you are talking about with the wire, that might just work. Good luck!

tina

Newhomebuilder, if you find the drop cloth canvas too heavy for clip on rings, you could always buy some metal grommets and put them in. They are very, very easy to do! When I made my children's shower curtain, I bought an inexpensive grommet setter, the grommets and put them in myself. It only took a few minutes to set them.

Newhomebuilder, have you looked at buying outdoor fabric - either at a local fabric store or online? Maybe something like the link here....
More expensive than drop cloths but gives you a lot of colour choices to fit your decor and you would be able to make it any length you want.
I haven't purchased anything from this supplier, so have no idea of the quality.
Margaret

Here is a link that might be useful: Outdoor Fabric

Newhomebuilder, I think we're on the same page. So once you retract the canvas, you want them to line up with your "posts," right? So you'll have 6 or 7? So your wire will have to be supported in the MIDDLE of each post, right?

I still think those wires will stretch out over time, LOL! But if you go for it, I'd love to see it and find out if it works for you! :)

I like the grommet idea. Since you only have a small space at the top where the canvas will hang (the horizontal 2x4), the grommet will allow for some material to "cover" the top. That way you're seeing floor-to-ceiling canvas. I think with clip-ons, the canvas will hang lower and allow for light to come through at the top (the 2x4 not being very thick) and it can be distracting. And what would be exposed is that 2x4.

I talked to a couple of guys and they knew exactly what I was talking about.

They also assure me that the wire cable will not stretch and they showed me how to attach the wire to itself using "grimps" (shown in the above article). I will use a small eye hook that will screw up into the porch ceiling, every four feet, so I don't have to use small pieces every four feet.

I looked at a 4 x 15 painters canvas tarp and the color is perfect! I was hoping that the hem would be wide enough to string the cable through, but the tarps at Lowe's (Made in India) have too narrow and hem and the sides are not hemmed, just "finished".

The canvas tarps that I am going to order from eBay have all four edges hemmed and are only $8 a piece, as compared to the $15 at Lowe's. I will wait for them to come, to see if I can use the hem. If not, I have a grommet maker and think that would be an excellent idea and the tarps would slide easier.

Now, I have to figure out what to use as tie backs. The extra material perhaps?

While I was at Lowe's, I also looked at the faux wood bamboo blinds and the Sunbrella shades. The Sunbrella only $98 for a 10' shade. I thought, GREAT, the perfect length if I buy two. Well, I came home and instead of my porch being 20' long, it is 26' long.

My painters canvas came today, by UPS. :)

The tarps are no better looking than the Lowe's tarps. Thin hem on top and bottom and selvage edge on the sides. This worse thing is they smell, almost like mildew, but more like they have been sitting in a dirt covered floor in a warehouse. I only opened one of them, but I can smell the odor through the plastic bags of the others.

I placed the open tarp in the dryer with a damp cloth and a dryer sheet. I don't want to wash them, because they will shrink and wrinkle. I am not ready to iron them.

I sure hope the smell gets better, because we get that constant breeze towards the house, which means the porch will smell like the tarps.

Any suggestions?

Is there a place you can leave them outside to air out-after spraying with Febreeze?

Your porch looks alot like mine and I want to hang drapes too. JC Penny has some outdoor drapes that I have been eyeing. If there is a code they would be even cheaper.

My sis used the IKEA sheers (LILL) on her porch for about 5 yrs now. Her porch is screened and the bottom is enclosed though up til about 3 ft but the sheers are very inexpensive and could be easily replaced. She hung them on PVC pipe. When they are dirty she just washes and hangs back up.

Here is a link that might be useful: jc penny outdoor curtains

>>

That's just what I was going to recommend, hang them up outside and spray liberally with Febreeze. I hope the smell comes out for you!

The dryer and fabric softener sheet helped a bit, but I can still smell it. The fabric also wrinkled some. I may just end up washing after all.

Is there a Febreeze that comes in a dryer sheet? That's a lot of spraying and I have limited use of my hands. I'd need a garden sprayer with that much fabric. LOL

I can try hanging the curtains up outside for a few days, but I will not be able to use the porch.

bebetokids - The curtains at Penny's look nice, but they are not long enough...not to mention the price!

