Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Adding Bamboo Blinds To The Office

Notice anything different when you peek into the office from the dining room?

Shades Final From Dining

Hint: check out the window region.

Shades Before

We got these guys at Home Depot for $22 each (they’re 35″ bamboo blinds with the name Miranda on them if that helps identify ’em in the store) with the hopes that they would finish off the windows in the office and tie into the thick wooden desktop and the jute rug that we have in there. In our first house we had bamboo blinds in a bunch of rooms and always planned to bring them into this house as well (we mention them a lot in our Listy McListerson posts like this one) – just for the awesome texture they add.

When it came to installation, they had little metal ring hooks at the top of them, but we were going for an inside mounted look and those ring hook hanging things were messing with the “perfectly fitted” effect that we wanted, so we just used needle-nosed pliers to pop those hanging rings off the top, and few screws through the wooden brace piece at the head of the shade (4 spaced out equally) to secure them right into the window trim instead.

Shades Installation

The result is a nice polished look (it’s amazing how window treatments in general can take a room from “in process” to “looks pretty complete to me”) and the wood tones tie into the desktop just as well as we hoped.

Shades Final Vert

Eventually getting the floors refinished in a slightly darker tone (like the desktop) would be the ultimate dream…

For now we’re just enjoying the textured-meets-tailored vibe that they add to the room.

Shades Horiz Straight

And it’s a total bonus that they tie into the woven chairs and the dining table in the adjoined dining room.

Shades Final From Dining

Anyone else adding blinds, shades, or curtains? Whenever someone asks me about the change that surprises me the most (by making such an unexpected difference) I always say it’s curtains and blinds. It’s weird how a naked window with sun flooding through it can be so pretty that you think it doesn’t even need anything else, but then when you finally slap some breezy curtains or textured bamboo blinds up there you end up thinking “oh man, that makes me wanna dance.”

Comments

  4. megan says

    Very nice!

    I notice you didn’t hang the shades high and wide this time. Any particular reason? Maybe the windows are big enough and don’t require the high and wide trick?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yes, we thought with all of the art and stuff floating around on the walls, using the inside bounds of the window trim might keep it from looking too busy and over-lappy. But in other areas where the windows are small and there’s room for a hanging curtain panel on either side (in this case the desk blocked that possibility) we still love high and wide best!

      xo
      s

  5. Lori says

    How do you decide where you want to add the textural bamboo blinds and where you prefer to add the beautiful, fabric roman shades (like in your bathroom)? They’re both beautiful.
    I would like to add something in our master bathroom window (frosted glass for now), but can’t decide which I like better.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I think we just judge on if a room has a lot of color pattern (the office already has bright art, bright chairs, colorful fabric on the seats of the chairs, etc) so we thought bamboo would tie into the desktop and the rug.

      xo
      s

  7. Leah says

    What about removing some blinds? We have mini-blinds that the previous occupant inexplicably hung mid-way up our windows. I have slowly been removing and replacing with curtains, and our windows look 100% better after that change. So not a fan of the mini-blinds.

    We are getting new windows this summer (yay!), and I’m looking forward to being totally done with the minis.

    Question: any suggestion about what to do in the rooms (like our bedroom) that face the street (and street lights) and thus need some light blocking and a visual hide from onlookers? We are literally right on the street, and I don’t want anyone to be able to peer into our bedroom. I’d love to put something prettier than the minis in there.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hmm, I would put white faux wood blinds up (those are what we lower and close to block light in our bedrooms) and then layer curtains hung high and wide, just because that pairing is our favorite (it’s in our master bedroom, Clara’s room, the guest room, etc).

      xo,
      s

  8. Stacey @ Likes to Smile says

    After six (SIX!) years of living in my studio apartment in NYC, I finally bought gorgeous wooden blinds to replace the temporary paper blinds I intended to leave up for a week. And then a week turned into six years. Yikes! I decided that blinds are the thing that takes an apartment to a home, it’s like the secret ingredient that makes everything better. Now I come home and say “Ahhh!”

    And…it looks really fabulous in your office!!

    Reply

  9. Constance says

    Great! Only quasi-related, but speaking of those great dining chairs you have, I recently saw the new Elle Decor spread of Ellen DeGeneres’ house and farmhouse and they have dining chairs that look REMARKABLY similar to yours. FUN! And both spaces are looking great.

