Why I Chose Camp Blankets for our RV Curtains
This post was originally posted in 2018, but updated in 2023.
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Are you searching for the perfect curtains for your home or RV, but struggling with finding that vision you have in your head?
Or maybe you did find the perfect curtains, only to realize they’re out of your current budget. Womp Womp.
I’ve been there. More times than I’d like to admit.
That’s why today I’m going to share our RV curtains with you, along with a tip I hope will open up more possibilities for you.
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the curtains we used to separate the front cab area of our RV, so I wanted to share a post about them.
Curtains don’t need to be curtains.
The curtains we have in the front of our RV are actually… blankets!
Why I Chose Blankets for our RV Curtains
Maybe you know this and maybe you’re already using something other than actual curtains to cover your windows.
This isn’t a new idea by any means, but I wanted to throw it out there for anyone who maybe hasn’t considered this option.
After spending over a year trying to find the perfect curtains at a price I was willing to pay, I finally found two blankets to do the job. They are Ruth & Boaz blankets I found on Amazon, and I love them! They may not be the same quality as a Pendleton but if you’re looking for a warm, cozy, Southwest-inspired camp blanket at an affordable price, they may be just what you need.
And even if you want a different pattern or color, camp blankets are great in my opinion because most are made of wool so they are warm (great for insulation) while providing privacy.
Supplies
Here are the supplies I used to create these blanket curtains:
- Extra Long Tension Rod/Curtain Rod
- 2 large Camp Blankets – I’ve also used these green camp blankets
- Curtain Ring Hooks
The best part? If we need extra blankets, we have them!
These curtains technically don’t provide any extra privacy in our RV, we use them to create a cozier vibe and block off the cab area if we want.
I have the blankets hanging from an extra large tension rod and used ring hooks so I didn’t need to do any sewing or hemming. The other plus of using ring hooks is that it adds a little more length to the curtains, which can be nice if you’re just a couple inches shy on your fabric.
Curtain Alternatives
Over the past few years, I’ve kept an open mind to using curtains in our home, and when I’m searching for the perfect color, pattern, or texture I’ll often keep an eye out for the following:
- Drop clothes
- Fabric shower curtains
- Tablecloths
- Sheets
- Blankets
- Tea/Turkish Towels (for smaller windows)
Video: Separating the motorhome cab area with curtains
When to go the Curtain Alternative route
There are 2 main reasons I’d recommend taking the curtain-alternative approach.
1. You’re struggling to find curtains in a color/pattern you love
2. You’re looking to save money
If what you find isn’t going to save you money and you don’t love it, then you’re probably better off sticking to actual curtains. There’s no need to create more work if you don’t need to.
Curtain Length/Width
The main problem I had in the past was that our ceilings were pretty high and I’ve always hung our curtains from the ceiling to make the windows appear larger (this makes a HUGE difference!), and finding the above mentioned items, in a design I loved AND in the length I needed wasn’t always easy.
I guess the upside of having a lower ceiling in our RV is that it opened up more possibilities.
So be sure to keep in mind the length you need, and again you can always improvise by adding ring hooks. You can also add a bit of fabric to the top or bottom if you have to, but keep in mind the price and time you’ll be adding to see if it’s worth it.
Width was more challenging for our RV – we wanted something that went all the way across the front cab area so we needed the curtains to be 8 feet wide when closed.
Texture/Drape
A few years ago I used tablecloths from Target in my home office, mainnly because I got impatient and couldn’t find plain white, pocket rod curtains under $100! It was honestly kinda crazy, but looking back I probably could have just driven an hour to Ikea and been good to go – or ordered some online.
The main issue I had with the tablecloths is that they were pretty heavy and didn’t drape all that well.
I later purchased different tablecloths for our dining room but they were made out of a linen-blend and the drape was much better.
Moral of the story? Definitely keep in mind how the fabric will fall once they’re hanging up.
Only buy what you love (and be patient when you can’t find it!)
And you know what I hate more than struggling to find that vision floating around in my head? Wasting money. And time. Time driving to countless retail stores or laying in bed browsing online shops, or time returning products that don’t work. Time I’ll never get back. And it’s really silly to buy 3 less expensive sets of curtains you don’t really like vs. 1 more expensive pair of curtains you love.
I’m a big believer in buying what you love, and it’s been easier since we hit the road in our tiny home on wheels. With that said, there are times I’ve gotten so frustrated in not finding what I want that I settle. And all that does is leave me with something I’m going to want to replace later on, or ends with me at the store doing a return (or Eric, haha).
Enjoy what you currently have
Sometimes you gotta make do with what you have or can find, and that’s totally fine! It’s easy to feel rushed or think we need to have everything perfect right away, but a home is created over time.
Think about buying better, not more. If that means you have to wait to save a little more, or until you find that thing that makes your heart skip a beat, just remember that your patience will pay off.
