Young House Love

Home Decorating, DIY Tutorials, & Shenanigans

  • Shop Our House
  • Our Previous Homes
    • Our Richmond House
    • Our Beach House
    • Our Duplex
  • Before & Afters
    • Our Current House
    • Our Previous House
    • Our Beach House
    • Our Duplex
    • Our First House
    • Our Second House
    • Our Showhouse
  • DIY & Decorating Tips
    • Most Popular
    • Home Improvement
    • Painting
    • Cleaning & Organizing
    • Crafting & Art
    • More . . .
  • Podcast
    • Getting Started
    • Show Notes
  • Shop
    • Our Fav Home Finds
    • Our Lighting Line
    • Our Books
    • Book Club Picks
    • Black-Owned Businesses

Young House Love » Home Improvement » Installing White Faux Wood Window Blinds

| By John Petersik | June 27, 2013 | 345 Comments

Installing White Faux Wood Window Blinds

Our house gets really nice sunlight – especially upstairs and especially in the afternoon when the sun hits the front of the house directly. We love it for everything from hanging out to taking photos. And Burger, well, he loves it for just about anything: napping, grooming, sniffing things, more napping.

Blinds 2 None In Our Room

But the beams of sunlight streaming in also highlighted a shortcoming of this house: no window blinds. I think we took it for granted that the bedrooms in our last house came with nice white faux wood blinds, so it was kind of a shock the first night when we realized we had nothing for privacy or to keep the light from creeping in early the next morning.

So after way too many nights of undressing in the dark and waking up at the crack of dawn, we finally went out and bought a stack of these puppies. They’re Home Depot’s in-stock faux wood blinds. We splurged slightly on the “premium” version because they had wider slats (which means less window obstruction when they’re open) and they also promised better light blocking and had a break-away cord for added kid safety (no loops, just pulls, and the pulls break away under the weight of a child). Fortunately it was only a small upcharge, since dressing 11 windows quickly added up to over $350 (and that was with a coupon). Gulp.

Binds 3 Boxes Of Blinds

But they were a necessary evil that each room needed (especially the bedrooms and bathrooms where a certain amount of privacy is not just appreciated, it’s expected). I say “evil” because we don’t consider them to be exceptionally pretty – even if they are an upgrade from vinyl blinds – but the function trumps any gripes that we have about form. And once you layer in some curtains the windows end up looking pretty great.

Installation was a bit tedious, but straightforward thanks to some good instructions. Having to hang eleven blinds and then make a few adjustments turned into a bit of a time suck (this project took about 6 hours total, broken up over two days) but it’s beyond nice to have privacy and early-morning-darkness in the bedrooms and bathrooms again.

Blinds 4 John Hanging

Hanging them basically involved screwing two brackets into the side of the window frame, and then sliding the blind into place.

Blind 4 5 Three Hung

We were lucky that our windows were all standard sizes, so Home Depot had them on the shelf (they offer free cutting services if needed – but we were glad we didn’t have to stand there while they cut down 11 blinds for us). I did get to customize them for our house by adjusting the length, which I did after each one was hung. I just removed the bottom slat, cut the strings that held all of the extraneous slats that we wanted to remove, and then reattached the base slat to the shortened strings and tied that to hold it in place (this post shows that step in more detail if you’d like extra photos/info).

Blinds 5 Too Long

One new issue that we never encountered when installing these before was that the side pieces of trim that came with each set of blinds needed to be shorter to fit against our window frames for some reason.

Blinds 6 Too Long

So I broke out my miter saw to give each of them (all 22!) a trim so they’d sit flush against the window and still attach correctly at the corner. The pieces of scrap wood in this picture are just blocking that I used to keep the trim in place without risking my fingers.

Blinds 7 Cutting

Much better.

Blinds 8 Now Fits

They just snap together, so shortening them on the end didn’t interfere with how they attach.

Then all that was left was to enjoy some privacy and some light control. They’re still looking pretty basic because we don’t have curtains hung in most of our rooms yet.

Blinds 9 Dark In Master

Although we do have them in Clara’s room…

Claras Room Blinds2

We also hung the curtains that Sherry sewed for our last dining room in the guest room.

Blinds Guestroom2

We owe you guys photos of how each room is looking these days, so Sherry’s planning to shoot some pictures for you this weekend and write a “one month in” post for Monday. And speaking of the lady wife, we were just talking about how the first few months in a house always feel like you’re bleeding money. Seriously, someone get us a tourniquet. So although this is our third house and we should know how this goes by now (addressing all those do-this-first items just seem to add up) we still find ourselves walking out of Home Depot saying things like “Over $300?! Are these blinds made of gold?!”

