Curtains! It's Curtains for Us!

[MrLynn]

Jane and I decided we’d like to personalize our Escape 21C with curtains. We found a colorful pattern that echoed the green Sunbrella upholstery and the orange pillows and quilt that we like to brighten up the place.

The best idea for a ceiling track came from David Murphy (davidmurphy02), in this thread,

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...eas-17824.html

who used these EverTrack rails that contain rollers and hooks depending from them:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BH6MFY3V...t_details&th=1

Attaching the tracks to the ceiling above the windows was a challenge. The ceilings and the floors of the cabinets above are two thin sheets of wood, separated by about an inch of space. I didn’t figure the wood screws that came with the tracks would work, so bought thin 3/16” machine screws that would fit through the holes in the tracks, long enough to penetrate both layers (after drilling holes), along with fender washers and nylon lock nuts for the top. I had to chop off the screw ends, as the only screws that were long enough were 2” long. Then I found plastic caps for the nuts that would not interfere with storing stuff in the cabinets.

David had made a valance to hide the roller wheels and hooks below the tracks (otherwise the curtains would look like shower curtains). Jane decided to remove the hooks the tracks came with and try a different kind of hook, which would attach to ‘shirring tape’ sewn to the back of the curtains. They are called ‘Wrinkle Band Curtain Hooks’, and are available with the Shirring Tape from Curtain-Tracks.com:

https://www.curtain-tracks.com

In order to hide the tracks, Jane decided to reinforce the top hem, so the curtain would be about 2” above the shirring tape where the wrinkle-band hooks attached. This was a process of discovery and experimentation (we had never heard of ‘shirring tape), but it worked! The pleats don’t alll stand up to hide the tracks, but the effect is still pleasing, and the tracks fade into the background.

All told, it turned out to be a much larger project than we had anticipated (for our Casita we used simple rod-pocket curtains, which would not work for the Escape windows with their built-in valances, but we are pleased with the result.

[DanandDaphne]

Very nice I like the color they add, very homey.

[WillyB]

[Nan]

The curtains look great! The fabric colors really tie together your color scheme.

[Mike G]

Replaced with curtains, eh? Clearly, you two are not blind folks. (pun intended)

[MrLynn]

Originally Posted by Mike G

Replaced with curtains, eh? Clearly, you two are not blind folks. (pun intended)

No blinds, but we kept the shades, though I hope we're not too shady!

[davidmurphy02]

That looks great! And you will find that pretty much every project winds up taking longer than you expected once you get into it

[MrLynn]

Originally Posted by davidmurphy02

That looks great! And you will find that pretty much every project winds up taking longer than you expected once you get into it

My basic rule: Everything takes three times as long as you think it will.

[Eggscape]

Very nice.

[Bea]

Very clever and cozy! Thanks for sharing how you hid the rails. Looks perfect! -Bea

[buellfire]

Looks great Lynn! Really pulls it together.

[sumac.rhus]

Not only beautiful, But I like option for improving insulation, as well! Thanks!

[Mike G]

BTW, may I ask how you (do you?) get that clock to stay in place despite all of the trailer's up-down movement during travel? I thought about mounting a clock like that over my rear bed, but figured it would fall down pretty often.

[MrLynn]

Originally Posted by Mike G

BTW, may I ask how you (do you?) get that clock to stay in place despite all of the trailer's up-down movement during travel? I thought about mounting a clock like that over my rear bed, but figured it would fall down pretty often.

Aha! Great discovery!

ISHIWA 8.5 Inch Simply High-end Plastic Decorative Wall Clock, Water Resistant, Special for Small Space, Office, Boats, RV (W86009 Gold-Plated)


"The locking rear cover twists off for easy wall mounted to a wall with 3-point secure screw mount system, this clock an ideal choice for boats and recreational vehicles."

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

When you travel, you take it off the mounting plate (screwed into the wall), and store the clock in a drawer until you arrive. Once set up in camp, you put the clock back on.

I like this one because it has a sweep second hand and does not tick. Just $39.75 currently. Can't recommend it too highly!

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by MrLynn

Aha! Great discovery!

ISHIWA 8.5 Inch Simply High-end Plastic Decorative Wall Clock, Water Resistant, Special for Small Space, Office, Boats, RV (W86009 Gold-Plated)


"The locking rear cover twists off for easy wall mounted to a wall with 3-point secure screw mount system, this clock an ideal choice for boats and recreational vehicles."

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

When you travel, you take it off the mounting plate (screwed into the wall), and store the clock in a drawer until you arrive. Once set up in camp, you put the clock back on.

I like this one because it has a sweep second hand and does not tick. Just $39.75 currently. Can't recommend it too highly!

I see. Thanks for answering.