    Reply

  10. Lea says

    Hi J&S! Just wondering if you would recommend using bamboo blinds for a bedroom. I’m a little concerned about the privacy factor. Have you had any experience with this? Thanks in advance for your help!

    Reply

  11. [email protected] says

    Not that long ago we just added blinds to all the bedrooms, and curtains to the girls rooms. We’re still working on changing things up in one of the girls rooms (the curtains). We still need to add blinds to the rest of the house.

    I would really love to see what your shade looks like in the office when it’s all the way down. :) Future picture please? :)

    Reply

  12. Megan says

    Love bamboo blinds! Those tie the room together beautifully. I am counting down the days until I road trip to Portland, OR for my besties housewarming party because we are planning an epic Ikea trip! I plan on getting several new pairs of curtains and need to replace all the placemats that our puppy decided looked much better shredded. He also drags his bed all over the house (I’ll wake up in the morning to find him asleep on it in the kitchen, hallway, middle of the living room, etc) so I guess my decorating habits have rubbed off on him.

    Reply

  13. Katja @ Shift Ctrl Art says

    It looks so good. I think a close second to making a room look finished is hanging artwork. Back when we rented I would always make sure I got those things crossed off the list within the first week of moving in and that always made our homes look like we had lived there a long time.

    Reply

  14. Jamie R. says

    I just had a “duh” moment. We hung some bamboo blinds up in 2 of our dining room windows a couple of weeks ago and every time I walk in there I stop and stare at them and think “something’s off here”. Now I know what it is!!! Bingo bango! Thanks Mr. and Mrs. P!

    Reply

  15. Tara says

    They look great! I have been looking for shades like these for our laundry/mudroom and since I have 5 windows to cover, the price is right. Thanks for sharing (and bringing my search to an end!)

    Reply

  16. Melanie says

    I scanned the comments and didn’t see this question/answer – are your blinds not functional? I mean, the way you hung them, it seems like you can’t pull them up and down, so . . . you just put them up for looks, not actual shade?

    Reply

    • Melanie says

      Haha – never mind. I read the comments a little more closely and I see that they probably do work, you just didn’t take any pics of them closed. Don’t mind me!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, we have faux white wood blinds in the bedrooms that we actually use to close/block light, but these are just to finish things off and keep the windows from being naked (much like you hang art in a room even if it doesn’t functionally block light or provide privacy :)

      xo
      s

  17. megan says

    Finishing up plain white blinds for the baby’s room and have to sew curtains for the guest room (which was an office that had a lovely view of the neighbor’s roof)and all that happens before the baby shower this weekend. Alogn with all the things!
    the bamboo is a lovely choice.

    Reply

  18. Ashli @ The Sweat Revolution says

    After living in our house for well over a year, we’ve finally just put window treatments in our bedroom (yes, I have commitment issues, no, I’m not an exhibitionist ;)
    As for our master bathroom, I was planning to go look at these EXACT blinds this weekend – they look great!

    Reply

  19. Kimberly says

    Love the blinds, but I’m actually commenting about refinishing your floors. We have Kona (dark wood) stain and it looks outstanding…BUT it’s impossible to keep clean. They show every smudge and dustbunny. And with an almost 1 year old and a light colored dog, they are always dirty! Wait out the stain until Clara’s a little older.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks for the tip! We had mocha wood floors in our first house (not as dark as kona) so that would be the goal. We loved that they were slightly richer than blonde oak but not too dark (since we heard they show a lot of hair/dust).

      xo
      s

  20. Carolyn says

    Looks super!
    Quick question…my window trim is too small to install inside mount. What do you guys think about mounting on the trim or would you install outside mount (beyond the trim).

    Reply

  21. AnnMarie says

    My first guess was the knobs on the built ins…never noticed those before! We are changing our living room curtains from white sheer to turquoise ikat – you’ve definitely inspired me to add color and I’m loving the change!

    Reply

  22. Alex M says

    You should check out the cordless cellular shades “BRUDDANS” at Ikea. I recently did the whole house for a fraction of the cost of what I paid for our dining room using Levolor cellular shades!