P.S. Since Google Reader is breaking up with all of us in four short days (aka: closing down forever) we’ve been forced to find a new reader, so we’ve converted over to Feedly (it imported all of our favorite blogs really easily and we liked its clean layout) but we’ve also heard good things about Bloglovin. So this is just a little “remember the milk” reminder, except it’s “remember to switch readers because Google’s about to dump us all.” 

More posts from Young House Love

Filed Under: Home Improvement, Our Third House

Reader Redesign: Move Over Sister
HGTV’d

Comments

  1. Avatar for LuLu says

    June 27, 2013 at 9:55 am

    I have to say, I was skeptical at first, but you guys are pulling this house together SO NICELY!!! :)

    Reply
  2. Avatar for Robin @ our semi organic lifeRobin @ our semi organic life says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:03 am

    I love these simple but chunky blinds. I want them in our apartment but we’re moving soon and all the windows are original 1930’s and odd sizes. Maybe next place!

    Reply
  3. Avatar for HeatherHeather says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:05 am

    I have blinds similar to these in our house and I never once thought to remove the extra slats that pool at the bottom! That little trick makes yours look custom.

    I’m going to do that the second I get home! Thanks for the tip!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:15 am

      Sure thing! Be sure to go slow and not cut too much string (that would make them too short). Maybe even go online and try to find their instructions for doing it, just to be sure nothing goes haywire? Can you tell I’m paranoid every time we do it…? Haha!

      xo
      s

    • Avatar for Liz E.Liz E. says

      June 27, 2013 at 1:19 pm

      We have basically the same blinds as well, and my suggestion (in addition to Sherry’s) is to err on the side of length. There’s one blind in particular that I got a little to slat-removal-happy with and it hangs oddly shorter than the rest. At the time, I didn’t think to try to “reinstall” that last slat, but now I wish I’d at least looked into it. From there on out I always stopped leaving at least one slat in tact compared to where I thought it needed to be, and it saved me the same heartache from happening over again.

    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 2:57 pm

      Great tip!

      xo
      s

  4. Avatar for WendyWendy says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:09 am

    We’ve been using the same blinds in our house! One window had them, and I loved that they would cut them down as we needed them for a bay window (I think we needed like 15″ wide for the smaller side windows – so other than getting super pricey custom blinds made, this was our only viable option). And I completely agree with you about bleeding money. We moved in to our first home 4 months ago and not a weekend goes by that I don’t go to Home Depot and drop at least $150. Plus we’ve been doing bigger things like refinishing hardwoods, opening walls, etc. I think we may have all the major items checked off in a few weeks (that is – until I start adding bigger things like redoing our deck and adding a portico…) so I’m hoping to start building up our house fund again for some fun projects down the road. And I’m buying my husband a miter saw for his bday so we can do more DIY (like new crown moulding). Love the blog!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:14 am

      Wow, sounds like you’re crazy busy! Must be amazing to see how much your house is changing!

      xo
      s

  5. Avatar for Karen L.Karen L. says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:09 am

    We put up similar blinds and love the ability to control the light/glare/sun damage issue we can have here in the Virginia area. One thought—if you end up with concerns on too much light or, for certain angles, privacy, we put our blinds up extending past the sides, just a bit past where the innner window part is. Not the side of the entire moulding part…..this gives us more privacy and the light doesn’t come in as much. Just a thought for y’all. Looking so nice and classic over there! Love your new home, BTW.

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:14 am

      That’s smart! Once we hang our curtains we think light will completely be blocked along those skinny side parts, so that should add up to a nice finished look. Here’s hoping!

      xo
      s

  6. Avatar for Anele @ Success Along the WeighAnele @ Success Along the Weigh says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:09 am

    What I love about your projects is they often remind me of ones I’ve been putting off here. Our white faux wood blinds are now yellow and we need to go to Home Depot tomorrow anyway so thanks for the reminder! :)

    Reply
  7. Avatar for EllenEllen says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:11 am

    I notice that the depth of the blinds is bigger than the depth of your window trim making them stick forward from the window some. I bought some off the shelf blinds for my house and had the same problem so I returned them and have been thinking I’ll need to go with something custom. Does it bother you/look weird that they stick out like that or do you not even notice? Mine didn’t have the fancy trim pieces on the top though so do you think that would make the difference?

