It’s Gettin Hot In Hur, So Add Some Bamboo Blinds. I am, getting so hot, I’m gonna put some blinds uuup. Picture me singing that while installing each of these four blinds. On repeat. While John rolled his eyes.
Actually it was less about heat and more about that ever-elusive p word: privacy. Just during the day (we don’t use the sunroom at night) but it’s hard to make a room with an entire wall of windows feel private and cozy. So we reasoned that bamboo blinds + the fence that we added outside for our patio (which you can see through the windows here thanks to this photography trick from Kate) just might do the trick.
We opted to go with the same bamboo blinds that we got from Home Depot for the office (they’re called Mirada if that helps anyone find them). This time we needed four 30″ bamboo blinds (which were $19 per shade) but they didn’t sell them in the store, so we ordered them online (yay for free shipping).
Once they showed up, it was on. Cue me singing and drilling until these babies were up (using the same hanging-method that we detailed here). And just like that, our sunroom was hot. Not temperature wise, attractive wise. I mean come on, if you were a sunroom looking for love, wouldn’t you want to get to know our sunroom? She’s PHAT (pretty hot and tempting).
Aaaaand now that I’ve successfully managed to out-nerd my dad (didn’t think I could and then my fingers just went rogue) I’ll just share the other after pics:
The cool thing is that the blinds + the patio fence do sort of “meet in the middle” to provide some privacy from the house next door (the fence blocks the bottom 2/3 of the window from view, and the blinds handle the top 1/3). Daytime privacy goal: achieved.
Not to mention that we love the texture and the warm tones that they bring into to the room. They balance other wood items, like the side table…
… and the wooden doily stretcher on the wall (a $4 thrift store score)…
…along with the homemade bike print frames on the other side of the room…
Hubba hubba.
In short, this was the view of the room from the sliding door in the living room before:
And now it looks like this:
And a crazy chopped-up room that looked like this when we moved in…
… now looks like this.
I’m itching to paint the dainty legs of that round table next to the egg chair a nice dark tone. Maybe chocolate or charcoal? I think it’ll set off the granite top just right. And see that orange strip of wood under the sliding door? Gotta go white with that to match the trim.
Is any window-rectifying-action going on in your house? Let’s talk about blinds bay-bee, let’s talk about you and me…
Renie says
Hi you two! I just wanted to drop a line about your Shades of Light series (and I was a little too lazy to go back to the original post). I’m a commercial interior designer in the Midwest and I specified your Farmhouse Pendants in lime green for a Girl Scouts project. Exciting stuff and had to share! I’ve been reading your blog everyday for about 2 years now.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw that’s so sweet! Thanks so much!
xo,
s
Carrie says
I think you should paint the legs of that table a dark teal… like the pillow on the far right of the couch!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh that would be fun!
xo,
s
Karen says
Looks Great! Love bamboo blinds. Are they cordless? On the website, they show cords, but I don’t see cords on yours.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah we just tuck the cords up behind them so they’re hidden since we don’t adjust them too much.
xo,
s
Katelyn Hickman says
Looks great guys! The transformation of this room is amazing, and those snazzy dark blinds really add some sophistication!
Meagan says
Did you guys have any issues with your wood brace splitting when installing them to fit inside the window frame? We just bought these same shades for our living room and after reading your previous post decided we wanted the cleaner, inside-flush mount as well. Just wondering! I’m sure it was user-error as we are pretty new to the DIY scene (just purchased our first home)!
YoungHouseLove says
We drilled tiny pilot holes and had no trouble at all. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Laura says
May I rent your sunroom? I can totally see myself curled up on the daybed with a good book, a big glass of ice tea & maybe a snack lazing the day away.
YoungHouseLove says
Sure, come on over!
xo,
s
Lindsey says
Question! When you measure your windows were they 30 inches exactly? Or a little bigger. I live in an old house with 30 inch windows but i’ve been debating whether to go with 29 or 30 inch blinds. Thoughts?
YoungHouseLove says
Ours were almost exactly 30″ and the 30″ blinds for perfectly. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Sarah R. says
Maybe I’m crazy, but I feel like I remember you mentioning that the store will cut these blinds down if needed? Is that right? Or different blinds/store? I love these but would need 26″ to do an inside mount…..
The sunroom looks great!
