We’ve Moved!

 

If you aren’t redirected here is the link:

 

Remodelaholic!

 

THANKS!

How to Update Your Vertical Blinds!

01 October 2011

How to Update Your Vertical Blinds!

I have a design dilemma. I have a bay window with a sliding glass door that leads to my back yard. When I moved in it was dressed with VERTICAL BLINDS. Yuk! I told my husband when we were house hunting that those would be the first thing to go. Well, that was three years ago and they are STILL THERE! Why didn't I get rid of them right away? Well, it was a little more complicated then I imagined.

Because I was dealing with a bay window, I couldn't hang regular drapes over the door without addressing the windows that flank it. I had to consider the bay as a whole and I ended up placing two panels of curtains flanking the bay itself. I was able to hang them about a foot above the actual window which added much needed height to that side of the room. I felt it was the best solution for the bay itself, but I still needed to cover the door for privacy reasons. Whatever I put in its place had to be fully and easily functional. Those doors are the only exit to the backyard and are used daily. Ideally I would have just used blinds or shutters but they just don't work with a sliding door. I even considered making my husband rip the whole thing out and put in a pair of french doors, but that was cost prohibitive. So the vertical blinds stayed and I just lived with them because they were functional.

Well, my kids forced my hand. The other day they thought it would be fun to pull EVERY SINGLE vertical slat down and broke at least half! I had two choices, buy more vertical blinds (which I couldn't bring myself to do) or finally come up with a good solution. Well, they say necessity is the mother of all invention and it hit me.

HANG CURTAINS ON THE EXISTING VERTICAL BLIND HARDWARE!


(sorry about the picture quality. I wanted to get a "before" image but it was the worse lighting imaginable. As you can see, the blinds were looking pretty sorry)

Here's what I decided. White sheers were going in its place. White because I wanted them to relate to the other blinds in the bay and sheer so that I could have some light filtering through. The fabric was actually very tricky. I wanted something that allowed some light but they needed to still provide privacy so they couldn't be too sheer. I also had to consider texture. I didn't want it to end up looking like a sheet! I found a nice, white gauzy fabric (it also happen to be on sale for $2 a yard!) and I was set.

* Please note: I am a very beginner seamstress and a very lazy one. I only measure when absolutely necessary and will cut every corner possible. If I can do this,ANYONE can do this!

Here's what you do. Measure the height and width of your door. Mine was seven feet high by five feet wide. You need to add extra width to give it some fullness so I added an extra three feet. (Remember to add a couple of extra inches for seam allowances) My fabric was four feet wide so I was going to have to piece two panels together. I placed the right sides together and did a simple zigzag stitch and then trimmed my fabric as close to the seam as possible. (Yes, I have a raw edge but it made the seam the least noticeable.) Then sew a simple hem on the two sides and the bottom. In order to hang my panel to the blind clips, I was going to add rings to the top. To reinforce where the rings would go I folded the top down about a inch and hemmed. (A) This made the area double thinkness. I then did a top stitch above where the rings would go to reinforce the top. (B) For the rings I got 3/8" eyelets and a setter. I took the width of my panel and divided be the number of clips I had and determined I needed twenty one rings every five inches.(C) Follow the directions on the box and set the rings. I placed a cutting board beneath me to protect my counter but please consider the surface you are working on. DO NOT do this on top of a stone/tile counter or floor! You have to hit your setter with a hammer fairly hard and several times.


Once your rings are in place you can hang your curtain. I clipped each ring into the clips alternating the direction so that it made a wave. Thats it! It was so simple...


Ahh... and so much better!


The best part? Fully functional and cost less then $30! Gotta love it!


                                               
This project was contributed by one of our fabulous readers! We love to share your projects with this great blogging community. So, if you have projects from kitchen renovation ideas to small bathroom remodels, overhauled and repurposed furniture, spray paint updates you name it please send it in! Thanks for reading Remodelaholic!





Other home beautifying ideas!

9 comments:

Unknown October 1, 2011 at 5:52 PM  

Oh this is a great idea! It looks really nice! Now I need to figure out a way to do something like this with regular window blinds... which is what we have in our rental home on every window...

Korrie@RedHenHome October 1, 2011 at 6:55 PM  

Very clever! I wish I had done this now, instead of getting rid of all my vertical blind hardware.

Heidi October 1, 2011 at 10:54 PM  

Sounds good, I have some of those to update as well. Ps Couldn't fully read the article because the ads on the right fell on the post's text. Not sure if only my computer issues or something

Kat's Purrfect Boutique October 2, 2011 at 2:02 AM  

Your stiches are amazing for a beginner, even someone who's not. I think it's time for me to get a new machine cause mine never look that good. I bought the machine in my early 20's and I'll 50 on the 30th. Hmmm..Good Birthday gift for myself. I have hints for other stuff for the family. lol

I haven't tried doing grommets. Very clever to just attach it to the blind thingy. The plastic piece that helps the blind move back and forth. Speaking of the blind thingy, I should know the name because my first boyfriend's dad invented them for Levolour in the 70's. Cool huh?

Bunny Jean October 2, 2011 at 12:33 PM  

Gah! Why didn't I think of that?! What a fantastic idea. That takes care of so many issues of those darn vertical blinds... not to mention how UGLY they are!

xoxo Bunny Jean

Remodelaholic October 3, 2011 at 12:06 PM  

Sorry about the formatting issues, I think I fixed them all... and sorry to be so slow we have been out of town!

Cassity

Post a Comment

I love comments! Thanks for taking your time to tell me what you think! I read them all and enjoy your enthusiasm for the work shown here!

Please remember that people have worked hard on these projects. Each person's budget and goals are different, so please try to make kind, constructive comments. Remember if it isn't nice, please don't say anything at all.

Please no business links. Remodelaholic reserves the right to remove any comment that we feel is malicious, spammy or otherwise inappropriate. Thanks.

Sorry there is no longer the option for anonymous comments, unfortunately people have been abusing that option!

Related Posts with Thumbnails
Emealz - Easy Meals for Busy People!
Home & Garden Blogs Home & Garden Blogs - Blog Rankings

Blogging  tips, tutorials and SEO

From Here to Eternity

  © Blogger template On The Road by Ourblogtemplates.com 2009

Back to TOP