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:13 am

      They did that at our first and second house too, and once you put curtains and a rod on the window (those protrude quite a bit more from the wall) it all seems to work well. Oh and the trim pieces at the top definitely make them feel more built-in, so maybe those help too.

      xo
      s

  8. Avatar for Karen FKaren F says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:12 am

    Nice!

    You’re so lucky your windows are standard sizes – I bought a bunch of these blinds (same ones) for the bedrooms in my house (which all have non-standard-sized windows) and had to get them cut down. When I got home, not one of the 5 sets of blinds I bought were the correct size. Their cutting machine mustn’t be very accurate, or the guy didn’t know what he was doing. Luckily HD took them all back with no issues, but it was disappointing, and a waste of time! :(

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:18 am

      Oh man that stinks! The fact that none of them worked must have been so frustrating!

      xo
      s

  9. Avatar for JaclynJaclyn says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:13 am

    Question: are you guys able to hang your curtains with a regular rod? It looks like the mini blinds with the molding stick far out.
    At our last home we had to take off the molding piece to have our curtains lay flat.
    Just wondering if you do something extra?

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:18 am

      Oh yes, a regular rod sticks out more from the wall than the small amount that the slats/molding stick out, so it seems to work when we layer them (we did that in our last house as well).

      xo
      s

  10. Avatar for Amy LAmy L says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:15 am

    As “boring” of a purchase as blinds are, I have found that once we’ve installed them, the house feels truly “ours.” Is that weird? Is it just me??

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:17 am

      Totally! Feels like you’re staking your claim, haha! I also think it makes rooms look more finished, even if the walls are unpainted and there are piles of moving madness on the floor (not that we’d know that from experience, haha).

      xo
      s

  11. Avatar for MelanieMelanie says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:15 am

    Loving the blinds! I hate the vinyl blinds but they’re kind of necessary…

    Stopped in to say: “The Old Reader” is what I’ve been using since Google Reader announced their own demise… if Feedly doesn’t work out for you, theoldreader.com is so much like the actual G-Reader that it’s delicious!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:16 am

      Thanks for the tip Melanie! That’s awesome!

      xo
      s

  12. Avatar for BairdBaird says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:17 am

    Still in denial about google reader. Pouting as I read the milk reminder…shucks. :(

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:19 am

      I was in denial until about a week ago and then I made the switch and hated on Feedly for a day or two and now I love it better! How quickly the heart can change. Haha!

      xo
      s

    • Avatar for SarahSarah says

      June 27, 2013 at 3:02 pm

      You all are lucky. My Google Reader actually disappeared shortly after the announcement for it shutting down. I have no idea why, but I wasn’t able to find it again. I have been using Netvibes, which isn’t bad, but I just tried Freedly and the import was able to move over all my old Google Reader feeds!
      Thanks for the tip!

    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 3:11 pm

      SO glad!!

      xo
      s

  13. Avatar for JamieJamie says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:18 am

    It’s amazing what a difference blinds can make! We replaced our nasty roman shades (from the previous owner) with similar white blinds and the room looks so fresh. I can’t wait to put them up in the other rooms!

    Reply
  14. Avatar for JennyJenny says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:19 am

    We are house hunting now, and one of the first things I look to see are the kinds of blinds they have. We had to splurge and buy those nice blinds in our old house and they were expensive, but I can’t stand those mini blinds!

    Reply
  15. Avatar for Ginny @ Goofy MonkeysGinny @ Goofy Monkeys says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:20 am

    I’ve been eyeing those blinds for our living room. We currently open/close our curtains a few times each day to adjust for the angle of the sun, but I think blinds in our living room & dining room would work better.

    These look like they stick out into the room a bit. Is there any way to mount it inside the window casing more? Or is that more dependent on the window?

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:30 am

      Oh yes, it’s all dependent on the window, but since curtains and curtain rods protrude even more from the wall, once they’re layered in everything looks seamless and nothing appears to be oddly sticking out or anything. We had this setup in our last house too and really liked how it looked when it was all done (with curtains).

      xo
      s

  16. Avatar for Wendy @ New Moms TalkWendy @ New Moms Talk says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:21 am

    Realizing that every house and situation is different, what new house tourniquet tips would you share with others?

    Would you consider this as a post in the same style that you did a few months ago with other bloggers chiming in, as it seems many others are in new house transition time, too (or about to be there)?

