Another Pinterest project down! I’M ON A ROLL!!! (Must remember to stay away from Pinterest while nesting with the next pregnancy..)
So I spoke about renovating Tessa’s playroom last month (click here to read), and one of the projects we worked on that I wanted to blog more about was the DIY Roman Blinds we made from Mini Blinds.
I am a huge fan of roman blinds, but they aren’t exactly in my budget, what with the bazilliondy other projects I have heaped on my plate at the moment. But I knew we needed to do SOMETHING to dress up the windows in Tessa’s room, after we went through all the trouble of painting and renovating the area. The mini blinds that were left in the room were an ugly dark brown, and about a trillion years old. I thought of replacing them altogether with cheapo mini blinds, but the large window on the south side of the room is an unusual length – over 8 feet long. None of our local hardware stores had that size, and ordering it online was more money than I was feeling inclined to spend for cheap and boring blinds.
So of course, Pinterest to the rescue! I kept stumbling upon DIY roman blinds from mini blinds tutorials, which seemed perfect, because I could use the existing blinds and just upcycle them into something personalized, pretty and DIY chic. And I am thrilled to say, they work PERFECTLY!
Since I already had the mini blinds and the fabric glue, the only expense was the fabric itself. We found some pretty pink fabric at the Joanns Fabrics Veterans Day sale (less than $2 a yard!) and we had these roman blinds cranked out in just one evening. Seriously folks, it doesn’t get much easier than this!
I also sewed some curtains and ruffles from a whimsical zoo print we found (also on clearance from Joanns) to dress up the roman blinds we made. Not only do the curtains cater to Tessa’s current zoo craze, but the colors really work well with the princess pink and vibrant white paints we used.. it contained enough complimentary colors to unify the pink anchor walls and white accent wall.
So how does this DIY project work? Well, I’m glad you asked! Since there’s SO MANY tutorials for this project out there, and one that I found particularly superior to the others, I figure there’s no point in reinventing the wheel, so I’ll just point ya’ll in the right direction..
Basically, I had found many great tutorials using the same method – removing all but the supporting slats and gluing the fabric to the lone blinds. Here are a few great tutorials for this popular method:
But then I found this tutorial from All Things G&D blog, that deviates slightly from the classic DIY Roman Blinds tutorials on most mom blogs. The big difference? It doesn’t require removing the slats from the blinds, you just glue the fabric directly over the mini blinds as-is. The benefits to this method are that the blinds are far more strong and sturdy (perfect for larger windows) and they block out far more light. The problem is, when the light is shining directly through the window, you can see that your roman blinds are hiding mini blinds. Which isn’t a terrible problem for us, I would much rather have the strong blinds. So this is the method we used:
What a neat idea! I made our roman shades for our odd sized windows through measuring and sewing, though this certainly is a good hack. 🙂
Yeah, aside from hemming the edges (some tutorials call for just gluing the edges, but I sewed them, lol) this was a pretty quick no sew project! ^_^
Such a great idea!
http://girlandthepolkadot.blogspot.com/
Yeah, I wish I’d thought of it! Hehe..
Wow, they’re gorgeous. I love the idea. I’m definitely into no-sew projects since even I can be pretty good with glue!
See, I’m actually better with a sewing machine than a tube of glue, haha. So I get a little nervous when projects require I not glue my fingers together, or fabric to the cat, or whatever, haha..
I had no idea you’d made them from the existing blinds! Very cool sweetie.
Yeah, we’ve been up cycling like crazy around here!
How awesome! Not going to lie, I read the title of this post and was like, “What’s a roman blind?” haha!
http://www.amemoryofus.com
LOL! Roman blinds are essentially the answer to blinds when you own a horde of cats. So the answer to “What is a Roman Blind?” is “Cat-Proof Blinds”.. lol! 😉
Very creative, Gingi! This isn’t something I would do (I hardly DIY) but I love seeing what other people can come up with. Very cool!
Yeah, my DIY Pinterest project usually result in far more “fail” than success (ever see those “nailed it” memes? yeah, that’s pretty much me, haha) but these came out GREAT!
You have done an awesome job on it. Looks so cute. Well I would give it a try……but unfortunately I am all thumbs :/
Happy New Year
hugs
Lenya
FashionDreams&Lifestyle
I’m pretty sure my success rate in DIY projects has more to do with my husband helping than anything.. haha.. I totally feel you! 😉
Great post dear. Thanks for sharing. xx
http://ninasstyleblog.blogspot.com
<3
I am totally impressed! At first I didn’t even know what ‘roman blinds’ are – duh – now I do. That is pretty much ingenious. Not sure if I would go that route, since at this point of my life time is more important, but it looks fun and good.
Don’t they look cool?!
I love the bright colored fabric you chose! Very nice!! I stopped by from my Pinterest link up! 🙂 Nice to come across your blog again Gingi! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I look forward to following yours! <3
What a fun project!!! I love this idea and the blinds and curtains both look so pretty!!! I have made roman shades the long way, but might try this way next time!
Thanks for visiting my blog and for the link to yours! We have much in common in our love for Jesus and craftiness, and clean living/eating! Your blog is full of fun stuff!!!
I am super excited to have found your blog and I VERY MUCH look forward to keeping in touch!! It’s rare when you find blogger with SO MUCH in common.. haha.. the problems of blogging about anything and everything!! hehe.. talk to you soon, and I’ll see you around your blog sometime!! <3