apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Looks like a job for floor-to-ceiling drapes.

I'd try a smaller curtain (maybe you could find a valance?) that fits within the opening, on a tension rod, in a color that blends more with the wall. That would be just about the easiest thing.

So pretty up the storage boxes instead.

Didnt AT just have something on covering paper file storage boxes in pretty paper? On the clear storage boxes, remove any stickers from the outside and line them, either a pretty paper or even just plain brown paper if you want them to blend.

What about bamboo blinds? Not sure about the doors.

It doesn't look like you really hung curtains - more like draped some ugly fabric over a rod, so no wonder they don't look very good and are a pain to deal with and fall off.

Why don't you pick a nicer fabric that blends better with your wall and actually attach it correctly to the rod (sew a channel, use curtain clip thingies - anything!). Also, I agree that you should try floor to ceiling curtains as well, so you can also cover the doors.

I'm not sure what the bottom half of that wall or the rest of the room looks like, but you might want to check out the panel curtains at IKEA. They have a variety of colors and textures that you can mix and match, and they sit on a sliding rod that is very easy to install. You can cut them to whatever length you like, but since you want to hide the doors too, I'd recommend making them floor length. It helps to visually elongate the room too. Then when it comes time to move, just plaster up the holes and take the panels with you to decorate your next place!

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/range/10374/10702/

Maybe rice paper or bamboo window shade(s)? They sell a variety at Costplus World Market. Might be kind of tricky because they'd be too long, but perhaps you could either cut them or get ones long enough to cover the closets too?

You could get bamboo blinds cut to size. That would probably be the cleanest and easily accessable solution. I had planned to do that with my very similar storage area as well but I ended up moving before I got around to it.

I agree with clairepetrol...i think maybe you should just buy prettier boxes... they have very stylish storage boxes at IKEA with a really wide selection. I'm sure you could find some there they match your decor.
Good Luck.

L

Try neutral, tailored cafe curtains (cheap at JC Penney or Kmart), and attach them to ring clips for easy storage access.

ikea also has loose cabinet doors in their as-is section for $10

I've seen a plexiglass type item with designs in them... etched leaves, that sort of thing.

you could buy some plexiglass and cover it with an etched contact paper... cut to fit your storage space 'window' and just pop 'em in and out as needed. or cut squares of them and have them roll across the top on a track.

What's wrong with the doors? They look nice... at least the wood frames look pretty. If you don't like the cheesy glass, just cover the window portion with a fitted curtain panel (rod pockets at the top and bottom.

You could try velcroing fabric to the wall, like fabric flaps. When you need access to the storage area, you just flip up the flaps.

What if you fit short Ikea kitchen cabinets (with doors) or Pax wardrobe short wall cabinets into the storage nook. You don't provide the measurements of the nook, but you can check the ikea website to see if they have anything that might fit. If they do, you could basically create a removable cabinet door facade for the nook. Remove the backs of the cabinets to allow storage to extend all the way to the back of the nook.

Though floor to ceiling curtains could work, what if they wanted to let light in and still hide the storage?

Why don't you make thick felt doors like Maxwell had in his apartment, but cut them to the size of the storage area?

ooh, very clever Jen C, I like that idea!

shoji screens?

I'm trying to figure out what's with those closet doors. Is that plastic film in the frames?

What if you framed in the storage spaces to unify them with the closets (frames), and then treat all the framed spaces the same--you might get super cheap bamboo shades, cut them to fit, and glue them in the frames. For one example. . . .