Home Projects, Monthly DIY challenge

February DIY Challenge: Bedroom Canopy

 

Hello friends! It’s that time again – time for our Monthly DIY Challenge! In case you’re new, here’s the scoop: On the 2nd Wednesday of every month, me and my bloggy friends get together and create something based on a common material or idea that everyone uses. The end results are so unique and fantastic! So far we’ve done Michaels crates, pumpkins, wood slices,  clear ornaments and organizational solutions. Up for today is one of the biggest and most challenging materials yet – plumbing pieces! We didn’t set too many strict parameters for this challenge – we just had to use plumbing pieces some way in our challenge – this could be metal or copper pipe rods, PVC pipe, pipe connectors – basically anything that could be found in the plumbing aisle of our local hardware stores!

bedroom canopy

Check out my project below and then be sure to stick around for everyone else’s amazing creations that will be in a link-up at the bottom of this post!

For my plumbing piece project, I decided to make a fun and dreamy bedroom canopy for our master. We have ugly (and holey) popcorn ceilings but don’t have the time or money to remove them. So I came up with this pretty way to disguise the ceiling and make our bedroom more intimate and cozy!

Here’s where our bedroom started:

bedroom canopy

bedroom canopy

Someone who lived in the house before us was a builder/contractor of sorts, so that means we have lots of weird and/or incomplete features in our home. Take note of the off-center ceiling light, which was (and remains) a paper lantern from when we moved in, and the random square hole in the ceiling. Our inspector said that it was likely for a speaker system at one point. Whatevsies, previous home owners. As I mentioned before, we don’t really have the time or extra cash to strip the popcorn of the ceiling and repair the holes, so I came up with a clever idea to make the ceilings a little more livable – a dreamy bedroom canopy!

Bedroom Canopy Materials

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– 1/2 inch x 60 inch galvanized pipes

– 1/2 inch 90 degree pipe connector elbows

– 1/2 inch x 2 1/2 inch galvanized nipples

– 1/2 inch galvanized floor flanges

– Set of curtain panels (I got the ‘Matilda’ style from Ikea!)

– Drywall screws

– Clear pushpins

Since we decided to do 2 separate canopies, we picked up 2 of the pipes and the 4 each of everything else. Well, more like I only got 2 of everything the first time and then had to go back to Lowe’s the next morning to pick up the remaining pieces because I’m cool like that. D’oh.

Step 1

The galvanized pipes and pieces all come with a nice greasy layer all over them, so my first step was to take that off. I cleaned each piece with some Goo Gone on a paper towel, then wiped them down with a wet paper towel with dish soap, and then finally used a third paper towel to dry and get any remaining residue off.

Step 2

bedroom canopy

I screwed all of the elbows, nipples, and flanges together to make my 4 anchors for my 2 galvanized pipes. Use some muscle and screw them tightly to make sure they are all about the same height!

Step 3

bedroom canopy

Next I screwed one of the anchors onto one of my pipes. Make sure this too is nice and tight! I had my husband help me make sure they were on securely and as tight as they would go.

Step 4

bedroom canopy

I slid my curtain panel onto one of my pipes before adding the other connector to the end. Be sure to consider how you will be hanging your bedroom canopies so you can make sure that the seams are on the proper side and all that. Once you’ve added your curtain panel, add the other anchor. Repeat for the second canopy!

Step 5

bedroom canopy

Once the canopies were ready, I had my husband help me screw them into the ceiling – I held the pipe in place while my husband used an electric screwdriver with some drywall screws. These pipes are very small in diameter and since they aren’t holding anything up other than their own weight and the negligible weight of the curtain panel, they screwed in very easily and sturdily into the ceiling. So hopefully they won’t be going anywhere anytime soon! After that is finished you’ll have something like this:

bedroom canopy

Admittedly, it looks pretty cool as-is! I really love drapey, dreamy fabrics. If you wanted a canopy or floating curtain that hung down, you could totally stop at this step. However, we have two crazy cats who like to launch themselves at hanging things, so up on the ceiling the rest of the fabric had to go.

Step 6

bedroom canopy

Using some regular clear pushpins, I pinned the opposite end of the curtain into the ceiling, which left me with a drooping ‘U’ shape. I then found the middle of that ‘U’ and pinned it to the ceiling, using more pushpins. It would have been fun to use more galvanized pipe for draping the fabric over, rather than pinning, but that would have gotten expensive really quick. After thinking about it a bit more, I’ve decided that I like the pushpin effect over more pipes – it gives off a better ethereal and light quality – too many pipes would make the ceiling feel to busy or weighed down. But it’s up to personal preference!

And here are my finished plumbing piece bedroom canopies!

bedroom-curtains-1

Eeeepp! I’m in love 🙂 These actually turned out quite well and overall didn’t take that long to make and install (aside from the double trip to the hardware store for forgotten pieces!). I put them off center from each other for visual interest and flow. We used the same style of galvanized pipe in our master closet makeover so I think it’s nice to have it repeat in our bedroom. It also echoes our metal bed frame, which I think is great for a pulled-together and modern look.

bedroom canopy

bedroom canopy

bedroom canopy

bedroom canopy

I think I can honestly say that our bedroom is my favorite room in our house right now. I’ve spent the most time in here, making it into a cozy and comfy dream retreat with modern touches. Now I’m one step closer to a completed master bedroom! I’ll hopefully be sharing a full bedroom tour soon once I finish a few more things 🙂

bedroom canopy

Now take a look at all of these FAB plumbing piece projects from my bloggy friends! Click each picture below to be magically transported to their awesome creations 🙂

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