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My Little House Design: Window Blinds, a Necessary Evil

Friday, February 15, 2013

Window Blinds, a Necessary Evil

I don't like blinds. Growing up I never had them. My parent's house is in a neighborhood but for whatever reason we only had curtains in our bedrooms. College was my first experience with blinds of the aluminum variety. I remember I had one friend who would come into my room nearly every evening and chastise me for not closing my blinds. She was appalled that I wasn't more worried about people seeing me. Then after college we lived together for three years and I got really good at closing and opening blinds at appropriate times (thanks for the life lesson friend, oh and also for teaching me how to load a dishwasher!). Now I realize that blinds are a necessary evil because if you want to have big beautiful windows that let in sunlight during the day, conversely you will need something to block all the people of the world seeing your business at night.

So my blinds situation... notice anything wrong with the picture below?


If you're keen you may notice the four little eyesores around the window trim. Ugh, those things have been staring at me and mocking me for months! 


Back when I first moved in all four windows in the living room had matching blinds. They are cream vinyl blinds from Walmart. See how long the string hangs on the window on the left side of the picture? Yeah, well Bob tends to get tangled up in the cord like once a week, I know, I should hook them up or something because he might strangle himself, but I'm just a terrible pet owner. All that to say Bob has broken several blinds over the past year and even though the replacements are only $4.00 I'm really tired of buying them all the time. So I moved the blinds from over the couch to the front windows in the hopes that those two will last me until I replace them with something better. You may not be able to tell from these pictures but the house next door (behind the couch) is really close to mine. Like six feet away close (good thing they are nice people!) and thankfully there isn't a window directly across from mine so I haven't been too concerned with replacing those blinds. There isn't a good angle to see inside those windows from the street so I don't worry about it too much. 


The Point: I need new blinds and I can't make a decision about what kind to get. I've thought about switching to curtains instead, but here's the thing about curtains: you have to get the kind with a lining for them to really be opaque and those kind are more expensive. Plus, I'd have to buy two rods and then there is the issue of one set of windows being ideal for curtains (the front windows) but the other set not so much (I think it would look too crowded to have curtains bunched up back behind the couch and faux sofa table). So I've ruled out curtains for now. On to the blinds issue: I'm stuck. I am usually a very decisive person, ask me anything I will give you a decision almost immediately, but of all things blinds are what have got my decision-maker stuck. 

Oh wait, I actually did buy some and they were awful.


I bought these faux wood vinyl blinds from Target (here) a few months ago and I hated them. So back to the drawing board I went.

I really like the look of bamboo blinds, but the problem with the affordable bamboo blinds is that they are unlined. 



Ignore how ugly these rooms are and just look at the blinds. I like the look and texture of them but they are straight up see through and I ain't got time for see through blinds. That's like wearing a see through shirt, what is the point?? So my final option is this:



White fabric roman shades... (I don't want the brown but that is the only color they show with a close up shot) I think I like them. These are from JC Penney and they are $40 a piece (here). What I like about them is that they are a simple clean white 100% cotton (which goes with everything) and they are lined with thermal foam which cuts down on drafts (which would be helpful since I have single pane windows). I'm like 80% sold on them. What do you think? What would you do? Come one people give me some help!

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8 Comments:

At February 15, 2013 at 2:05 PM , Blogger Nikki said...

We actually have these JC Penney roman shades in our dining room if you want to take a look up close!

 
At February 15, 2013 at 2:21 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

I actually thought they might be the same ones - I definitely will next time I'm over, maybe that will be the push I need to order them.

 
At February 18, 2013 at 1:12 PM , Blogger Lauren said...

Hmmm, when you describe my blind-closing behavior, I seem a little nuts, don't I? Oops! Well, at least I'm internet famous! We have those bamboo shades in the house and they are worthless - you are absolutely correct. However, if you're interested in the double curtain look, Ikea makes a two-rod curtain rod that's pretty affordable. I have one - I had to cut it down to size (Ha, "I" - right??) but it's perfect. I do like the roman shades!

 
At February 18, 2013 at 1:18 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

not nuts at all - I seriously needed to learn appropriate blind usage :) I'll look into the IKEA two rod thing that sounds easy enough.

 
At March 21, 2013 at 11:31 AM , Anonymous Carl said...

I found this article whilst looking for other information on blinds however I have to agree with the author, certain types of window blinds can be a pain to install but overall they are a great addition to any room!

Cheers

Carl
Ambition Blinds

 
At May 9, 2013 at 10:25 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

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At June 26, 2013 at 11:30 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

What about using sliding panels, like the ones from Chicology? They have four panels that you place on a track. You cut them to fit, so you could end up with enough left over to use as spares, if they get damaged or dirty. That way there are no strings for Bob to get tangled up in. Or they also have roller shades in the same material that you could put over each window separately. I bought them from Amazon (in Kansas Natural) to use on my sliding patio door. I've been pretty happy with them. The only I don't like about them, is that the edge you pull on to open or close them gets a little dirty/worn over time.

 
At July 29, 2013 at 3:45 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

It is not going to tough to find a reliable conservatory blind manufacturer around London. If you surf the net, you will come across the name of Blind Technique, a known face among the manufacturers of conservatory blinds, awnings and shutters.

 

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