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:36 am

      Oh yes, chime in everyone! What do you do to stop the bleeding? I think we have just realized the bleed happens every time, so we just try to be strategic/smart about it. If it’s between pretty art or new bedding and something much more functional (like curtains for privacy/the ability to sleep past 6am) we got the functional route. Also anything dangerous (like getting dead tress down or repairing a leaky roof) beats something fun (like painting a bunch of rooms or getting new furniture). We also try to make sense of the order of things (ex: putting in hardwoods upstairs made waaay more sense to do before we moved in than live with musty carpeting and then have to clear the furniture out of all of those rooms later and redo the floors) so we try to consider that too. John is actually working on a “where do I start?” post for you guys since there have been so many requests (and it also applies to those who have lived somewhere a while but are stuck).

      xo,
      s

    • Avatar for Lindsey d.Lindsey d. says

      June 27, 2013 at 11:01 am

      Yep — my keep the costs under control list was similar to YHL’s. Get the vital stuff done first, and wait for the rest. For me, that was hiring a carpenter to shore up the detached garage that was in danger of falling down, getting a plumber out to find out why the washing machine was backing up (onto the concrete floor of the same garage, thankfully), and lots of paint to cover up the hideous choices of the previous owners. In the following three years, it’s been more piecemeal — add a light to the kitchen, add a dishwasher, slowly replace all the horrid white mini blinds with bamboo (first in the rooms that face the street, then others), slowly furnish the place. Working now on putting up lattice around all the openings outside (my house is on piers 1-3 feet off the ground), about to redo the bathroom!

  17. Avatar for NikkiNikki says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:22 am

    It’s funny you mentioned bleeding money – I thought the same thing when I started reading your post. You guys have had some big ticket items! It’s looking awesome already and the money you are spending is a great investment in your home (for aesthetics and function). I love everything so far and can’t wait to see where you end up!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:28 am

      Aw thanks Nikki!

      xo
      s

  18. Avatar for AprilApril says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:27 am

    We love blinds.com. Custom sizes and lots of options. Free shipping too!

    Reply
  19. Avatar for Lauren @ The Highlands LifeLauren @ The Highlands Life says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:27 am

    Love all the natural sunlight you are getting and it looks like Burger is too!

    Reply
  20. Avatar for joyjoy says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:27 am

    On the subject of readers, I have used Feedly for a few weeks and tried Bloglovin for a day. But neither really floated my boat until I found The Old Reader (theoldreader.com). It is the most similar to Google Reader, which I like. I have used it for just a day but feel like I found a reader I like. I know AOL is coming out with a reader and I’m on their beta waiting list. Not sure what it all looks like but it’s worth a try. But so far The Old Reader is great!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:28 am

      You’re the second person to recommend that! Good to know that there are other backups in this world of sudden reader demise!

      xo
      s

  21. Avatar for decoraticadecoratica says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:28 am

    Yay for that tour! I can spot from the peaks that you haven’t painted any room yet… Any idea of the colours you are going to use? I guess that re-using your furniture will lead to a similar colour palette or are you thinking of something different?

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:43 am

      Oh yes, it usually takes us about two years in a home to paint all the rooms (and I think our first house took us 4.5 years to get it right!) so we don’t tend to do those all right when we move in. As for the colors, I think we’re waiting for inspiration to strike, and in some cases we like what we like, so there might be some similar colors but I also think we’re looking forward to trying some new things (this house lends itself to different things) so we’ll have to see where we end up!

      xo
      s

  22. Avatar for RachelRachel says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:29 am

    Oh my gosh – hemorrhaging money! We just bought our first home in February and, while we knew it would be expensive, it is amazing how it never ends. We kept joking that every time we came home, we had a carload of stuff to carry into the house, and that the neighbors must think we were hoarders! But, it’s finally slowing down. A little bit.

    We actually need to go get some blinds again soon because on the first round, we just bought them for the bedrooms/bathrooms. Now it’s time to buy them for the living room, so people on the street can’t see us hanging out at night.

    I have been wondering though: have you ever seen people layer bamboo shades and the 2″ white blinds? We have the blinds already in our bathroom, but I love the look of the bamboo shades – I just don’t want to pull them down entirely over the window and have the whole window be so dark. (And, I can’t really forgo blinds, since our bathroom faces the street and the window opens to our front porch.) I’m not sure that the window is deep enough to fit the blinds *and* shades, so I’m hesitant to try it.