    Reply

  24. liz @ bon temps beignet says

    We have the same style. I LOOOOOOVE them. We used to have vertical blinds on a big window where the blinds opened from the center out. But our smaller side panels windows opened from the outer edges to the center. Every time a breeze blew through the open window, the blinds would flap flap flap away. It was a mess!

    We switched them out for two bamboo shades (like y’all had in your old living room)and it made a HUGE difference.

    http://bontempsbeignet.blogspot.com/2011/05/bamboo-shades-creamy-white-curtains-my.html

    Reply

  25. Jeanna Sanchez says

    Gotta say I love those blinds! They look so good with the top of the desk and the dining room chairs!! Man I wish I had a Home Depot near me :( I have noticed they have some pretty cool things, for great prices!

    Reply

  26. Megan Poletti says

    I love the look of bamboo blinds. My parents used to have them in their bedroom at one of our old houses, but they did not provide any sort of privacy at night! You could stand outside and see right into the house. Do you have this problem? Maybe they just aren’t meant for bedrooms…

    Reply

  27. Amy says

    I just bought new matchstick blinds for our bedroom at Christmas Tree Shoppe for $5 each. They’re lighter than what I wanted (but $5… seriously!) and once I get them out of the package I’ll determine if I can stain them (Minwax Antique Walnut is my fave!) or maybe even paint them? Depending on how that goes – I may be going back to get them for ALL the rooms.

    Reply

  28. Kathleen says

    For several years I had my tree-top condo with no window coverings. I liked the clean modern look. The trees provided lots of privacy. Several months ago I hung some drapes and it really did make the rooms feel finished. Love the woven blinds. However they don’t provide any privacy at night when the lights are on inside. You can see in as if there were nothing on the windows. Just an FYI.

    Reply

  29. J Young says

    That was the first thing I noticed, how nicely it tied in with your chairs in the dining room! Awesome! I’ve gotten the inexpensive bamboo blinds from Ikea before but I like the darker tone of this wood. And yes, I have always said what a difference window treatments make in a room!

    Reply

  30. Jenny says

    I’ve had faux black-out roman shades on my “Get on That” list for a few weeks now. We just moved and for the first time in years, we have a whole side of the house that gets direct sunlight and has a ton of window space, so we want to cover some of that up and save our poor electric bills. I have everything I need except time and a clear large work space (because, you know, we just moved!) I can’t wait to get them done, though – I think they’ll really add a lot of personality to our currently drab living space.

    Reply

  31. Chatelaine says

    After almost a year of living blindless in our kitchen we just had them delivered last night. We don’t need blinds for privacy and the big green house like window we have in front of our sink brings in a great amount of light, the problem was I was BLINDED in the mornings by the rising sun…….

    so to complete our kitchen renovation (we did it all ourselves with Ikea cabinets) we have new “The Shade Store” solar blinds going in this weekend. They filter out the heat and the UV while still allowing you to see a little through.

    Reply

  32. Stacy says

    I totally get the using shades/curtains to finish a room. My husband and I moved into our home 3 years ago and thought it was great that the previous owners had left white venetian blinds in the windows – only to discover that the blinds were broken or in really bad shape throughout the entire house. So, finally after living with them for a few years we decided to get new shades. We went through Blinds-To-Go and had linen roman shades installed throughout our house. We have light filtering in every room but the bedrooms, where we got room darkening. They make such a difference in making the rooms look finished and we usually keep them up half way to let light in and keep some privacy. Love the bamboo!

    Reply

  33. Ali says

    I had never used them before, but we put up bamboo blinds that look very similar to those from Overstock up in our kitchen. I’m in loooooove and now I want to put them up in every room!

    Also, we noticed the same challenge with getting them with an inside mount, and so my hubby rigged up the same system that you had here. Glad to know that it’s a legit way of doing things because I was doubting him at the time. lol I’ll let him know that it has the Petersik seal of approval. :)

    Reply

  34. Katie H says

    Thank you-I am so glad you posted this!!! I have had those shades (maybe the exact brand) for a few years and really wanted a fitted look (also, hooks right on top) and didn’t know how to do it. Mind blown.

    Reply

  35. Lisa says

    Timely post – they look great.

    I’ve been researching blinds for my fixer up house from the 40’s… I’m thinking faux plantation blinds (I do live in SC after all!) now debating if I want to do inside mount/outside mount.

