Dining Room Window Treatments: Part 1

At then end of January, I blogged the question on what to do with our dining room windows. They were barren. Naked. In need of treatment. So, I went through a list of potential solutions to cover them (if you need a refresher, click here).


I’m back now to share the start of my decision. I’ve chosen option numero three – white wood blinds PLUS full curtain panels. Whew. Glad that decision is complete. Now, for the implementation part – starting with the (faux) wood blinds.

Given our old house has some odd-sized windows, finding the right size blind/shade can be challenging. That's why I adore Lowe's Levolor brand, which can cut anything to the size needed! We wanted to hang our wood blinds inside the window frame. So, we measured the interior frame and needed 3 blinds cut to 25 inches in width and then a 4th blind cut to 33 inches in width.

I went to the store and picked out the White Faux Wood 2" Slat Plantation Blinds by Levolor. They come in a lot of sizes and the price goes up as the size goes up. So, I just got the size as close as I could (a little bigger then needed) to pay the lowest price possible, and then had a little bit cut off the ends to make it fit perfectly.

Here are the blinds installed. In the picture below, I have them open. As you can see, they almost blend in with the window. You hardly notice them, but they do filter the light some and make the next door neighbor's house not as visible.



Joey installed the blinds very easily based on the hardware and instructions provided.

One of the many things I love about wood blinds is the ability to angle them based on the sunlight. Most of the day, I have them tilted up. It allows light to come in, but not have it blaring in your eyes. Plus it provides even more privacy.



It's just the right amount of filtered light.


Now below are pictures of the blinds fully closed. It keeps the room pretty dark...


Even on a sunny day, I had to turn the dining room light on to see well. And it provides total privacy.



And here's the view at nighttime. No more peeping neighbors. We did pay a few extra dollars to get return caps on the ends of the "valances" at the top of each blind. Since that valance sticks out a tad past the window frame, we don't want to see the metal hardware behind it.


So, there is Part 1 of the dining room window treatment process. After living with these for about 5 weeks, I still love them. And with the white blinds, I don't think it looks any different to have the faux wood rather than to have "real" wood blinds. Even when I compared them in the store, I could hardly tell the difference. And the faux wood are so much cheaper. I plan to add them to other windows in the house. Just so functional (and architectural)!

Next up will be adding curtain panels to these windows. That's the tough part. What color? What pattern? What style? What kind of rod? How do I address the 3 side-by-side windows that bump into the china cabinet on the right?


This may take a while to figure out...