We first brought home a pair of white faux wood blinds back when were decorating the nursery (since a nice dark room sounded like a good idea when it came to encouraging some serious pee-wee shut eye). The ironic thing is that literally for years we’ve been dying to bring them into our very own bedroom. See, the window above the bed was never covered, and although the sun doesn’t rise on that side of the house we knew it could definitely stand to get darker with the help of some sort of rolling or slatted blind. Plus the other window in the room had the original plastic roller shade that came with the house (it very well could have been 50+ years old- and it was yellowed and stained to prove it). Nasty.
But there was one great thing about the grody old roller shade: it tucked up under our more eye-pleasing white roman shade from Ikea, so we got the benefit of some light blockage and privacy when it was pulled down, and during the day it was up and 100% invisible. However, as we mentioned, we wanted to cover that small window above the bed- just for a darker night’s sleep. And we were also compelled to replace that crusty old roller shade on the other window while we were at it… which is where two more pairs of custom-cut-to-fit (it’s a free service!) white faux wood blinds from Home Depot came in:
But let’s rewind. Here’s that crusty old pull-down roller shade that we mentioned (after we removed the fabric roman shade in order to work some blind-switcheroo magic):
And here’s the window once we removed that nasty old shade and popped our new custom cut faux wood blind in its place:
But you might notice they’re a bit too long for the window, and any extra slats can make raising and lowering it a bit cumbersome since they add unnecessary weight and bulk. So John just followed the simple instructions that came with the blinds which indicated how to remove those extra slats for an even more custom fit:
And then he rehung our cheap-o Ikea roman shade back in place (so we can pull up the faux wood blinds to completely hide them during the day and lower them at night for privacy and a darker night’s sleep).
So that’s how we added a ton of very welcome darkness to our bedroom that can be pulled up (and totally hidden) so no one’s the wiser. It feels a whole lot more adult of us than the dirty old roller shade did, and we like bringing in common elements throughout our house (especially when it comes to the windows). So we love that we now have these babies in two out of three of our home’s bedrooms.
Oh and even though there’s nothing that we can tuck the blinds behind on the smaller window behind the bed, we’ve found that when they’re pulled up they’re virtually undetectable since they’re the same crisp white color as the molding around the window, so they really blend in. And of course we love how deliciously dark our bedroom is in the morning now. The difference really is night and day.
So that’s our latest tiny tweak in the bedroom. Have you guys been doing anything to block light, dress windows, or otherwise add function to your sleeping spaces? Any other window makeovers that you’re tackling around the house? Do tell.
Missy says
I love your duvet! Haven’t been able to find it out there on ebay. Any similar duvets that you’ve hunted down or other options that you would choose if you could do it over again/a plan B?
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Missy,
You might want to check out Dwell for something similar (they love geometrics) or even a place like TJ Maxx or HomeGoods. Good luck!
xo,
s
CommaHappy says
When we moved into our house six years ago, I found the thin white roman shades at IKEA for some smaller windows but couldn’t find one large enough for the biggest window in the bedroom. So I just copied the “pattern” of the IKEA shade for the bigger window and made a roman shade out of navy fabric. It’s a great black-out curtain and has a perfect custom fit.
Stef says
I love how the white blinds look on your windows and would like to do something similar in our new house. The problem is that although our windowsills are painted bright white, the metal part that surrounds each window (and runs down the center, since the windows slide open from the side) is black. Do you think the white blinds will look strange against the black window frames? Any ideas for a solution? (I don’t like the black frames but they are good windows and replacing them isn’t in the budget right now.) Thanks for your help!
YoungHouseLove says
Absolutely! It’ll still look great. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Beanie says
I am in the middle of a blinds dilemma and remembered this recent post from you, so came back here to find some info. Can I get your advice?
I have cheap plastic venetian blinds in our guest bedroom. They are in fine shape, but ugly. I bought some pretty semi-private roman shades from Lowe’s. Should I get rid of cheap plastic shades and buy privacy liner for the bamboo shades?(From research online, this seems as expensive as the roman shades themselves–20 to 30 bucks per window.) Or should I get bigger bamboo shades that mount on the outside and just keep the cheap ones underneath for privacy? If I get outside mount ones, should they cover the whole window frame molding or just part of it?
If anyone knows a source for cheap privacy liner, I’d love to hear it. I can’t imagine trying to sew something into a blind, so I don’t think that suggestion would work.
Why is this so durn complicated??
Thanks for any help!
YoungHouseLove says
We would just keep the existing blinds and keep them raised during the day so they’re tucked out of sight. You’ll get the function out of them when you need ’em, but won’t have to look at them all the time. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Beanie says
Thank you so very much for your advice, Sherry! I will look into the outside mount blinds and hopefully they have the kind I like in that size. No custom ordering here b/c it’s way too expensive.
Thanks again!
Beanie
Michael says
Look at selectblinds.com. It cost me the same as the big box store ones I have for custom blinds which fit perfectly. The wait was a bit longer (just under 2 weeks), but the price and quality were certainly worth it.