I left the one panel outside last night. It was draped over some chairs. It smells a little better. Once I run them all in the dryer and then aired out, they should be fine.

I still have not decided on whether I will make shades or curtains at this point. Because of the 4' widths, and the fact that with curtains, I would have to do a good bit of hemming, I am thinking that shades would be easier with the use of wooden dowels and staples. I can hang the shades with hook and eye. I would have absolutely no sewing and the cost would be low. :) Also, I realized that with curtains, one panel would cover up my dogs "doggie" door and I am not sure how to work that.

If I do go with the curtains, I have found another system that I prefer, but would involved a lot of labor. See below link.

My husband has approved my project and even said that we could stain the porch supports a cream color to match the stucco. Any suggestions on the type of colored stain we should use?

In any event, I will have to put the project on the back burner until I get back from Italy. I leave two weeks from tomorrow and haven't even thought about my packing. Plus, my daughter is moving back home this weekend and I will be busy getting adjusted with her move. LOL

texashottie - How is your porch coming along?

Here is a link that might be useful: Curtain Rods for Pennies

Hey, NHB! Yes, I had the stinky tarps too. They aired out after being out of the package for a day or two. I also had to iron mine---but they iron up very nicely.

I have 3 panels made and installed. I have 2 more to go of a different length (they hang over our outdoor kitchen counter.)

I just got back from a small roadtrip and have family coming in for the weekend, so maybe I'll have pics up at the end of next week?

Enjoy Italy! Yum!!

texashottie - Just saw this thread again (I have it saved on my favorites). I am anxious to see your finished product.

DH and I are going to clean the porch today, for the second time this season and hopefully the pollen can be eradicated with a simple daily blowing (with leaf blower) until I leave next Thursday. I want DH to enjoy the porch while I am gone, but the staining and curtains will have to wait until I return.

Post photos when you get a chance!

newhb, did you ever find the porch curtains? I happened to see these. I didn't re-read all the previous messages, so someone else may have suggested these.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.improvementscatalog.com/product/outdoor-curtain-panels.do

Mammie, if newhb doesn't see this, *i'm* sure glad I did!! I'm moving to TX at the end of the month, and am putting off getting the patio screened in until next spring, but ohhhh that heat AND mosquitos. I found outdoor panels on another site, but they were over $100 per panel and I would need too many.

I read a few of the previous posts and a lot of great ideas were given, but for $49 a panel, I can sure save a lot of time and aggravation. I would need them weighted~texashottie is right about the wind!

Thanks sooooooo much for posting the site! ;o)

Going back to read........

Thank you for remembering me. :)

If you look 3 or 4 post above, you will see that i purchased the painters tarp (6 panels for the price of your one, which would not have been long enough anyway.)

Now that I am back from Europe, moving my daughter and a beach trip, I am finally settling down. I started working on the curtains this week, and not too sure I like the look.

texashottie - Please let me see your finished product.

I made curtains for my teeny tiny porch out of painters tarps from HD or lowes about a month ago. We put in big brass grommetts so they wont rust, and hung them from big cup hooks. tied back with wide grosgrain ribbon right now tied onto eye hooks. I plan to use the striped canvas fabric that matches my pillows but am too lazy. When it rains, we just close them and sit and cool off with the storm. I will try to post a photo tomorrow.

Patty cakes, I'm so glad I could help you out.

cooperbailey - That's what I have done with the one panel. Putting those grommets in by hand is time consuming. I put the one panel up and held it back with my hand and just didn't like the look. I was going to go back with the wire idea. Too late to use rods, as I have already cut the fabric.

I'll try it again with a few more panels. Thanks for the tip about using weights. That's the first thing I noticed when the tarp was down...it took off when we had a slight wind!

NHB, I do love screen porches and at our former house we had a superb screen porch. It was a totally different setting and I kept matchstick blinds that I could roll up and down and I also had curtains, but I used sheer cotton curtains which had to be washed frequently but they were pretty with the house we had. It was a wood house painted buff with white trim. The floors were antiqued brick. I had white wicker furniture and two white swings. (I loved that house but it was too much work for me in the winter of my life).

At this house, however, I never was able to get the look I wanted, and the look I wanted was almost identical to what you posted.

