My mother-in-law's 1970's era matchstick blinds overpowered her Florida room...
...after only updating the window treatments...
...what a difference!
This project began with the thought of simply changing out the dated green matchstick blinds for updated matchstick blinds, but totaling over $700, the cost was prohibitive so that prompted 'thinking-outside-the-box'.
My mother-in-law, who likes everyone to call her 'Granny', wanted:
My mother-in-law, who likes everyone to call her 'Granny', wanted:
- a product she could see through, yet still have a feeling of privacy;
- she rarely, hardly ever, raised/lowered the blinds so they did not necessarily have to be adjustable;
- this room is off her den via a sliding glass door, so she liked the idea of a brighter area that would also brighten her den....
...so I came up with the idea of simple stationary panels...
...made of unlined white burlap fabric....
(burlap is available in different colors)
...made of unlined white burlap fabric....
(burlap is available in different colors)
...100% jute...
...turned down 1 1/2" at the top for a casing to accomodate a 7/16" tension rod...
(because these are stationary panels, the tension rods will make it easy to take the panels down and put them back up if access to the windows are needed)
....measure....
...re-measure....
...then measure again...
....my notes only make sense to me I'm sure!...
...this project was done long-distance...
...so there was no luxury of checking the fit as each panel was complete...
...14 panels for 14 windows....
...did I mention that almost every single window was a different width...
...my husband cut the 1 1/2" slats for the bottom sleeves 1/2" less then the width of each panel...
...they fit nicely into the sleeves with 1/4" to spare on each side...
...this was important for the burlap to hang straight....
...each panel was ironed before installed...
...one more look...
(the long green blind to the left covers the storm door that will soon be replaced with a steel door)
Burlap may not be a fabric of choice for some, but it was a perfect choice for this application and Granny's needs. As you can tell in some of the close-up views there are imperfections in its weave, but that only added to its charm in this room....and as for the economics of this update....
- Fabric for 14 windows: $45.00 (Wal-Mart & Hobby Lobby)
- 14 Tension Rods: $42.00 (Wal-Mart)
- Slats cut to size: $43.00 (Lowe's)
Total: $130.00 for 14 windows measuring approximately 3' x 4' each = @$9.00/per window
So by being a little creative....I think it turned out well...
~Lisa