    If I can’t do that, I might be copying your “mock roman shade” instead, but I was just wondering if anyone had ever seen anything like that.

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:45 am

      I completely get what you’re saying! I LOVE bamboo shades and wish we could do those layered with curtains on every window here, but I also don’t want to pull them up and down, and I have never seen anyone layer bamboo shades + white faux wood blinds. So where I have landed is I’ll probably do bamboo shades with curtains on all the downstairs windows (which we don’t really close for privacy at all) and then faux white wood blinds upstairs on bedrooms and bathrooms (where we close them for privacy). But if anyone has a photo of a room with both I’d love to see how it looks! I worry it would just be weird to layer them…

      xo
      s

    • Avatar for AmandaAmanda says

      June 27, 2013 at 11:25 am

      I don’t remember where, but I recently saw a blog post showing someone’s bedroom windows that they dressed with curtains, bamboo blinds, AND a roller shade for privacy and light-blocking.
      They hung the bamboo blinds above the window trim, and let the bottom overhang the top of the window a tiny bit to hide the roller (which was mounted inside the trim).
      I know it’s not white faux wood shades, but that could be an option for you.

    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 11:27 am

      Oh yes, Dana at HouseTweaking did that! Looks awesome! I remember that post because I had campaigned to do that instead of faux wood blinds but John said no to the roller shade. We had them in our first house’s bedroom for a while and later switched them out for faux wood blinds, so he didn’t want to go back to rollers. John the diva. Haha!

      xo
      s

    • Avatar for RachelRachel says

      June 27, 2013 at 11:54 am

      Yes. That’s what I was thinking too. Since I already have the blinds, I’ll probably end up making a mock roman shade for the bathroom sometime in the near future! I’ll just have to find some other spot for bamboo shades in the house!

      Amanda, it’s really a great idea – we actually are doing something kinda similar with our master bedroom. We have the 2″ faux wood blinds in there too, but they don’t block enough light (we’re freaks about the room being dark at night) and we can’t keep our curtains closed at night because the air vent is directly under the window. So, either I’m layering a roller shade behind the blinds, or I’m going to use a tension rod with some light blocking fabric. That way I can lift it during the day, but have blissful pitch blackness at night. At least, that’s the goal….fingers crossed!

    • Avatar for KimKim says

      June 27, 2013 at 12:04 pm

      I did curtains and bamboo shades over faux wood blinds but the windows were deep enough to where the blinds didn’t stick out. It did look a little pointless when the blinds were down and my husband joked that we had like 15 different window coverings on each window, but I still think it was a nice visual effect because the bamboo + curtains is good enough of a look to overpower the blinds. I would just pull the blinds down at night and then bring them back up to hide under the bamboo in the morning. I only did that because it was a rental though, not sure if there’s a good long term solution because you would have to raise and lower the blinds every day.

    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 12:12 pm

      That’s helpful to hear! Thanks Kim!

      xo,
      s

    • Avatar for AlisaAlisa says

      June 27, 2013 at 12:27 pm

      We have bamboo over the 2″ faux wood blinds and it looks great! We get compliments on it all the time and they work well together. We have the wood blinds on an interior mount and the bamboo mounted outside (and a bit higher because the windows are oddly squat).

    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 12:47 pm

      Sounds pretty!

      xo,
      s

    • Avatar for RachaelRachael says

      June 27, 2013 at 1:00 pm

      Here’s Dana’s post for reference. I couldn’t picture it in my head until I saw the post, it actually looks really good!

      http://www.housetweaking.com/2013/06/21/our-bedroom-window-treatments/

  23. Avatar for Heather P.Heather P. says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:30 am

    Thanks for the update! I guess you never realize how much blinds can do until you don’t have them around! :-)

    Reply
  24. Avatar for Shannon {Our Home Notebook}Shannon {Our Home Notebook} says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:30 am

    That’s so true. The first few months in a new house there always seems to be so many things like that to do, that add up. Hopefully you’ll be able to sleep in a bit more now!

    Our windows are mostly bare too, except for the bathroom for privacy and the kids room to block out the light. Our bedroom french doors are still bare though from when we moved in last fall. Yeah, I need to get on that :) Thankfully our backyard backs onto a field so its not really been an issue. But it would be nice.

