Trash to Treasure: Drop Cloth Bed Skirt

Back again with another great trash to treasure tutorial is the always amazing Besotted Brand (remember her fab DIY sawhorse desk from the last series?). Would you believe she isn't a DIY blogger at all (although she clearly belongs on the dark side with us!) but a talented artist with a fabulous line of goodies for the paper obsessed like me? If you don't already have her blog on your daily visit list you absolutely must add it now!

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My husband and I recently moved cross country, we arrived safe + sound our bed frame didn't-- it was in dire straits (it cracked in half). Instead of replacing the frame the mattress and box spring have sat on the floor looking like they belonged in a frat house instead of my abode. To remedy this situation on a budget I tried a few traditional bed skirts but they were ill fitting and useless; I even tried a fitted sheet on the box spring which looked equally as unkempt then came my light bulb moment. I initially was going to just upholster the box spring (which I still may do), but I am a decor commitment-phobe so I started with this super easy, no-sew bed skirt project. Let's start with the supplies you will need to get started:

I chose the drop cloth because I wanted a linen fabric, but since I didn't know if this was going to be a d.i.y. gone wrong I figured I would use it as my 'dry run' material. It's great to get the linen look without the linen price. I also chose it because all the ends are finished (they are hemmed) and that would mean I wouldn't have to sew anything. Sharp fabric scissors are your friend, especially when working with thicker cloth. Upholstery pins look a lot like tacks but have twisted bottoms, if you don't know about them, they will change your d.i.y. decor life, you will be 're-upholstering' everything you can get your hands on. The iron you can use or not, I did as I wanted my drop cloth to look crisp.

I wanted this project to be quick + easy, I didn't even bother to measure! I held the drop cloth where I wanted it to hit on the floor (the finished edges on the floor side) and cut it straight across just to where you wouldn't see it when the mattress was on top. I repeated this step on three sides. I had my 'skirt' just touching the floor, because I wanted to give it a really polished look. The upholstery pins twist easily into the wood frame of the box spring and you can remove them just as easily without any visible damage. I just twisted them along the edge of the inner box spring (but far enough back that when the mattress was on top you wouldn't see them). The corners were a little bulkier, but I folded the edge over and added a couple more pins to keep it in place and keep it looking finished.

This is a super easy fix to an ugly box spring and just think of the possibilities! You could do faux pleats, add a sleek ribbon trim border, do stripes or florals or...? You will never buy an ill-fitting bed skirt ever again. You could take this one step further and use furniture staples to wrap the cloth all the way around the front of your box spring for a faux upholstered bed look. I like the idea that I can change this out at my whim. Enjoy!