apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

For not much more money, folks could get roll-up matchstick blinds at places like Pier One - and when they get curtains they can be layered over the blinds.

These are great! I used them when I was painting my bedrooms and wanted to maintain privacy without sacrificing curtains I liked or without trying to paint around the hardware (which isn't a great way to paint anyway). They lasted well through the several weeks I had them up and actually looked pretty decent (both from the inside and out). Highly recommended!

Hmm, seems a little wasteful to me. I know style matters, but if it's only for a week or two, why not use the morning's newspaper or some towels or recycled paper from the office (ie paper that's been printed on one side and discarded)?

I agree, would these happen to be recyclable? If not why be wasteful and contribute to a disposable society.

I have these up in my living room on some french doors. I'm not a fan of shades normally, because I want as much natural light to shine in as possible, but I wanted something in the summertime to block out all that hot sun that was raising my electric bill. I can either take them down or just pin them up in the winter when I want the sun to shine in. They are great!

Thanks splim/atomic... that was my question exactly.

These were a lifesaver for me. I only used them in the bedrooms and the bathrooms of my new house, but my custom shutters took over 3 months to be made and I could not have been without window coverings for that long. These are just white paper, so cut off the 1in. long sticky strip and you can recycle them with your paper goods. The clips are surprisingly strong and 3 years later, I'm still re-using them as chip bag clips. So all in all, I found them to be very landfill friendly and an extremely cheap alternative that is fairly attractive considering the price.

I have lace curtains in my bedroom, and I love them. They let in a beautiful filtered light. They also, of course, provide little privacy. I got a pair of tan "temporary" blinds, which fold up and are hidden completely during the day, and provide perfect privacy during the night. I think they're wonderful. I've had them for nearly four years, and they've held up really well.

Very good use of three bucks.

I love these - because I was afraid they'd adhere too well I used clip rings on a pressure rod to hang them and was very pleased with both the look and the price.

Do they leave sticky residue behind?

That reminds me, I have a pair of redishades that I need to get rid of.

They don't leave a residue at all. They're like post-its for your windows. The should be recyclable. They're just paper.

I've had them on my bedroom windows for the past four years.

God, I need help.

Wow, this is a life saver. I am moving in about 2 weeks and I have no curtains or blinds to put up in my new digs. I was a little stressed about it actually and was considering asking the landlord if I could come by and measure the windows, but she's out of town. :\

These are perfect. I'm gonna go get some!

Bepsf: Matchstick blinds offer no privacy at night, alas, so they really don't serve the same purpose.

I love these things. You don't have to remove them in all cases, either. You can often leave them there, behind your regular curtains, as an additional layer for use during warm weather to block the sun (or during cold weather to help insulate the window).

These are also great if you have a high arched window. My stepmothers house is designed to a T with fancy shades in every room. The custom half round window in the guest room looks like a million bucks, but when I stood on the bed to get a closer look at the fan-line texture of the window- yup- it was a redishade. All the folds spread from the center point on the bottom and filled the window beautifully.

I had to work grave shift for a few months and the blackout ones were a perfect solution. I didn't want to invest a small fortune for blackout curtains seeing as I'd only be using them for a little while. Once I went back to real life (day shift) I gave them to the newly hired guy who took my place on grave!

have one & love it. need to get 3 more. two thumbs up.

Our "temporary" blinds have been up for years. I'm completely happy with them for now and, the ones I replaced were completely recyclable and left no residue behind. I think that these would make a great project for kids to decorate for their own rooms, too.