    Reply
  25. Avatar for EmilyEmily says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:30 am

    OMG yes! Moving is a huge money-suck. The first few months are the worst, but I think in our last house, it lasted for about two years as we fixed it up and the projects never seemed to end. We lived there three years, and our third year turned out to be the year we saved for a better house, and then here we are again! Bleeding money!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:41 am

      Haha, it’s a viscous cycle! Darn those houses that woo us into buying them fancy jewelry and designer clothes!

      xo
      s

    • Avatar for JaimeeJaimee says

      June 27, 2013 at 12:23 pm

      Okay, YHL, I know it’s a typo and I SWEAR I am not normally the type to point those out but “viscous” instead of “vicious” is very punny when you are talking about “bleeding” money ;)

    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 12:48 pm

      Hahahahahahah!

      xo
      s

  26. Avatar for RachelRachel says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:31 am

    I feel what you say about bleeding money. We’re due to close on our first house on Monday (very excited!) and looking a little worriedly at the list of things that are going to need financing in the next few weeks… Tell me it doesn’t have to be so bad? ;)

    Blinds are looking good!

    Reply
  27. Avatar for rachaelrachael says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:32 am

    We just bought these for our sons room! We had them cut at the store too. I followed your instructions from when you had them in your first house to remove the extra slats and I LOVE IT!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:40 am

      So glad. It’s oddly satisfying, right?

      -John

  28. Avatar for AmberAmber says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:32 am

    Can totally understand the bleeding money feeling.

    We moved in to our first home 9 months ago, and I still feel like we are bleeding money. Not because our house is a money pit, but because so many little things come up here and there. It’s all worth it though.

    Reply
  29. Avatar for RebeccaRebecca says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:32 am

    I hear ya on the house money dump!

    We bought a “move-in” ready house and still easily spend a couple hundred every time we walk into Home Deport or Lowes which is way too often.

    Reply
  30. Avatar for Megan @ Rappsody in RoomsMegan @ Rappsody in Rooms says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:33 am

    Grr blinds. It’s totally one of those bleeding money things you sometimes forget. I’m still holding on to our plastic blinds that came with the house (3 years in) because it’s just so much money to change them! But now they are looking pretty bad it might just be that time…

    Reply
  31. Avatar for LynLyn says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:33 am

    Looks great! Just wanted to mention that in our last home, and the home we’ve been in for almost a year – I know the bleeding money feeling – we added tint to all our windows. In our present home we put Panorama film on. I have no ties whatsoever to this company. We already have dual pane low-E windows and plantation shutters on all windows but the window film blocks 99% of UV rays which means NO fading of your floors, window treatments, upholstery, rugs, etc. It also cuts down the amount of heat that comes in the window. It is not noticeable from the street or from the inside. The Panorama was a little more expensive than the 3M we put on the windows in our last home but since we have dual pane windows in this home the Panorama protects the warranty on the windows. I highly recommend it if you plan on being in this home for awhile. Really pays off with cooler rooms and no fading of your interior. Still lets the light in but reduces the glare, blocks the UV rays, and the heat. Looking forward to seeing your 1 month update. Just found your site recently from the article in HGTV’s July/August issue!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:39 am

      Thanks for the tip Lyn! That stuff sounds awesome, so we’ll have to look into it!

      xo
      s

    • Avatar for HilaryHilary says

      June 27, 2013 at 11:23 am

      Have you noticed if the window film affects how your house plants grow? My in-laws have window film in several rooms in their home (I think they have 3M) and my mother-in-law can only keep her house plants alive in the rooms without the film.

  32. Avatar for Christina @ My Homespun HomeChristina @ My Homespun Home says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:33 am

    Ha, I bought the non-upgraded version of these blinds for my apartment to replace the hideous and god-knows-how-old-and-crusty black plastic miniblinds. Even from the outside of my building, my apartment looks so much nicer than the other apartments.

    Funny about customizing the length though–either all of my windows are bigger than the standard, or Home Depot will also customize the length for you too. I gave the guy the dimensions of my windows, and I know I didn’t have to do anything other than install the brackets and hang them when I got home.

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:38 am

      Wow, that’s amazing if they customized the length for you! I’ve never heard of that so I wonder if you just got crazy lucky and your windows are a standard length too!

      xo
      s

    • Avatar for KaijaKaija says

      June 27, 2013 at 12:16 pm

      Yes, they did the same for me. I have a large glass door which opens to my patio. HD did not have a blind that long, so they ordered it for me. I don’t remember it costing any more than the window blinds that they trimmed for me at the store. I wish that I would have asked about trimming the bottom too, since my windowblinds still go untrimmed LOL. Any now I’m already so sice of them since they stick out too much from the windowframe… time to move on, I’m thinking nice bamboo. Or the honeycomb shades that open from both bottom and top! I have that in my bedroom that faces the street and it’s great for privacy & light control!