YoungHouseLove says
They cut white faux wood blinds for free. And I think other bloggers have cut these down at home and posted tutorials if that helps :)
xo,
s
The Naptown Organizer says
Just randomly- how do you keep your grout so clean? It always looks so nice!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks! We just scrub it with Mrs. Meyers soap and then seal it with grout sealer which keeps it clean for years!
xo,
s
Courtney says
Before I even read that you wanted to paint the legs of that little table a darker color I thought “wow those legs would look great painted navy”! ha
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
LARY@ Inspiration Nook says
Love these. We have these in our home office and master bedroom too. We love the texture they bring into the room.
Ashley says
I don’t dislike this room, and in fact like that you’re putting natural wood tones into it, but I can’t get over the fact that the brick wall just looks like a prison with the grey! Eeek! Am I the only one who sees that?
Jen says
I totally get the “institution” vibe too.
DB says
Just an FYI…the blinds are called “Mirada”, see “cut and paste” from Home Depot. (designview 35 in. W x 72 in. L Fruitwood Mirada Flatstick Bamboo Roman Shade)
Do you know if the length can be shortened?
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the name tip, off to update that! As for shortening them, I think bloggers have cut them down at home but they only seem to offer shortening services in Home Depot for their faux wood blinds :)
xo
s
Gina says
DB we were actually installing Home Depot blinds last night in our Family room, and in fact DID shorten them ourselves in a very trial-and-error method, since HD stocks them in 48″ (which were 4 inches too short) and 72″ (which were 20″ too long!) They turned out really well, and I am thrilled! My blog is BRAND NEW but I will be posting pics and how we did it today or tomorrow. We purchased the flatter matchstick style called Providence.
Sherry I LOVE the way yours turned out and I am loving the natural/texture/warmth they’ve added to your room and ours.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Gina! So glad you guys could shorten them!
xo
s
Marin says
I was scrolling through waiting for the picture of them all at gradient levels exposing different amounts of sunlight like those AT&T “bars” commercials!
Looks good!!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
Ashley howard says
I bought these exact blinds a couple weeks back and they don’t fit exactly inside my window. Did you have this problem and if so how did you resize them to fit?
Ashley
YoungHouseLove says
I would return them if they didn’t fit unless you can cut them down (I think some other bloggers have). Our just slipped in with a half centimeter on each side which seems to be the sweet spot :)
xo,
s
RLR says
Oh, wow – this may be one of my favorite “small changes” – it looks great!
Michelle Kersey says
Love it! I have bamboo blinds in a rental a few years ago and lost the hardware in the move :( So, they just sit in the garage with the hopes I’ll be able to do something with them one day… :-\
Also, I’m not sure if anyone mentioned this yet… but, if you want to save time editing (who doesn’t?) you can make it so you don’t blow out the windows in camera. All you need to do is bounce a little flash indoors. If you have an off camera flash that goes into your hotshoe you can bounce some light off the ceiling or walls and that will make the room brighter, which will make your settings closer to what you need to see outside the windows too. Make any sense? If you don’t have an off camera flash… a little dohickey called a Lighscoop will allow you to bounce from the flash on your camera for $35.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the tip!
xo,
s
Abby H. says
Well done! It looks like a room – like an extension of your house, instead of a porch.
Kate R. says
I was looking at some at my local Home Depot but I remember them being more expensive. I like that price point and I have been looking for some that are longer to go in my kitchen (the last owner made some roman shades..which I admire, but they are not my style…). Thanks for the post, I am headed to homedepot.com right now to see what they might have available!
lisa says
have you stood closer to your neighbor’s house when looking into your windows? you said that the fence blocks the bottom 2/3 of the window from view, and the blinds handle the top 1/3, but it may only look that way from the inside of your house….if you were to look closer in from neighbor’s house view, you may see more inside of your house that you didn’t think they could.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes great tip! Their daughter is Clara’s age so we’re over there often. Thankfully when we got to see things from their side (that’s their driveway) it confirmed that we’re covered :)
xo,
s
Mary | lemongroveblog says
Classy! Love how much they spruce up that little room.
Lee Ann says
Love, love, love it! And I think a dark gray would look fab on that table’s legs. :)
Elizabeth @ Real Inspired says
I think I’m entering into a mad love affair with natural blinds…The room looks great y’all! And I’m a big fan of the painted brick!