Take time to enjoy and be grateful for what you do have, rather than stressing about what you’d rather have. This is sometimes easier said than done but it’s good to put ourselves in check every so often.
If you’re struggling with finding what you love, then take a step back, be patient and let go of trying to control the situation. In my experience that only ends with me obsessing over finding something (with no luck) and once I take a break the thing I’m looking for will usually show up. Funny how the Universe works, eh?
Of course, you can always browse fabric stores to find that perfect pattern, design, or texture but I’m not so handy with a sewing machine and generally, when I do find a fabric I love it’s on the pricier side and I’m too nervous to take a chance ruining them. Luckily, back when we lived in Georgia, my mom volunteered to make our buffalo plaid curtains from fabric I had purchased off eBay.
Update: Using camp blankets as our RV windshield curtains
Even when I swapped our curtains out for something lighter, I used green camp blankets to cover our windshield (we still had our white windshield roller shade, but I wanted something warmer).
Overall, I think it’s good to have an open mind when it comes to decorating your home and reimagine how something can work in your space other than the use it’s actually intended for.
Related Posts
- How to Make Burlap Roller Shades – An Alternative to Curtains you may want to consider
- How to add Wood Trim to RV Windows
- How to Separate (or incorporate) your RV cab area
- DIY Lace Curtains – These are curtains I tweaked using lace table runners!
20+ years ago when we built our first home, we were gifted some window coverings (wood weave blinds) and curtain rods (all ex samples) by a friend who worked for a company that sold them. We were young and money was really tight after sinking every spare dollar into the house, leaving the decorating to happen as funds allowed. I knew the curtains I eventually wanted for the front rooms of our house (including our bedroom) were not going to be in the budget for a while, but privacy dictated a need for something to cover the glass and I also wanted it to look nice. With zero $ in the curtain kitty, I raided my linen closet and found a pile of matching flat sheets in a neutral cream shade (hand me downs from when I had first left home). They were the perfect yardage for creating voluminously gathered drapes and valances (mid 90’s style) for 2 sash windows and a fixed pane side window in our bedroom. No one realised they were sheets until I proudly pointed out my thrifty handy work. It helped that they were hanging on the beautiful (free) Kirsch rods. Everyone (including us) loved the style so much that I ended up replacing the sheets a couple of years later with similar curtains that I made from beautiful damask fabric. I was a professional seamstress in those days and ended up making all of our window coverings, but these days I don’t get as much enjoyment out of sewing so I tend to get things made – reading your post and remembering my days of having to think outside the box to diy and stretch the budget has actually motivated me to consider sewing some soft furnishings for our current home (I’m in my 7th house since we built that first one in 1996).
I love your blog even though we don’t really RV. We are in Australia and do travel when we can, camping in our 2015 pop up camper. We have done some big treks here over the years, including 2 trips of over 5,000 miles each which we completed over 3 weeks (Adelaide to Port Lincoln, Perth, Margaret River, Albany, Esperance and back to Adelaide – tent camping in 2010 then Adelaide to Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine and Uluru – then back to Adelaide, maiden voyage in our camper with our 2 teenagers in 2015). We have had quite a few other short trips but we don’t get away as often as we’d like. Next 2 week camping trip will be Kangaroo Island, off the coast of South Australia later this year. Before that we are spending 2 weeks road tripping around Tasmania but we will be hiring a car and Airbnbing it. Google some of the places we’ve visited if you get the time – it’s some spectacular scenery.
Thanks for sharing your story! When I was little my mom wanted shelves in our living room and ended up making some from an old water bed frame. No one had any idea unless we told them, and I thought it was so cool!
Some of my favorite projects have been the result of not having the budget for something new, or even just through the struggle of not finding that I want. There’s something exciting about a challenge that can really get those creative juices flowing 🙂
It sounds like ya’ll have been to some pretty amazing places and I’ll definitely have to look them up. We would love to travel through Australia some day!
We have been looking for the right color/pattern for curtains for a couple months. My rig has no curtains and we want to add something. I like increasing my options with your ideas. Good article.
Thanks and I hope you find what you’re looking for! It’s amazing how the little things can make such a huge impact in a tiny home.
I like the basket you have next to your sofa.
Thanks Susan! I found it at an antique shop in Georgia a couple years ago and haven’t found a similar one since. It may not always be the most practical, but I love how it looks and it’s been helpful in keeping dog leashes/dog bags handy when we’re heading out.
Love those blankets with the rug! Do you know the name of it or remember where you got it?