    Reply

  36. Ali says

    And by the way, did you see that at the bottom where it suggests posts you might like if you liked this one, one is an article on ehow.com about the average salary of a Catholic priest??? LOL!!

    Reply

  37. Amy says

    Quick question: We have large windows 88 inches. I’m having a hard time finding roman shades 88 inches. Would it be totally weird if I got 2 sets of bamboo shades for each window? Or would it be better to fork over the $$ and get custom shades 88 inches long? : )

    Reply

  38. Rachel says

    They look great! When you say “Eventually getting the floors refinished in a slightly darker tone…” do you plan on having the professionals tackle that job or is it something you would consider DIYing? I would LOVE a hardwood refinishing tutorial :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We got them done by someone in our first house and it was so affordable (and we love him so much! His name is Mr Sanders!) that we’re definitely tempted to have him do it again. I think we’ll have to see where we end up :)

      xo
      s

  39. Christina says

    I completely agree that curtains make a room. At risk of losing part of my security deposit, one of the first things I did after moving into my apartment was to hang curtain rods. Totally worth it. Inexpensive breezy white Ikea curtains + bright light + houseplants = happy place!

    Reply

  40. Krista says

    Thanks you for this! I’ve been looking for some bamboo blinds for our newly redone master bedroom, but I all the ones I found were twice this price. $22 is much more my kind of number. :)

    Reply

  41. Nancy says

    I just finished installing 23 honeycomb blinds in my new house – out of 31 windows! I am especially in love with them because I have dogs, and these are the top-down, bottom-up style that don’t let them see out. Now to figure out what to do with the remaining 8 windows.

    Reply

  44. Annie R says

    The shades totally finish the room! Love it!

    Just wondering how you’re going to do your floors when you do? Will you do them or will you hire out for that? We did our living/dining room ones ourselves (my husband left me home while he went to a Packer game and i may have ripped up the ugly carpet…no going back then!!) and it wasn’t too bad but with you guys having so many rooms that need it I’m wondering how you’ll handle that. My sister had a lot to do at once so they hired somebody they could trust and went on a week vacation while they did the floors! ;) how nice to come home to a new look!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We got them done by someone in our first house and it was so affordable (and we love him so much! His name is Mr Charles Sanders!) that we’re definitely tempted to have him do it again. I think we’ll have to see where we end up :)

      xo
      s

  45. Krystle @ Color Transformed Family says

    I think they look great and love your comment about windows looking great but look so much better with accessories. For about two years our bedroom windows haven’t had any drapes and I struggle with wether to add them back or not. Deep down I think I know the answer is yes.

    Reply

  46. Tara says

    I know the feeling about curtains making a room! When I moved into my apartment, I was hesitant to buy curtains for my giant windows that were on a pitched roof ceiling. I knew I’d need a minimum of 94 inch curtains! I thought the room looked fine, but when I finally bit the bullet and bought some teal curtains at Target, I couldn’t believe how awesome they looked. My place looks so much warmer and home-y!

    Reply

  47. Jenni P. says

    We have! We changed the hardware in the living room to an oiled bronze finish, with pretty lantern-like finials, and then used matching clip-on rings for our existing beige linen drapes. It looks SO much better! And no more hanging-hazard cord that the REALLY old hardware came with! I liked it so much that I painted the frame of the living room mirror in oiled bronze to match it, as well as the cabinet pulls. The whole room looks so pulled together and intentional now!

    For an even cheaper, quicker change, I put a super cheap vinyl blind up in our main bath to replace a dusty, busted old one, and was amazed at the difference. Made the whole room look cleaner (which I LOVE, as I have 4 littles, and that bathroom is never completely clean), since the window faces the door, and it’s really the first thing the eye is drawn to.

    Next up, I plan to try making a DIY roman shade for my over-the-sink kitchen window. Just have to get the right glue, and choose a fabric.

    Thank-you so much for your blog! It always inspires me, and I really enjoy your writing style, as well. Always so encouraging and friendly.

    Reply

  50. Jeanna says

    Just a quick question- have you ever thought about bringing the wood grain from the top of the desk a bit down over the front of the white cabinets to make the wood seem thicker and more incorporated instead of just sitting on top? I don’t know if that even makes sense? I just thought now with the blinds it might be nice to see a little more of the wood grain from straight on too?? Maybe just a little ledge on the front?

    Reply

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