    • Avatar for EricaErica says

      June 28, 2013 at 11:35 am

      I may have to check that out! I would love it if they could customize the length for me- I need some blinds, but my windows are huge! I can at least ask, right? :-) Thanks for the tip!

  33. Avatar for JenJen says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:34 am

    So excited to see a post with photos of your rooms as you’re currently using them! We keep seeing just snippets, and I’m curious to see how it’s flowing together in the for-now stage. The before can be as interesting as the after, as far as I’m concerned. :)

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:38 am

      Oh yes, we love documenting that stuff, so we did a Day One post and we’ll do a One Month In post as well as sharing all of the little localized updates (peeling wallpaper, removing an old shower door) as those ocurr!

      xo
      s

  34. Avatar for MarjorieMarjorie says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:34 am

    Hi guys! I’m curious if you’ll install more permanent curtains in the guest room, or if these are “it.”

    Our master bedroom has giant south-facing windows that look like these, and we want a more substantial curtain to help block light (we already have similar blinds but they’re not strong enough for late mornings or naps).

    I have always wondered if we should hang curtains on the outside of the whole window, then also on the beams in between the windows (that are 6-8″ each).

    Help! :-)

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:37 am

      Oh yes, if you have beams between the windows I would do a panel over each one of those! Hope it helps.

      xo
      s

  35. Avatar for SuzySuzy says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:35 am

    There’s nothing better than a house full of natural light!
    Vintage Amore Blog

    Reply
  36. Avatar for StacyStacy says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:37 am

    I LOVE Bloglovin!

    Reply
  37. Avatar for JenJen says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:37 am

    the blinds look great and really pull the rooms together. Love Clara’s curtains; where did you get those? thx!
    Jen :)

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:48 am

      Those are fabric from a local outlet here called U-Fab. Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

  38. Avatar for KristenKristen says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:38 am

    Blinds make such a big difference in a room. When we moved in to our current apartment, the bedroom had blood-red blinds (every day it felt like we were waking up in a horror film) so I ran to HD and grabbed basic white blinds that were under $5 each (after all, we’re only renting) and made the swap. It’s been a wonderful update!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:56 am

      Love a cheap swap!

      xo
      s

  39. Avatar for LaurenLauren says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:38 am

    Add me on to the list of those rec’ing the old reader. It’s great!!

    Reply
  40. Avatar for cheri s in iowacheri s in iowa says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:38 am

    New house/no blinds brings a certain horror story to mind. Good thing we are in the country! I was ever so glad when we finally scraped together the money for cellular shades. They’re so much easier to clean and I love the extra insulation factor! Spendy though they are!

    Reply
    • Avatar for AlisaAlisa says

      June 27, 2013 at 12:32 pm

      We put cellular shades in our bedrooms and I am obsessed. They are the easiest thing ever to clean and they look so sleek. I don’t know of anyone else who has them so I just had to chime in :)

  41. Avatar for bettybetty says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:38 am

    i’m going to assume you’ve put these in the bathrooms (since you said bedroom and bathroom), but will ask anyway.. no privacy film instead of blinds in the bathroom? is there any specific reasoning for this?

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:51 am

      John was really into the blinds in the bathroom idea this time, and I didn’t hate it enough to fight him, so I gave in. Looks great, so I’m glad we went for it. And it’s nice to open them and clearly see out (the yard, Burger on the deck, etc) whereas privacy film blocks the view out. This way we control when it’s closed off and when it’s easy to see.

      xo
      s

  42. Avatar for mandy Grimesmandy Grimes says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:39 am

    I am excited for Monday’s post to see what the current living arrangements are! Can’t believe it has been a month.

    Reply
  43. Avatar for Meghan BMeghan B says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:39 am

    Thanks for the tip on Feedly! It is super easy to join… I was dreading switching over all of my blogs but it imported them for me! Yahoo!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:49 am

      So easy, right? I totally dreaded it too. And then clicking through I was a little annoyed (it’s not the exact same format) but I quickly got used to it and now think “aw, it’s so pretty” – and when you click any picture directly from Feedly it pins it for you (connected to the right post and everything)! So helpful.

      xo
      s

  44. Avatar for ElleElle says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:40 am

    Yeah thinking of bleeding money, if it wouldn’t cause you too much pain could you just add a quick bit to your “one month in” post about “and we’ve already spent around $x! $300 for blinds, this much for tree removal, etc. etc.”