Thanks Sue! It’s the “Rayna Rug” from Wayfair – I love it! Although you’d be amazed how much dust and dirt gets in there because you can’t see it. I do vacuum it quite often for that reason but then again I’m always vacuuming because we have 2 cats and a dog, haha. I’m honestly surprised our cats haven’t ruined it (fingers crossed!), but they tend to do okay with jute rugs. I have a link to it and our other RV decor at the link below. Hope that helps!
https://mountainmodernlife.com/rv-decor-resources/
Katie
Haven’t tried replacing RV curtains. The more I read and see, thinking about it. I used canvas dropcloths on my great room windows. Used ring clips. So much easier to take down for laundering. They have a burlap look w/o smell and rough look. 😊
That’s a great idea Kathleen! I really like it when an out of the box idea comes together 🙂
Linen tea towels on rings work great as cafe curtains or for small windows. Mine are white with one blue stripe at the edge.
That’s a great idea Ellen! We love finding different ways to use a variety items, thinking outside the box 🙂
We have sliding doors in our 5th wheel toy hauler. I took curtains from THE dollar store and added Velcro to the back of curtain and place the other part of Velcro to the top of sliding doors. Then I can decide when I want to use them or not. Works great
I have been sewing for about 25 years so when i could not find moose n bear material i liked for our trailer i bought flannel sheets from Blair…i love them and close them when it chilly…i always hate the curtains the trailers come with…i think A guy designs them…sorry fellas but it is what it is! I make curtains for all of our friends also…love it
I love to use quilts for curTains i our rv. I adore seasonal decorating and incorporate quilts to do that easily and without taking up a lot of storage space! We’ve fulltimed for ten years now and i’ve never gotten brave enough to pAint or put in hardwood floors. I love the idea of white walls, but our rv collects dusT so easily/quickly. Doesn’t the white just make it more noticeable? Enjoying your blog! 🙂
Thank you so much! I have a cargo trailer conversion. When I have the back door open for the cat to play for a while, I like to have something in the door to block the cold and provide privacy. These blankets as curtains are just the ticket! If I have some condensation, they will dry quickly as well.
We lived on a boat for 4 yrs in Bergen Norway and I made curtains from sheets. Solid dark blue with beads on the ends to give them some color. Now we have been living in an RV in ASKØY Norway going on 3 yrs now. I DONT like THe curtains that came with the RV so I have been looking for some different ideas. I love the ‘blanket’ curtains you made. I think I will try that, it would Help keep our RV a bit warmer during the WINTer months. THank you!
I live fulltime in an older Class ‘C’ with 30X56″ windows on each side of the living room. There were stock curtains in place when I bought it used which I replaced with close to the same fabric, just a different color, and removed the decorative valance that they previously hung from. After living with that for some years and seeing a need to do some overall interior redecorating I have replaced them.
Used Sun Zero Bronn Wrap Around Window Curtain Rods in a brass color and stitched used coffee bags as pocket curtains. The bags are not a ‘standard’ width so I used thee bags per window and when hung the are overlapped as needed. All the bags are different and are printed with various lettering showing the coffee came from Guatemala, Columbia, Brazil, Sumatra and Mexico. Total cost just over $100 including shipping.
That sounds amazing! Do you have any photos?
I want to put blackout curtains in
My Rv. Because the size of the windows are so different. I may use blackout panels and see how many windows I can cover per panel.
Hey Katherine, that is a phenomenal idea, we were actually just talking the other day about how we’d probably go with blackout if we were to do it again mainly to help with temperature regulation as we travel. If you go this route please let us know how it turns out!
When I was transferred with my job, years & years ago, I had to find a house in 3 days to rent. I was taking over following a horrible manager and we all knew I would have my hands full at work. The only thing I could find in a decent neighborhood was for rent & for sale. So I rented it ….I was 22 years old…I have always been great at decorating from the time I was 13 but this time I didn’t want to do too good of a job as I didn’t want the house to sell terribly quickly. I used a used lace table cloth across a horizontal window in the living room, ( it even had a stain in it that I knew was there ) I thumb tacked it up with even droops in it ( before that was popular ) in one bedroom I had curtains that only went 2/3 the way down the window so I put the bed in front of the window to hide that, Anyway, you get the idea. Two months later the house sold. I moved into a amazing rental since I had time to really look. Then the real estate agent called me, saying, you took the curtains, we need them back. I laughed at first…no she was serious. I reminded her to look back at the photos before I rented the house. But, They had told the buyer the window coverings were included. Then I explained what had been on the windows…and we both laughed. Only bad part about it was I think she and the other agent had to buy “new? “ window coverings for the new owner. At last she didn’t feel obligated to go high end! The most important thing to my decorating (and that’s the best 1/2 my job now ) is not using what everyone else is using. Being on trend is fun and even comfortable but copying everything …buying the exact same thing as everyone else falls flat. That’s why I love your blanket curtains. Perfectly on trend, works better in your RV than most curtains or drapes and is on trend but not a copy or generic! Great Job.
I love this story so much! Thanks for sharing and I agree that I love homes that feel more personal and less cookie cutter. Sometimes working around a tight budget results in the best or most creative projects 🙂