The window. I still have an old towel hung over it. What's needed for the bathroom to be officially "done," is a proper window treatment. And that's my project, which means the holdup has been me. Dan is ready to be off and running with the kitchen project, but I still need to do something to get that window covered.
My first idea was a louvered shutter, painted white. I fell in love with that idea but quickly discovered how expensive a custom shutter would be. Then we added a small wall cabinet, which would be in the way of opening the shutter to clean or open the window. So that was out.
After scouring the internet and bathroom books for ideas, I finally decided on a Roman shade. At least I can make one of these. I found an excellent how-to website (now gone) called Terrell's Designs, read everything on it, looked at the videos, did all the calculations, and then decided to give this a try. I also decided to buy all the accouterments locally, which proved to be more difficult than I thought. Then I remembered that my sewing machine is on the fritz (bobbin case needs replacing), and so looked for a plan B. Ah, what would we do without those plan Bs.
I found several tutorials on no-sew Roman shades using mini-blinds, but this is the one I used.
Day 753's second try at The Newlywed Diaries
It had good photos, which I find infinitely more helpful than descriptions alone.
I'm using a thermal panel I bought instead of a new piece of fabric. Yardage-wise, I didn't pay any more for it, plus it's already lined, plus it means I'll only have to cut and glue two edges instead of all four. I wanted a thermal shade because the bathroom is both farthest from the wood heater, and has no air vent ductwork from the heat pump. We lose a lot of heat through the window, so I figured this would help.
So that's where I am now. The project is going pretty quickly, so hopefully I'll have a bathroom debut to show you soon.
So. What's the Holdup On the Bathroom? © February 2011 by Leigh at http://my5acredream.blogspot.com/
17 comments:
I can't wait to see the finished *product*...it's going to be fabulous!!!
Thanks so much for sharing the links... and I'm so excited to see your finished project!
Oh Leigh, new house, lots of projects you NEED a working sewing machine. :)
Those are all pretty darn clever no sew projects though.
And with the bathroom not being officially heated that thermal backed fabric is fantastic. It works quite well. I have a shade made out of it in the laundry/dog room on the door. Really helps in the summer too.
You are so creative. Taking apart a miniblind looks like a scary thing to do. If anyone can make it work, you can.
Looks as though you've got it all covered (no pun intended) with your final decision. Makes me think of the old adage, "Where there's a will, there's a way," or perhaps "Necessity is the mother of invention?" I strive to use my (limited) brain power as much as you do!
What a great idea. I bet you are thrilled to finally be done with that project.
Boy I can't wait to see it finished! You guys are as busy as us, we are trying to finish our basement!
Lynda, me too! LOL I certainly hope it will be fabulous.
Heidi, you're welcome. I thought the links were useful enough to share.
Theresa, you are so right! It's on the list, though maybe I can just replace the bobbin case. I admit I'm not a fan of no-sew stuff, but am happy with how these shades are turning out.
Tami, creativity is what the internet is for, LOL Just google "bathroom windows" and discover ideas galore!
Mama Pea, both are true! I like to tell Dan too, that the blessing of a limited budget is that it stretches the imagination with plenty of mental exercise. :)
Jane, you said it! Of course, we put this project on hold for many months, but to have it finally down it the finishing line is a delight.
Julie, yes, you guys have a lot to do too. I admit though, that I envy your basement!
Cool! You are brave! I'd be afraid I would mess it all up ;o)
sounds like a great project. I have some old honeycomb blinds in the basement, but they fit the kitchen window...hummm
I took apart a venetian blind years ago, and have found many uses for the thin plastic slats.
Write on them with an indelible pen, and they are good as garden markers.
The most unusual usage, was as packing on a continuous warp I had wound on a small box type rigid heddle loom. It allowed me almost 25% in length.
I can't wait to see it when it's done, really looking forward to it. Don't feel bad, we are still finishing the inside of our house, it's very slow going, always too many other things to do. So you are way ahead of us :) You are so creative! It's going to be great.
What a great idea! I'm going to have to save this for future window covering projects.
I'm also excited to see the final bathroom pictures! We're getting ready to build a house, so I'm taking lots of notes. :)
Oh, I love Roman shades and they show them all the time on the Home and Garden TV shows that do make overs. Can't wait to see the finished shade!
Diana, brave, me? Oh my no. If I were brave I would have plunged in to it a long time ago instead of dragging my feet to get this thing done! LOL
Renee, I thought about those honeycomb blinds but in the end opted for these. Now I'm noticing Roman shades in all sorts of house photos. I may consider them for elsewhere too. Sure beats mini-linds.
Mary, garden markers! Brilliant! I've used them as warp separators, but really, I need garden markers and haven't been able to figure out how to make some. Those extra slats are perfect.
Luckybunny, me too! Funny how house projects always seem to take so long. I reckon we're all in the same boat, taking turns at the paddle.
Kari, I envy you getting to build your own house. We really wish that's what we could have done. If you were to ask for my best advice, I'd say know what you want and stick to it! Everyone will try to talk you out of it, prefacing their remarks with, "Well, if you ever need to sell...." The usual bathrooms and especially kitchens are very generic, supposedly having universal appeal. I thought it interesting then, to read a remodeling survey, where the #1 thing people want to remodel is their kitchen. Seems those one-size-fits-all kitchens actually fit nobody. Kind of like commercial womens clothing.
Barb, they do seem to be popular, don't they? At the Terrell Designs site, she has directions for all sorts of models. Maybe when I get my sewing machine fixed, I'll try some of those.
Awesome...I've been thinking of a way to revitalize the window treatments at our house...they just don't do it for me. I love the links...Thanks!
Re: building from scratch... Yes, it's both exciting and intimidating to be building a new house. And we're definitely coming up against the "do this because everyone else does" issue. But since we don't plan on moving again, it would be nice to just build the house we want!
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