The story of these curtains is way longer than it should be. Go to store, buy curtains, install.
I wish.
It all started when I saw my friend Leslie’s home for the first time. She has the most gorgeous home (she should seriously become an interior designer) and I saw her curtains and I told her how much I loved them.
To my surprise, she told me they were from IKEA of all places! These curtains are inexpensive at $34.99 for the pair and I knew they would add a light and airy feel to our open-concept space, just like I had seen them do in my friend’s home.
But before I get to the mission to get these curtains, let’s go back to what was going on in our living room before.
We had curtains on our french doors that go out to the balcony— they’re they same blackout curtains we used in Harper’s nursery, from Restoration Hardware Baby + Child. I loved them and the space definitely felt more finished and bright when we installed them.
However, because they weren’t long enough to go all the way up to our ceiling, they did “cut things off” a little bit and they weren’t the airy and crisp style I originally imagined for the space. It wasn’t until I saw my friend’s curtains that I went “ah-ha!” They were just what our living room needed.
Additionally, the windows behind our couch never had any coverings other than Ready Blinds. For three years! What the heck were we thinking?
So, back to the saga which is getting these curtains. Apparently, IKEA’s RITVA curtains (specifically the 118″ length, the ones we used) are extremely popular in the home decor blogging world. So when I drove to IKEA (which thank goodness, is only about a 10-15 minute drive for me), I didn’t expect them to be out of stock…for over six-eight weeks (especially since I had checked online before I went and there were supposed to be at least 15 pairs or so in store).
I checked with a customer service rep who told me they would have some in the store the following Thursday. I even called customer service that next Thursday and they assured me that indeed, they did just get re-stocked. So Kevin went to pick them up— only they weren’t re-stocked at all. There were zero on the shelves, just as the week before, and I later learned they never had been re-stocked, nor had the store had any pairs in weeks.
Because I was getting inconsistent information, I contacted IKEA CS on Facebook, and they told me there would not be any until at least early to mid- January. So I put this project on hold and told myself there was a good chance they wouldn’t have them then, either. By the way, IKEA’s Facebook CS is top-notch. Very, very good experience there.
Early last week, I called CS on a whim and they told me that there should be some in store later in the week. So one night at 7:45, after Harper was fast asleep, I decided to call CS on the off chance that they might be re-stocked, since the online stock report said there were some (though I never trust it anymore!) I was on hold for a total of nearly 30 minutes… thank you person who invented speakerphone. But the CS rep was awesome and actually asked someone who works there to check the floor to make sure they had them— they did— but the store closed at 9. So I raced over there, got there at 8:30ish, and was out of there by 8:50 with four pairs of RITVAS.
They were worth the wait.
They have a linen-like look and texture.
Looks great! Would look even better if you added an area rug and cleaned off the clutter of that table behind the couch! 🙂 Really enjoying your house coming together!
I used to have a rug there but thought it might look too busy now since our living room is also a playroom now. Thanks for he suggestion!
Your place looks great! Totally my style! I almost bought those exact curtains over the weekend but didn't have the length I wanted so I went with the Lenda 🙂
Thank you Carrie! The Lendas are a great choice! I wanted ones that just went through the rod (no loops) but those look great too!
I love how they make the room so light and airy. I've been wanting to get some white sheer curtains, so I think a trip to Ikea is in my near future!
Loving the curtains, 34.99 for the pair is crazy town! I second a large area rug. They always warm up the space and make it feel more grounded 🙂
what color would you go for with our room? I like neutrals and animal prints but worry it will all be too busy with the toddler toys, gallery wall, printed pillows on our couch etc.
I think a neutral would look nice with your open floor plan I think West Elm usually has a great selection of rugs that are neutral but have playful monochromat patterns. You will get the most bang for your buck with a natural fiber rug and they really do warm up a space instantly but I would try to get a blend (I think Pottery Barn has a Jute/Chenille blend) so it's softer on the feet. 🙂
I think you can have your cake and eat it too 😉 just remembered Ballard Designs has a few neutral animal print rugs. Celine Cheetah Print and Marina indoor/outdoor rug. I know Ballards tends to be a little pricey but could be good inspiration!
these are the curtains we have in almost all our rooms, and I've been stalking our ikea to get more, ha.
