Hello everyone! It’s been far too long since we’ve chatted! I really missed you guys! I hope you missed me too. I’ve been on this huge journey over the past year and a bit, I think a lot of us have been. I decided at the beginning of the pandemic that I’d use the extra time (and money saved from not going out to eat, shopping, travelling, etc) to change up my home and get some things done around here that had been put off for far too long! In the process of renovating my home, I honestly have begun to change my life too! More on that in another post, haha!
One of the things I’d been putting off since last year was getting some window treatments up. I took down all my window coverings…..curtains, blinds last spring when we were in the thick of our kitchen turned main floor renovations. For all the many months since then, we’ve been blindless. Is that a word? Haha. I decided to forego curtains altogether and stick with inside mount cellular blinds. I love the clean look of them, tons of light still gets in but they do give a bit of privacy and help block UV rays, not to mention heat and cold. Finally, back in March, I took the plunge and ordered blinds for my whole home through Blindselect.ca. I’m so happy with the quality and aesthetic of these blinds. They often have discounts and I was able to order during a 50% off sale. Even better.
The only problem was, I couldn’t find a good solution for my exterior steel doors. I needed something that would block the blinding light coming in, especially my front door where I also wanted some privacy. I wanted something that would look good but that would work with a very small budget. I also didn’t want anything too permanent (I have a thing about putting holes in walls, doors, etc). My solution was to DIY Roman blinds using old pvc mini blinds that we took down from one of my boys’ rooms when we installed the new blinds. I thought I would share this DIY with you because I know there’s someone out there in the same predicament I was in! Here’s what I did and the end result. I’m so pleased!
Step 1: Choose a mini blind that’s the correct width for your steel door window. You will also need approximately a yard of fabric of your choice. A heavier fabric will hang well but do keep in mind this is going up with magnets so you won’t want it to be too heavy. You will also need a pack of nickel sized magnets and some fabric/craft glue.Step 2: Remove the small plugs from the bottom of the blinds. This will allow access to the main cord on either side of the blinds. Untie the knots and remove the bottom rail. Step 3: Cut all the ladder cords. These literally look like a ladder and connect the ladder cord in the front to the ones in the back. Once they are all cut, remove the ladder cords completely. You will be left with the two main cords that pull the blind up and down, as seen on the right in the photo. It’s a thicker cord. Do NOT cut these main cords. Step 4: Remove all the slats of the blinds, except for 3 or 4 depending on the length of your window and how many folds you want in your finished Roman blind. Step 5: You will be left with something that looks like this. Put your bottom rail back on, knot the cords and place your plugs back on the bottom rail. Step 6: Cut your fabric 3 inches larger than your window on all sides (top, bottom, sides). Fold and iron a 1.5 inch seam. Step 7: Apply fabric glue. I ironed it lightly after folding over onto the glue. Step 8: Apply fabric glue onto first fold and fold over another 1.5 inches. Iron in place. This gives your seam a completely finished look with no raw edges to fray. All with NO sewing! Finished seams. Loving it! Now for the really fun part! Step 9: Lay out your slats spaced apart evenly. Glue in place with fabric glue. Let dry. You will also glue the top and bottom rails in place. Step 10: Decide how many magnets you will need to hold your particular blinds in place. I ended up adding magnets in between the ones you see in the photo, after doing a trial run and realizing they weren’t going to hold the blind in place. Glue magnets in place with fabric glue or crazy glue. Or both, haha! This was my door prior to having the Roman blinds installed. And here’s the after photo. As you can see, lots of light still comes into my foyer (which I wanted) but it’s not as blinding and the door area just looks more polished. The project was $20 or less and I got the style and fabric colour/design I wanted. I reused an old blind saving it from heading to the landfill and best of all, it was an easy no-sew project that didn’t require holes to be drilled into my steel door. It can be taken down and changed out easily if you tire of the colour, design, etc. It’s a great solution for those who are renting and you don’t want anything permanent installed that may keep you from getting damage deposits back, etc. I chose a dark grey and white ticking which complements the Farmhouse style of my home. Night time view of the blinds…..a little easier to see the colour. Can be completely lowered to cover the window at night.
I hope you will find these instructions helpful and enjoy the process and the pride that comes when you make something yourself for your home!