Tarnya Cook says
Looks great Sherry and I agree they do balance out the room really well.
xx
Laura says
It’s a good uh, nine hours since I read this post, and I AM STILL singing that song in my head. Thanks :-)
Also, I predict a shortage of bamboo blinds at Home Depot after them being featured here – love the idea!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha thanks Laura!
xo,
s
jen says
Love this! We’ve been thinking about bamboo blinds for our triple window in our living room (its currently naked – new house and new baby last year, so, lots to do). Would you do the same thing for windows that are closer together (almost no space between them)? Or would you do one header and three shades? I love the way your windows look but I’m having trouble envisioning it on my windows.
BTW, I love the blog. So many great ideas. And wahoowa from a fellow hoo!
YoungHouseLove says
I think you could go either way and not lose, so maybe just look at some inspiration pics on Pinterest or Google and see if you like one setup more than the other? I think I’d probably do one long rod over all of your windows with some breezy white curtains and then three inside mounted shades in the windows for a nice layered look :)
xo
s
Diane says
I want a sunroom! Or a screened-in porch. It’s on the list for my next/last house. You have so much ‘bonus’ living space!
KarenH says
Wow, what a nice job you’ve done with that whole room. It’s gone from “Hello, I’m clearly a former outdoor space” to a room that looks integrated with the rest of the house.
I still need to replace the left-by-the-former-owner plastic mini blinds in the spare room. That’s the last room in the house with original window coverings. But I haven’t decided if I’m going to go with a white wood blind (stolen from the living room where I’m thinking of changing out two 31″ blinds over a double window to one single 63″ blind, or just sew some curtains for that room. It’s my workout space and a part time spare room (murphy bed) so there’s really not an urgency to doing window coverings–other than I think the ones in there may die of old age soon.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! Good luck with everything Karen!
xo
s
Nancy says
Can I ask where you got the awesome rug under the couch? Looks like exactly what I’ve been looking for.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks! It’s from World Market a few years ago.
xo
s
kelly says
paint the table legs hot pink! :)
Autumn Beach says
Ha! You. Are. FUNNY.
I LOVE these blinds in this room. I thought this room was fabulous BEFORE you added them. Now it’s just over-the-top amazing. You guys are really good at small change = big difference.
Iforgotmyusername says
Whatever happened to the posts you used to do where you would take a few options of say blinds, try them out and then pick the best one, letting us in on your process? Now your readers are coming in to posts, seeing,
Look. We put up blinds. Here are some pics.
Look we painted a wall white and nailed a bit of fabric to a window. Here are some pics.
Look. John cut down a vine. Here are some pics.
Faaaaaaacinating.
Before everyone gets all up on me and starts tearing strips off me and raging about how I get to read this blog for free yada yada ya, I am aware that I am as a reader, a part of the traffic that provides page views and ad clicks and all sorts of reasons why J & S get to do this gig and work from home.
Just wondering, have you run out of ideas? Mojo?
Come on YHL. Make me want to keep reading!!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we love over-sharing the process stuff (it’s all trial & error around here). I’d venture to guess that 90% of our archives are full of posts like “here’s how we solved this problem, with clippers or fabric or paint or blinds or fill-in-the-blank.” Sometimes there are more options/whys to share (and boy do we ever!) and sometimes it’s simple and we just do something and post pics. That smorgasbord approach is what got us here, but it has never been about opening up the decorating decisions to the masses because this is our house and we don’t want to live in a house that the internet designed, haha!
xo,
s
Kim says
I don’t think “iforgotmyusername” was hoping you’d let readers vote or help decide on options. I think what he/she is referring to are posts like when you chose Clara’s crib – I remember that one specifically because I referred to it when we chose our daughter’s crib. I like posts like that because it explains the “here’s some other stuff we considered and why we liked it / why we rejected it” process. Even if final selections may not have been someone’s favorite, the research is really interesting and useful – it is for me anyway! I mean, maybe not on every little thing because that would be seriously exhausting to type up, but for big stuff or special items it’s super helpful to read!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes we love sharing pretty much anything we research/find/consider along the way :)
xo,
s
Emily says
I think I get what Iforgotmyusername means. For example, with Clara’s lightshade, there were a variety of shades that were tried, you posted pictures of them, YOU debated, and then you shared your choice not us (which of course, is as it should be, it’s your house). I feel the same way. Now it seems like, here’s what we did. Then some pictures. Without showing the process. I could be wrong, that’s just what I got from it and kind of how I’m feeling.
