DIY Outdoor Curtains and Screened Porch for Under $100
How to protect your porch from bugs using this quick and cheap solution for DIY outdoor curtains.
If you’ve been following along on my Instagram Stories, you probably already saw this post coming.
I love it when a light bulb moment ends up working out even better than you could have imagined! For the past year, we’ve slowly been working on sprucing up our back porch.
This is where we left off a few months ago after limewashing the brick and painting the doors this winter:
Curtains as a Screen Porch Alternative
One thing we always battled were the bugs in the summer, especially at night. But we didn’t want to go through the expense and labor of adding screens because we really loved having the space feel open and be a part of the backyard.
I was in IKEA a couple of weeks ago though and discovered these mosquito net curtains for $5 per pair. And it hit me… outdoor curtain screens!
Supplies
(Some affiliate links are provided.)
The grand total came to under $100 for 6, roughly $16 each.
Steps
Step 1 – Spray Mosquito Net With ScotchGard
I wanted to make sure they wouldn’t yellow and turn gross in the rain and sun, so it was worth spending an extra $10 on two bottles of Scotchgard Heavy Duty Water Shield and spraying them down to make them weather-proof.
Fingers crossed it works! But considering it’s designed to protect fabrics outdoors, I’m really optimistic on this one.
Step 2 – Hang Tension Rods With Command Hooks
I picked up 6 tension rods at Walmart for about $6 each, and Robert and I hung them up as high as we could, close to our porch ceiling, using Command hooks. It was super quick and causes no damage at all, so if we ever decide to take them down, we won’t have to worry about any screw holes to patch.
I cannot believe how elegant and luxurious our back porch looks now! We have the freedom to open and close them as we need to so that as the bugs start swarming onto our porch in the evenings, we can just close them.
Step 3 – (optional) Secure Panels
If you didn’t want them blowing in the breeze, you could even loop ties to the corners of the panels to secure around your porch posts. Or you can sew fishing weights into the bottom curtain hems. (That’s a trick some brides use to keep veils from blowing too much in the wind at outdoor weddings.)
Our porch looks bigger now! I’ll be sharing more of this space with all of our decorating sources tomorrow, but I had to share this trick with y’all because it’s seriously one of my favorites ever.
Have you used any other great money-saving ideas in your outdoor spaces? Or have solutions for combatting the creepy crawlies? I’m convinced the state bird of South Carolina is really the mosquito.
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Hi, Judy – Look for the IKEA curtains called “Lill”. They say “lace,” but they’re a mesh/fine netting.
So beautiful!! We actually have a screened in porch and my problem in Virginia is the pollen. How do you think this would do blocking pollen? And secondly, how do the curtains do with rain? Do they end up grimy or discolored? Do you wash them then have to re-spray them?
Thanks so much for any info!!!
We have TONS of pollen here too. It’s not going to completely get rid of it because the sneaky stuff can sneak right on past, but I will say it helps for sure!
I have checked Ikea’s online site and cannot find these curtains.
Your porch is so elegant! I’ve just ordered sheer white panels 120 inches long, but didn’t think about the extra strength Scotch Guard. Thank you so much for your expert advice! Absolutely LOVE your design!
Hi Lauren, I was looking for screen ideas for my deck and came across yours. I just ordered the materials! Gladly I found the IKEA curtains on Amazon so it saved me a trip there. Can’t wait to have it all ready in a few days. Thanks for the great idea!