DIY Bookshelf Curtain

Bookcases are great for storage and organization, but when you don't want to see what you have on the shelves you can create curtains and make it all disappear. 

Here's how.


A few weeks ago, I sent my beloved floral sofa to the curb.

It was a bittersweet day, for sure.

Yes, yes, I did get a gorgeous, brand new one that I adore, but let's face it, that rose covered couch was a favorite and it held a special place in my heart.

So much so that when it went out the door, it did so almost naked. 

Yup, I stripped that baby down to the frame.

I removed any cushion covers that weren't ripped and grabbed a razor blade to cut giant pieces away from the wood.

While the rest of the fabric may have been tattered and worn, the yards behind the cushions and on the back of the sofa were pristine.

Hidden away from the sun they were flawless, just waiting to be called into service again, when needed.

Well, to be honest, I thought that day would be a long time in the future, when I was bored with the fabric on my glass cabinets.

Or perhaps, when I needed a new pillow cover for the living room, once the holiday decor was gone.

I've also been toying with the idea of adding a cushion to the bench my husband made me for the kitchen table.

However, none of these DIYs were on my mind at the moment, so I packed it all up and tossed it in the closet for a rainy day.

Then this weekend, my attention turned to the basement family room.

I was sitting down there, admiring the way it all turned out, when the sore thumb in the room started screaming at me.


A bookcase, we'd picked up at the curb, or maybe it came with the house, I honestly can't remember, that was filled with preschool tales and other stories from my kids' collections and my own kindergarten classroom.

They were sentimental shelves overflowing with colorful treasure, but boy, were they ugly.

Nope, something needed to be done. 

I toyed with the idea of getting a new cabinet, but this one fit so well.

Then I thought about moving the books to boxes, but I have littles here sometimes, great nieces and nephews, who love to poke through the pages.

My last thought was to have my husband build me two doors, just frames, so I could stretch fabric, but some of the books stuck out past the bookcase edges, meaning doors would not shut fully. Hmmm.

Then it hit me. What if I just added a rod and hung up a curtain?

I made skirts for tables and sink skirts all the time. Why not put one on the bookshelf? 

So that's what I did.

And you already know that the fabric I decided to use was from that old couch.

It never dawned on me that it would go with the rust and cream tones I have going on in that new space, but you know what...it did.
 

How To Cover A Bookcase With Fabric

To add a fabric curtain to the bookshelf, I just hung up a rod on the face of it, using screws to anchor the brackets.


In the past, I've used tension rods and rings, which does make opening and closing the curtain much easier.

This time though, that kind of rod wasn't going to work. A basic rod was best for my situation, plus I already had one on hand.

And I always choose free.

However, if your bookcase is different and you can use rings, you can follow the tutorial I shared for a skirted table. The process is identical.

I also didn't make two panels, so they'd open in the middle to get to the books, because it's rare that someone grabs something from that case.

Besides, creating the curtain was already little more involved than constructing a basic rod pocket panel, since I had to stitch together all the scraps to make one solid piece.

Making two panels was more than I was willing to do on the day before Thanksgiving.


Once I was done stitching them all together, I moved on to making a one inch pocket, with a one inch header and hemming the sides and bottom.

My fabric was a bit short, so I used a liner as a backing. It allowed me to create the pocket without using the floral pattern in areas no one would see.

It also fell below the roses and reached the floor. If I had a long fringe trim, I could've added that instead, but I didn't.

Plus, I think the white ruffle is very sweet.

When it was done, I slipped my new {old} fabric onto the rod and voila!

Those very bright, primary colors disappeared.

And my lovely, cottage floral sofa fabric was front and center once again.


Exactly where it belongs.

How fabulous.

Would you skirt a bookcase?