YoungHouseLove says
We love those fashion show posts and the one you’re referencing was just a few months ago. So they probably won’t be every day but we work them in there when it’s authentic and true to our process. Whenever we try multiple things we share all the details, but sometimes we know what we want – so getting four blind options wouldn’t have been keeping it real :)
xo,
s
Ryan says
I love the big windows, would be a beautiful space for coffee and relaxing on a sunny winters morning.
Maggie says
I L-O-V-E bamboo blinds because of your blog !!!!!
I wish i can find it easily….
hugs and kisses from Indonesia :)
Connie says
I love wooden blinds, the light that comes in through them is so golden and warm feeling.
Lauren H says
Not that you asked, but the side table would look so fresh with dipped legs in one of your accent colors :D
Claire @ Claire K Creations says
Ahahaha you cracked me up with you’re ‘let’s talk about… ‘ quote!
Recreateanddecorate says
I love bamboo blinds and I have them in my kitchen. Great choice’
Toni says
PLEASE! Tell me how you hung those. I want them so badly in my house–and we actually bought some–but when we went to hang them they looked fine from the inside but HIDEOUS from the outside. I noticed you hung yours on what looks like the window frame? We had hung our inside like traditional blinds and I’m wondering if that’s why it looked so bad…we ended up returning them and getting plain old faux wood white…which I specifically DIDN’T want…lol
YoungHouseLove says
Here’s a post with all the hanging details for you :)
xo
s
AnnaRuth Taynton says
How about painting the table legs the same rich tealy blue as the one pillow on the daybed….maybe muted with some dark wax…..Love your style and wit! Thanks for sharing your home!
YoungHouseLove says
That would be fun too!
xo
s
Rebekah says
Everything looks so great! Question for you guys- we are about to replace all of the sliding glass doors in our sunroom with windows. We’re stuck on whether or not to go double insulated because while I know they have a lot of pros, I heard if the seal breaks it can get really cloudy in between and you can’t clean it … Which I know will drive me crazy in such a bright room. Do y’all have double insulated and if so, do you like them? (Sorry if you have already covered this topic!)
YoungHouseLove says
Great question! Two of our upper windows have had the seal issue (one before we moved in so they fixed it, and one has happened in the time since we moved in back in 2010). So I’d definitely say if there’s an option without that it might be less trouble (twice in 3 years or so seems like a lot, right)?
xo
s
Julie Jacobsen says
Ha! I may be too old for your blog since I don’t know any of Nelly’s music! Just wanted to say that you did a great job with this space and even if you don’t get to change anything else, you’ve landed in a great place. Still, I learn more with each little update so keep ’em coming!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Julie!
xo
s
Annalize says
Loving the “holy” bowl on the centre table!!!!
shar y says
I love the blinds, I have always loved bamboo blinds, even back in the late 60’s when I could have been a “flower child” but wasn’t!! They look great!
The table legs would look great in a charcoal with a hint of dark teal. There must be that color out there somewhere!
Loving your blog as always!!
B Mom says
I like the blinds – gives that wall some visual weight
but they’d tempt me to trade out your white coffee table and white oval end table for something in warm wood tones
erin moria says
We had those exact blinds (got them from lowes) at our last house. I loved the way they looked but I hated that they always fell apart when we would try to lower or raise them. The strings had clips and the blinds had clips and you had to clip the clips together (clippity clip clip – am I saying clip too much?) so the pully system could work… well I think the clips were not strong enough to support the weight of the blinds. So every stinkin’ time you touched the blinds the clips would release from each other. Soooo frustrating. I hope you guys don’t have the same problem with them. Hopefully the manufacturer fixed the issue. Best of luck!
agustina says
my second floor is way too sunny; the windows look over the zinc roof of the porch, so not only sunny but also very hot; so I´m looking for someblack out roller shades!
Liz says
What about teal or the guest room blue color on the table legs?? :) might be fun with the throw pillow colors.
YoungHouseLove says
Love that too!
xo
s
Cassi says
Love the song! Love the shades! Love the self make-out photo!
janet @ ordinary mom says
I just switched our blinds from bamboo to horizontal slats. While I love the look, we get full sun on the back of our house and the bamboo still let in too much heat & light.
I blogged about it: http://www.ordinarymom.ca/create/index.php/2013/04/function-vs-form/
Love how the sunroom is coming together.
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah, they’re definitely not best suited for light blocking. Glad you found something that worked better for you!
-John