In fact, we have friends whose screen porch looks so much like the one you depicted, that it could be theirs. I loved hers. I looked at my windows (at this house) and realized I would have to change the windows panes, to solid glass, without muntins, (which I did) but I still could not get that look because my house is brick. Her house is wood. My house just did not look right and besides, like you, I had the pollen problem, probably because I have so many flowers. Nonetheless, another problem was my screen porch at this house was never, never, never cool except in February. I realized after the fact that we were getting blowback from the attic onto the screen porch via the "drip holes..." so when a tornado took our screen porch out, I decided to make do with a pergola and a very small screen porch in another area which works fine as it is just so the kids don't get eaten alive by mosquitoes.

patricia43 - I never though about hot air coming from the attic. Something to look into. Please post a photo, I am especially interested in your pergola.

My DS built an outdoor room and her solution for WT was to use the sunbrella fabric made into roller shades for each window. Since they get a lot of summer rain/wind she wanted to be able to keep them down during bad weather yet not block out the light and view. Her solution was to have a clear vinyl section sewn into the center of each shade. Believe it or not, it looks good and from the outside each one looks like a window.
It appears you could do the same (with or w/o vinyl) since you have sections where each shade (roman or roller) could be inside mounted and each one opened as need.

Here is a link that might be useful: more shades

We thought about the Coolaroo shades, but didn't care for the way they rolled up & down. Ended up buying roman-style bamboo shades at Home Depot. They work great at diffusing that late afternoon sun. Unfortunately, this time of year it's too hot to enjoy the porch.

My porch does not have standard sized openings. I wish I could get Sunbrella or Roman bamboo blinds, but to get them custom would be cost prohibited.

Ours aren't custom. There's probably 1" - 1 1/2" of exposed screen on each end. It's a porch, I figure it doesn't have to fit perfectly.

Newhomebuilder, I just showed my husband a picture of your screen porch and he said, "the back of her house and that screen porch looks exactly like ours did before we painted it..." and then he went on to say, "before the storm tore it down..and he laughed. I will hunt a picture of my pergola. Might take a few minutes. I lost some pictures in my computer crash and what I saved are not organized (yet).

We no longer have a screened porch - we totally enclosed it and have the sliding screen windows. I have roman shades on the windows.

Back when it was an actual screened in room, I also used the matchstick blinds. Our openings weren't standard either, but those blinds can be cut. We bought ours at Lowes or Home Depot one. A few openings were standard, but most I had to buy a larger blind and cut them. They are not bad in price though.

Texas Hottie's outdoor curtains turned out great. I thought she had posted pics here. She also posts at Atticmag (atticmag.com), so it may have been there. You might check there for pics. It really looks fabu!

tina

This is how it looked about 4 years ago but last year we took down the 4 x 6s and put those columns that are not real wood in their stead, because wood will rot at the base on concrete and ours was beginning to do that after a few years, so we replaced them with columns, and I cannot find a picture of that, but I will try to do that later. You can kind of get the idea here, however. Actually there are 4 columns. I think they are placed very 8 feet as the porch is about 23 feet long. So just imagine about 8 more feet and instead of 4 x 6's, columns that are painted white and look like wood but are not. They are something we got an architectural supply place.

{{gwi:244507}}

This white lawn chair showing (that looks like it is in the flower bed, is not, but is in another covered area) which is about 15 feet away but I was the photographer here and I am not very good at it and sometimes objects in my DR show up in my bedroom pictures. (LOL).

My husband tells me (and I checked to make sure he was right), there are 5 columns and they are placed 6 feet apart (almost). The length is 24 feet. I hope he gets a slide rule out next time just to make sure I get the millimeters right. ;-)

HaHa!

The pergola and your flowers are very pretty.

The pergola that I want to build, has the rounded columns like my last house. We even have your green swing!
{{!gwi}}

natal and Tine - The problem with the blinds, was that they were not long enough (I think). I will go back and measure. I guess it wouldn't hurt to have blinds that didn't exactly fit. Tina, how did you cut them?

NHB, the blinds are 6 feet long. If you want ceiling to floor that's obviously not long enough. I don't know if your pollen issue is seasonal or year round, but here it's for about 3 weeks in the spring. Nothing short of closed windows and doors keeps it out. Even ceiling to floor curtains aren't going to be a total defense. I think it's just part of outdoor life.