Great post, Veronika!
However, when I click the link to your curtain hardware from Target, it takes me to the Ikea link. Could you provide me with the Target link? Thanks!
I will fix it later! thanks for letting me know
the link is fixed now!
The IKEA stock issue must have been frustrating, but it was so worth the wait. Our living room is our toddler playroom too and yours looks so much better than ours. I love your color scheme.
thanks megan 🙂 i think the key to combining spaces like that is to have lots of cute storage that go with your more adult decor— like our storage baskets- I tried to do a mix of natural colors and metallics to complement the existing decor while hiding some of the toys when we clean up 🙂
Oh my gosh, gorgeous! They really transformed the room 🙂
thank you! 🙂
Looks great! Curious as to what height your ceilings are? We're getting ready to build a house and I believe the ceilings will be 8ft so I was trying to imagine if this would look as good in my house with lower ceilings…
Can you share some of your or your friend Leslie's favorite home decor blogs? I'd love to know what the 'IT' items in the design world are! 🙂
a lot of them are on my blog roll to the right of my blog, just scroll to the bottom and click "show all" I also find a lot of great home decor blogs on Pinterest by clicking through photos and DIY projects I like 🙂
Such a pretty room! I think a rug like this would look really nice: https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/nuLOOM-Handmade-Fancy-Trellis-Wool-Cotton-Rug/7521625/product.html?refccid=GHV7MLS6VMRYVOSG6GZGODVE6E&searchidx=77
Thank you! 🙂 I think I'm going to leave it for now and see if I find a rug that inspires me to add one! I do have a rug on my wish list (been there for months) but I don't think it will work in this space so I may have to save it for a future home.
Hi! I love the new look! I was wondering…what's the height of your ceiling/walls?
Hi there– I'm actually not sure— but the curtains are 118 inches long, and then we have a few inches of crown moulding as well
I love this post. Thank you so much for the pictures! I trotted off to Ikea and redid our whole Master Bedroom for about $100 (including curtains like yours!).
Sorry if I missed it somewhere but are these RITVAS white? Wasn't sure if they come in a "natural" color?
they are off white (almost ivory)
Hi! I love them. The link takes me to “white” Ritvas. Since the blog article is from a few years ago, I wanted to check if that is the color you purchased and they just look more ivory or did they come in an off white color? Thanks!
do you remember the name of the color of your couches?? im in the process of ordering a couch from westelm. im looking for a gray color, which yours looks gray. thanks!
Hello Veronika! LOVE your blog – all things home, mommy, and style! I am redoing our living space using a very similar color scheme as yours. I need to place a rug under the ottoman and I'm stuck – any suggestions for color/style/texture? Thank you in advance!
Do you have your paint colors posted somewhere on your blog? I'm trying to find the perfect gray for our living room! Thank you! [email protected]
most of our house is revere pewter by bejamin moore (the light gray). The darker gray is called flagstone by martha stewart.
Hi! Love this look! I am purchasing RITVA curtains as well for our open concept living room. Did you hem yours or just hang them up as is? Then length is perfect for our very talk ceilings and I was wondering how they looked without hemming because I didn’t want to lose length in hemming.
We did not hem ours or do anything else to them, just hung them right out of the package 🙂
Hello, I love your living ropm so so much, what color are your walls?
the main color is Benjamin Moore revere pewter
the accent wall is Flagstone by Martah Stewart
Hi! Do you have a link to this exact ottoman? I love it! Thanks!!!
I actually logged into my overstock account to find it for you and it’s oddly not in my order history, which is very strange since I know that’s where I ordered it from. I’m sorry 🙁
Ok thanks! I think I found it, lol. But I went with one that has storage from Target. Hopefully I didn’t choose the wrong one!
Are the curtains more creamy color or white?
They are a creamier color
Are these curtains see through at night when the light is on?
We don’t close them ever. They’re not sheer but not blackout. I’d say they filter light but won’t be totally opaque.