Seven (7!) windows in my living room! Need economical window dressing ideas!?

Question

These are narrow, about 18" wide and 5 feet tall. Standard 8-ft ceiling. 3 windows on side wall, 4 on street side, with 3-1/2 feet between them. 1 window on each wall gets covered by a door when it's open, so nothing that sticks out very far will work. Privacy needed, but don't want to loose the daylight.
Have left the previous owners mini-blinds up there "temporarily" for 5 years - time to do something wonderful. But everything I come up with costs about $200 per window and that's too much times seven!!!
I am crafty, and my style is traditional-transitional-eclectic, so I'm open to suggestions. Any great ideas?

Answer 1

Have you thought about frosting them. I have 3 windows on each side of my door. I bought this frosted spray paint at the hardware store, sprayed them and put a valence made from bamboo place mats. It looks awesome. I still get light, but I have privacy. If you are creative, you could even put stencils on the window and create a design with it. They also had a glass etching kit that might interest you.

Another idea is to create stained glass windows ck craft stores for lead and paints.

Also, you could make roman blinds (check out HGTV website for how to make info and some other great decorating ideas). Some fabric stores have a discount fabric section. I have found some great fabrics for curtains. You could probably find some fabric for your roman shades there as well. If you don't sew, there are some iron-on tapes for hemming.

Hope that i helped. Good Luck!

Answer 2

Leave the blinds for privacy. You could do the long scarves over the windows, it would take approximately 35 yards of fabric. But if you buy a continuous fabric, and buy at a Joann's fabric you can get a 50% off coupon to buy one continuous piece of fabric. This would let you select your own choice of fabric.

If the fabric is really wide (54") you could get away with 20 yards buy splitting it lengthwise. Each window should take about 5 yards and you will have to hem the edge that you cut and the ends.

Go to Home depot or Lowe's for rings that can be mounted flat to the wall on each top corner of the window to loop the fabric through.

It should go from the floor up through the loop droop across in front of the window and through the other loop and back to the floor.

I calculated 2 yards floor to top of window on each side and one yard across (but I think you could economize by about 1 foot at the top since the windows are only 18" wide. It won't need that much sag.

You could always search Thrift stores. Sometimes you can find really great deals.

Answer 3

You can use your old bedsheets in making curtains use bed sheets on the both side of blinds and sew them with hand use ribbons (if have sarrees than use the borders of that) or borders of the bsheets to highlight the curtains, use strings to fold the blinds like in rommanblinds.
try this out it will save your money and will be unique in looks.

Answer 4

I hear that windows like to wear short sleeve, bright colored tops and khaki shorts for the springtime.