Diana says
I love you guys and your blog — you’ve been such an inspiration to me as I set up my nursery. You made me brave enough to paint my ceiling and it looks FAB. (I will be certain to send you pics of the finished project).
I also put in these blinds. You can’t beat this price for this look, and the free custom cutting is great. However, I spent two hours this morning tearing my hair out trying to get them installed. I’m going to chalk it up to first timer’s DIY woes — I was so taken in by John’s speedy 20-minute install in the nursery! I clearly need to develop my skills, as I broke a drill bit, there weren’t enough short screws in the packaging (I ended up using one nail to even it out), and the re-stringing to take out the slats and get the custom length was a total nightmare!
Ah, well, looks gorgeous now, but I’m definitely taking a break before I tackle the other window!
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve totally had projects like that! But practice does help- and sometimes there are just unseen snafus! It’s like Russian roulette…
xo,
s
Lynn says
I have been wanting to purchase some 2″ white wood blinds for my 5 windows (35×65) in the living room. Two windows will have curtain panels surrounding them as well, but three of them will just be on their own because of lack of space for other window treatments. I’m wondering if the appearance/quality of the HD “off the shelf” faux option is going to be nice enough to stand on it’s own? Or, should I spring for the composite or wood special order option? Thanks for any thoughts you have!
YoungHouseLove says
We think it’s a fantastic option and it can totally stand on its own! Hope it helps.
xo,
s
lynn says
thanks for your response! i went to check them out today and they do look great. just wondering if there is a good fix for the plastic corners on the valence? i won’t be able to hide the top with other window treatments…
YoungHouseLove says
We’re not sure. Maybe buy them and hang them and see how you like them? You can always return them if you don’t like how they look (assuming you don’t get them cut to size or anything). They might not bother you and you might adore the look!
xo,
s
Jenny Devon says
My bedroom requirement that trumps all others is blackout curtains. I know some people enjoy being woken by the warm morning light. Not me! I want to stay in bed, in the dark until I choose!
Wendy says
I just bought some of these, but the top part of the window frame that I would screw these into is only 1″ deep for the flat part (with about another 1/2″ angled out to meet the outer window trim. I held them up, but the top part then sticks out beyond the window trim, and I think it looks weird, but I’m not sure if that’s just because I’m staring at it. Did you have that problem? I won’t be hanging a roman shade or anything, I have curtains on either side of the window.
YoungHouseLove says
It sticks out a smidge but with curtain rods protruding much further out from the wall and flanking the window it looks great! Hope it helps.
xo,
s
Wendy says
I just noticed your nursery progress post and it looks like maybe you guys had the same problem there? Also, I just had my trim painted white and it’s off the shelf bright white. When I hold the “white” blinds up, they are duller than the trim. Do you think that matters?
YoungHouseLove says
Ours didn’t match perfectly either but one we hung the rods and curtains and brought in the rest of the furniture it was great. We have lots of tones of white in many rooms (thanks to furniture, bedding, accessories, and even wall frames) so it all looks layered and lovely. Good luck!
xo,
s
cathy says
Just knew I was going to get the answer I needed, but nope. So here it goes…I have faux brown in bedroom and faux white through the rest of the house and cleaning them is such a job. I have been going blind by blind, inch by inch with various cleaners but my string is still dirty looking. Can’t afford to buy new at this time. PLEASE HOW DO I MAKE IT ALL LOOK WHITE AGAIN?
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, we’ve never had this issue. Anyone know? Maybe try buying white craft paint and painting the string with a tiny brush? It might be a nice pick-me-up if nothing else works and you don’t want to have to spring for all new ones!
xo,
s
Andrea B. says
Hey, I love your blog. I just read your blog about shortening wood blinds. Great idea! We have been living in our house for 2 years and our white wooden bathroom blinds are too long. I don’t know why I never thought to shorten them before. SO after reading your blog I went up and did it. Took about 30 minutes for 4 blinds. Looks a million times better! Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! So glad! Congrats!
xo,
s
Michael says
I ordered my faux wood blinds from selectblinds.com. I have a set of faux wood blinds from a big box store that are nice enough, but I like the quality of the selectblinds ones more. I originally turned to the internet because our old house doesn’t have standard sized windows and I couldn’t find any blinds to fit. They cost almost exactly the same as the ones in the big box stores, but they are all custom made, so they fit perfectly (no shortening the slats!).
Krista says
Hi, I’m trying to decide if I want the white blinds or slightly offwhite(coconut). My base boards and moldings theoughout the house are painted Swiss Coffee which looks white. I’m leaning towards the coconut color blinds because I feel like the white has a blue-ish hue to it. Any suggestions?!
Krista says
Also, I don’t want the blinds to look yellowish or creamy. I want them to look white. Should I just go white white or stick with coconut?
YoungHouseLove says
I’d definitely go white! The coconut will look cream and two whites with a slightly different tint of white still would look closer I think. Especially in a window where light will flood in (it’s more forgiving).
xo
s