Our house gets beautiful sunlight—especially upstairs, and particularly in the afternoons when the sun streams across the front of the house. We love the bright rooms for everything from relaxing to taking photos. And Burger? He adores the sunny spots for napping, grooming, sniffing things, and more napping.
All that light had a downside: we didn’t have any window blinds. In our previous house the bedrooms came with white faux wood blinds, so we took that for granted. The first night in the new place was a wake-up call—there was no privacy and the sun started creeping in too early the next morning.
After too many nights of awkwardly changing clothes in dim light and waking up at dawn, we finally bought a set of in-stock faux wood blinds from Home Depot. We paid a small premium for the wider slats that offer less visual obstruction when open, better light blocking when closed, and a break-away cord designed for child safety (the pull detaches under weight rather than forming a loop). The total for eleven windows added up quickly—just over $350 with a coupon—so it was a noticeable expense but one we considered necessary for privacy and light control, especially in bedrooms and bathrooms.
Function mattered more than form for us—these blinds aren’t haute couture—but when you layer them with curtains they look quite a bit better. Installing eleven blinds and making small adjustments was tedious but straightforward thanks to clear instructions. The entire project took about six hours total, spread across two days. Once the blinds were up, having privacy and dark mornings in the bedrooms and bathrooms felt well worth the effort.
Hanging each blind involved mounting two brackets to the window frame and then sliding the headrail into place. Because our windows matched standard sizes, Home Depot had the blinds on the shelf; they offer cutting services if you need them, but we were relieved not to stand there and wait while eleven blinds were trimmed.
After hanging each blind we customized the length to fit our windows. To shorten a blind I removed the bottom slat, cut the strings that held the extra slats, then reattached and tied the bottom slat to the shortened strings. If you want a visual walkthrough of that step, there are posts and guides that show the process in detail.
One unexpected issue we ran into was that the side trim pieces supplied with the blinds were a touch too long against our window frames. Each blind set included two side pieces, and to make them sit flush we had to shorten all 22 pieces. I used a miter saw to trim the ends so the trim would fit cleanly at the corners. The scrap wood you can see in the photo was used as a protective block to keep the trim steady without risking my fingers while cutting.
After trimming, the pieces snapped together easily and still attached correctly, so the modification didn’t interfere with their function.
With everything installed, the windows now give us the privacy and light control we needed. The rooms still look a bit bare because we haven’t hung curtains everywhere yet, but the foundation is in place.
We have started adding curtains in a few rooms, which softens the look and helps with insulation and light blocking. For example, Clara’s room already has curtains paired with the blind, and it feels cozy and private.
We also re-used the curtains that Sherry sewed for our last dining room in the guest room, which made that space feel finished much faster than starting from scratch.
We owe an update with photos of how each room is shaping up, and Sherry plans to shoot some images this weekend for a “one month in” post. Moving into a new house always brings a stream of expenses—fixtures, furniture, and small improvements add up—and the first few months often feel like your wallet is bleeding. Even though this is our third house and we expect these costs, it never feels easy to leave the store with a receipt that high.
P.S. With Google Reader shutting down around this time, we switched to an alternate reader that easily imported our favorite blogs and has a clean interface. If you’re adjusting your reading setup, consider a reader that supports easy import and a simple layout.