    I love the trim at the top of the blinds, it makes them look super fancy!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:50 am

      I’d love to do a breakdown… although it might depress me! Thank goodness we did free things (peeling wallpaper, removing the glass shower door) among all this spending. Haha! And getting a free furnace helps my weary wallet.

      xo
      s

  45. Avatar for KocaKoca says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:40 am

    I think $300 for 11 windows is pretty darn good. What would you have used on the windows if you could splurge more?

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:53 am

      I’m not sure – maybe solid wood (painted white) instead of faux wood? I think we love these but there are also those gorgeous roman shades from fancy places (fabric ones) that might have been pretty in rooms where we weren’t doing curtains (ex: bathroom windows) – but those seem like more of a pain to open and shut, so we might have just gone with these anyway.

      xo
      s

  46. Avatar for EricaErica says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:41 am

    Hi Sherry!

    Love the blinds. Looks very clean. I was just wondering what made you pick these over the bamboo blinds you put in your first house?

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:54 am

      If you scroll back there’s another comment where I touch on this, but I love bamboo for the first floor layered with curtains (I don’t love opening and closing bamboo blinds all the time, so easily close-able faux wood blinds upstairs for privacy made more sense and then I get texture downstairs with bamboo).

      xo
      s

  47. Avatar for RosalieRosalie says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:44 am

    Just a little curious as to why you didn’t install the blinds further into the window?
    Going with the upgrade is almost always worth it, it sucks to finish and wish you had splurged.

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:55 am

      That’s as far in as they go (depth of windows varies) but once you hang the curtain and the curtain rods, those protrude more and they cover the sides of the blinds so everything looks seamless. We had them in our previous house as well and it looked nice – especially once the curtains were up!

      xo
      s

  48. Avatar for Jen WJen W says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:45 am

    So jealous… I want a HD coupon! Blinds sound like a good coupon item, too… necessary but not even close to fun. Best to save money where we can!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      June 27, 2013 at 10:55 am

      Keep an eye out for them! Are you in the garden club? I signed up and it might have put me on their regular mailing list too and John and I got two great coupons in the mail recently!

      xo
      s

  49. Avatar for Nicole B.Nicole B. says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:45 am

    I like the look of the chunky blinds! I’m excited for Monday to see the 1 month in pics.

    Ugh yes. First moving you realize you always need need need more things than you did at your previous house. We needed little things like little trashcans (for more bathrooms), a hose (never needed one living in an apartment), and shower curtains (again, didn’t need shower curtains in an apartment, because of glass doors). It all adds up, but is nice to have it out of the way as a one time only purchase as well.

    Reply
  50. Avatar for Jordan@the2seasons[email protected] says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:46 am

    We have these same shades and love them. It if funny when we bought our house we didn’t pay attention to the window treatments/blinds or lack of so that was one of our first purchases. Our friends loved them so much they went out and decked out their house as well.

    Reply
Newer Comments »

Stuff We Love

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

John and Sherry smiling against pink backgroundHey, we’re John & Sherry. We’ve fixed up 7 homes, written books, designed products, started a podcast, and then downsized & moved to the beach! Here you’ll find over 3,000 DIY projects & home updates. More about us…
*This site contains ads and affiliate links*
See our disclaimer & privacy policy to learn more

Latest Finds

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

SHOP OUR LIGHTING

Young House Love Shades Of Light Capiz Chandelier

GET POSTS BY EMAIL

We’re Digging

Traditional Rug
The “Magic” Rug
Smokeless Solo Stove Firepit
Smokeless Firepit
Woven Storage Ottoman
Storage Ottoman
Subtle Pink Rug
Our Bedroom Rug
Blue Air 211 Air Purifier
Our Air Purifiers
Faux Potted Olive Tree
Faux Olive Tree
Kohler Memoirs Toilet
Our Favorite Toilet
Soft Striped Rug
Soft Striped Rug
SEE MORE OF OUR FAVORITE FINDS > >

  • About
  • FAQs
  • Press
  • Contact
  • :)

© 2023 Young House Love ® · Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · A Fun Wordpress theme on Genesis Framework · Hosted by Liquid Web