We found a brilliant tutorial at Scoutie Girl that will show you how to turn cheapo rental apartment mini blinds into the sleek roman shades your windows deserve.
Choose a fabric appropriate for such an application and make sure it has the desired transparency properties that you need for the room. Decide where you'd like your roman shades to fold as they are pulled up, and mark the corresponding mini blind slats, then remove the rest but leave the cord mechanism in tact. Finally, simply fabric glue your textile selection to all pieces of the remaining mini blind product, being careful not to adhere to the cords. Then let dry and hang!
Check out the easy five-step tutorial at Scoutie Girl — Acute How To: Now Sew Fabric Blinds.
Images: Scoutie Girl
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woah! so cool I can't wait to see if I can do this in our rental!
wait, now I see this isn't a temporary fix but a permanent alteration that I couldn't use on rental blinds without replacing them.
This is just what I needed. I have blinds on the front of my house that the cats climbed in so most of the slats are broken. We just cut off the broken bits and pulled them all the way up and put some curtains up but I'd love to be able to get some more light adjustment out of those windows again. THANKS!
Perfect!!! I was wanting to do roman shades in my bedroom, but not willing to fork over a lot of money to pay someone to do it.
ha, i have had this bookmarked for a little while, but on another site.
I agree with Medusa. It is genius. I'm going to do it right away in one of my bedrooms.
I'm moving into a house with nasty old blinds...this is the perfect solution! Genius!
@Our Semi Organic Life - you can get VERY cheap blinds at Target at HomeDepot and do this youself if you're so inclined. I've seen this project before and I'm planning to do this in my living room. I hope mine turn out as well.
this is great
I've tried this before and, not being very crafty, it didn't come out well. However, I'm determined to try it again because I love the way it looks.
oh my goodness, this is awesome. i will definitely be doing this!
Great idea, I would have never thought of this!
Semi Organic Life, cheap rental blinds cost like $5. Go for it!
If your building is old, it's very possible your windows are not a standard size and those blinds were custom ordered. I manage an old building and have custom ordered mini blinds quite a few times. Not expensive, but more like $25-$35 bucks, as opposed to $5.
That said, lots of buildings don't keep track of every detail, especially if the manager changed since you moved in. Before you leave the apartment, ask your manager to walk it with you to let you know what you should still clean/fix and what your deposit return total will be. Take photos and notes and have them initial your notes. You may very well luck out - they may overlook the whole issue.
It is a very clever idea. I may be trying it at home as a cheap alternative to usual shades, if not happy with what is on market...
Looking at my mini-blinds, I have an idea for renters. You could cut a small, inconspicuous slit in each blind near the string, then slip the blinds off. Later, you would be able to slip the blinds back in. Just be careful not to get any glue on anything when you put the fabric on.
Looks like the best pattern for this project would be striped fabric, because you can see the blinds through the fabric.. that is, unless you don't mind horizontal lines showing with your print..
cute from the inside! but, if the windows are visible outside you'd need to cover the back as well, i think.