From Mini Blinds to DIY Roman Shades: A Saga

When it came time to decide on window treatments for the kitchen windows, I had a vision in my mind; something not quite like curtains, but involving the texture and warmth of fabric. I started hunting for something that evoked the French country look that was the central theme for my kitchen ever since I had a kitchen. I thought Roman shades would work nicely, in a fresh country blue/white pattern. Finding blue and white striped Roman shades, however, proved to be quite difficult! And when I finally found the perfect shades in the right size....

*Sigh* That price. There was no way we could afford $200+ per kitchen window. Urrrgh, Pottery Barn! 

I had seen a tutorial on Pinterest how to make your own Roman shades out of mini blinds. For a long time I resisted the idea of another DIY project. I don't have the time! I'd rather be doing something else... But I could not get the thought out of my mind. How hard could it really be? But these shades seemed doomed from the very beginning, because I could not find the article anywhere. I decided to wing it. I can't resist a challenge. 

I went to Wal-Mart and bought a set of cheap, vinyl mini blinds, totaling $3.98. They failed me in the fabric department though, so I trolled the internet until I found the right fabric. A shop on Etsy had blue-striped grain sack fabric that fit the bill. A bit pricey compared to what I usually spend on fabric, but it wasn't $200, I reminded myself!  

When it came I got to work. I measured the window and cut out a length of fabric accordingly, with an extra 2 inches of length on the top and bottom, and an extra inch on each side. I then ironed the fabric and hemmed up each side.

After hanging the mini blinds, I decided to hot glue the fabric to the headrail of the blinds. This is where the winging it began, guys. I soon realized if these things were going to be functional I needed the pull cord of the blinds to be on the front side of the fabric. Unfortunately it was too late to take the fabric down and sew a button-hole for the cord, it was already glued up there real good. (My Dad always half joked when I was living at home that he would've been farther ahead to buy stock in 3M for all the tape and glue I used.)

So, I cut a hole, and had an epiphany. More glue! Instead of sewing the raw edges of the hole I hot-glued them, which also made the opening sturdier and protected the fabric from the sliding cord. Are you guys riveted in your seats now?

I should have foreseen the problem with my plan in the beginning, but I didn't, and so I began gluing--hot gluing--the fabric to the thin vinyl slats of the blinds. As you may have imagined, the vinyl warped, drooped, and buckled. Standing atop a ladder with hot glue oozing everywhere I had to quickly change gears and figure out Plan B. I decided to snap all the vinyl slats off and sew the fabric to the string system that controlled the slats. It was a guessing game where to sew to make the right sized folds when the blinds were raised.

I did a lot of "testing the folds" in between sewing to see if it would lay right when drawn.

After the sewing was finished, I removed the plastic cord pull and replaced it with a round wooden bead from my bead jar to complete the look. It was time for the final pull, and the moment of truth: 

I called it a success!

DIY SPECS: 

• A little less than 2 yards of grain sack fabric (rounded up to account for shipping): $26.00
• Vinyl mini blinds (rounded up): $4.00
• A little bit of hot glue and thread: 

TOTAL: $30.00
For a savings of at least $179.

Aidan and Liam's Bedroom Makeover

Slowly, room by room, we are getting this old house fixed up how we like it. It's been two years this summer since we bought it, and I have to say, we've accomplished quite a bit. Of course, I wish we could just do it all at once and be done with it, but our budget and free time won't allow for that. We might get done just in time for kids to move out and to start all over again undoing their rooms. But that's a terrifying thought, so I'll just quit there. 

Last summer when the two big boys went to camp, we received a heart-wrenching letter from Aidan about how much he missed home and how he wasn't fitting in with the other boys. As a parent you want things to always be okay for your kids, but that's obviously not how the world works, and not at all how they learn to deal with things. So, instead of hopping in a vehicle and racing 200+ miles to go pick him up like my mama bear's heart urged me to, I decided to do something nice for him as a surprise when he got home. He had been asking me to paint his room for so long I finally decided to do it.

The first time we saw this room while viewing the house, Aidan picked it as his own. As you can see, it boasted lovely striped carpeting in various shades of green. The room lies over the southeast corner of the kitchen, and is very much a "morning room" as it gets the full force of the sun in the mornings. I have no doubt Aidan picked the room because it contains the door onto the upper porch. The room also shares a walk-through closet with the neighboring bedroom, which immediately took away the option as a master bedroom for me. Since the boys generally end up sharing all their clothes, it made sense that those two rooms would be theirs. So the porch door was padlocked shut for safety, and it was declared Aidan's room, with a younger brother bunk-mate to be decided. The younger brother was initially Ian, but Liam's and Aidan's personalities ended up being more alike, thus resulting in a more peaceful set of roomies.

After we closed on the house, my Mom and my sister-in-law, Carly, came to help scrub it from top to bottom. I decided to rip up the ugly green carpet last minute, and Carly was a dear and humored me...she dove right in and helped me roll it up and dump it over the porch railing. The floor underneath was the norm for this house: painted soft wood, which we gave a good scrubbing.

After we moved in I ordered a few things for the walls from Hobby Lobby. Aidan loves baseball and Peanuts. This was pretty much how the room looked until July 2017 when I decided to do the surprise makeover.

Aidan had talked a lot before how he wanted a blue and yellow room, so the littles and I took a trip to Wal-Mart to pick up a couple gallons of paint. Their ColorPlace brand in satin finish is my go-to paint, cheaper than most, and durable.

This is how it turned out! The blue is called Brittany Inn, the yellow is Lemon Ice (and is the same color I used in the front porch). The curtains were Liam approved, and were about $5 a panel at Wal-Mart, so $20 for both windows. I threw out the dusty, sticky yellow mini blinds that were in the windows and replaced them with new (less than $4 a set), installed inside the window trim rather than over it like before. Along the wall on the left there is now a large Minecraft poster, but Aidan wants me to paint a space-themed mural there. We'll see if I ever get around to that one. Liam is simply happy if he has a play sword to fall asleep with, and seems to care less what his surroundings look like. He is my minimalist child.

A few things have been rearranged since this photo was taken. That little blue bookcase was repainted white and gray and rehomed in Addie's room. The cedar chest now sits where the bookcase was, opening up room to walk around the trundle bed that Aidan sleeps on. It rolls under the double bed, but generally stays out most the time. We added Liam's name to the wall and hung the poster Aidan got for his birthday. 

Aidan has had his share of mental struggles, and it helps him to have visual comforts while he falls asleep. I gave him my collection of framed holy cards from when I was in high school, and ordered him a nice, larger, colored crucifix overlooking the bedroom. 

The last step of the bedroom makeover will be the floors, but there is no time frame or decisions made regarding those yet. Since this room accesses outdoors I don't want to replace it with new carpet. So we have yet to decide on a durable hard floor that fits within our budget. I would just paint the floor, but there are sections of boards that are not in great condition, and painting a floor is so much work without being a permanent fix. I'll be sure to update when we get this figured out.