DIY: roll-up bamboo blinds

The first thing that struck me when I walked into the open house of this townhouse was the abundance of natural light. It is a corner unit with glazing on all three sides. After we moved in, I took my time in researching and deciding how to treat all these windows. I absolutely love curtains, but I wanted to mix it up between curtains and shades. Once I had done my research, I realized that this was becoming a very expensive project given the amount of windows that needed covering. I looked into every possible window treatment there is, and then finally found what I was looking for and for an unbeatable price!

This is the landing at the mid level of the stairs in our home on the way to the third floor. This window is divided into panels of 24"-36"-24". Instead of getting one big blind, I used the same configuration of three blinds side by side. 

There is a big difference in "bamboo roll-up blinds" vs "bamboo shades" even though the look is very similar. Bamboo shades basically is used in replacement of window blinds and is fixed inside the window casing which requires a little bit of assembly. The bamboo roll up blinds sit on top of existing window blinds and requires very minimal assembly. I had installed bamboo shades in the dining area of our home in Dallas - you can check it out here. Any kind of bamboo blind starts at $30 minimum. But I came across these blinds at Big Lots online store. I had never purchased anything online from them before. So, I was very skeptical about the entire deal. I finally decided to get them and made sure there was a return system. After they arrived I was very happy to have made this purchase.

The blinds come with its own hardware for hanging. But I did not fancy them so I went with my own regular picture hanging hooks in gold. 

After taking them out of the box I had to do some adjusting - I made sure the "roll" was leven and tight, and the strings were not tangled together. It is best not to unroll the blind prior to installation. 

This blind goes directly on top of the window and over the existing blinds. There is a white channel behind the blind that sticks out - this part will go in the recess of the window so that the hanging hook is flush with the wall. This means that the blind sits right on top of the edge of the window and there is no way around it. These blinds come in sizes of 24", 36" and 48". So some of the blinds sit horizontally further than the width of the windows. 

First thing I did was I held up the blind to the window and marked the spot where the hook will go. 

This is the hook I used with the blinds - I personally think this looks better and also provides enough strength to hold them up. 

Here you can see approximately where the hooks have to go. If it is any higher, then the blind will not sit flush against the wall. If it is any lower, then there will be a gap between the window casing and the blind. 

This is all the assembly that is required to hang a roll-up bamboo blind. I think it took me longer to get the blinds out of their boxes than actually hanging them over the windows. This style of blinds can also be used under beautiful hanging curtains which will add another layer of decor to your windows.