Thank you SUPER MUCH ! We bought an AIRBNB and I have taken my time decorate it just right. Now I was looking into purchasing "bamboo blinds," 12 windows :-{ I was just browsing RU-vid and your video popped up. I love this idea ! Great option - I am so excited to do this. So much more cost effective. Thank You again for sharing!
What a great tutorial! Thank you for the tips and tricks for different variations. It was great to spend time with the lovelier side of Modern Mountain Life! Brains, beauty and serious DIY skills! Your hubby is a lucky guy! (We still love you too, Eric.:)
Exactly what I was looking for! Our kitchen has a bay window and the windows are quite small, I didn't want to take away light with curtains and even Roman shades would eat up some inches. Roller shades seem to be the most compact option, but I didn't want to live with a vinyl on our windows. Went on RU-vid to see if I could redo them and found your video. I'm glad I can use store bought shades and add new fabric to it! Thank you!
Thanks for this oh so timely post! I have been looking at made-to-measure shades and they are very pricey. This is a great idea. Katie you are very creative.
I know what you mean! It doesn't' seem so bad when you only have 1 or 2 windows to cover, but when you have 7+, it can add up pretty fast! If you do this, keep me posted on how they turn out!
Thanks Julie! The first set of videos I recorded I ended up having eye makeup all over my face but didn't realize it until AFTER I looked at them full screen on my computer. The next couple videos my hair was literally sticking out from under my hat in some weird poof. Hahaha. I couldn't tell when looking at the small screen, but at last I finally got it done. Live and learn, right? :)
Thank you 🙏 SOOO MUCH for this! I just moved down to Florida and Im trying to give my new home a “beachy”, “natural” decor so I’ve been looking for burlap shades online and they are so expensive! Im going to make ny own now at 1/10 the cost thanks to you.. You did s great job explaining everything and the alternatives.. 🙏👍🥰💕🤗👍😊
This is so useful! Have been searching for the right material+color for shades to buy online and haven't found the right one - so I'll def be thinking about buying the fabric I want and doing this method instead!
This was great! Thank you so much! I’m not doing shades but the info is very helpful for what I am going to do and now I will consider shades in the future! ❤
If you use thinner fabric, like a cotton, you can also use spray adhesive to glue it right to the shade. Just be aware that, like Katie says about the burlap, the shade will be bulkier when you go to mount it.
Yup, any fabric will work and like mentioned below you can definitely attach fabric to the existing shade if you choose a lighter fabric but need more privacy. I actually tested this out with my first round of light filtering burlap but ultimately wanted the burlap to show inside and outside the windows, plus skipping the spray adhesive just made it easier for me.
Thank you! We definitely have some catching up to do with posts and videos (feels like the story of our lives, haha) but we just hope they are helpful!
Liked. Wonderful results and perfect instructions. I love the way the burlap looks against the wood window framing. Those natural elements soften the industrial appearance of the interior, much more friendly. I have an alternative idea. I live in a suburb where the lot sizes are narrow. The windows on the sides of the houses look upon the neighbor's exterior walls and windows. The view is not attractive and there are privacy issues. I bought a pair of large landscape prints because I happened to notice they are considerably translucent when held up toward the fluorescent ceiling fixtures in the store. They are framed like an artist's canvas, cloth stretched over a wooden frame. The prints are large enough to completely cover the top half of my sash windows. When I hold the print up to the window, the unsightly view is gone and instead I see a lovely forest glade all aglow with filtered daylight. The colors and style of the landscape are ambiguous enough that they could be mistaken for all seasons of the year. The art is blurry enough to give the appearance of a real landscape seen from a distance through a haze of sunlight. I had meant to redo the canvas frames to fit snugly inside the window frame with a cafe drape or shutters for the lower half for a trompe l'oeil effect. Now I think it a better idea to fit the canvas to a roller blind. Sometimes one does need to open a window for ventilation and maximum daylight. Instead of a spring load roller, I would use a roller that operates with a chain pull to avoid handling marks on the printed cloth. Also, a spring load roller can retract unevenly and so rapidly that it might chew up the side of my print. The cloth used for my print does seem to be a tight weave canvas. The printed side seems treated with a water repellent. But the printed side does not seem so thick a layer that it might crack from being rolled up tight on occasion. The treated cloth seems durable enough to hand wash with success. The top and bottom of the blind are fastened to a rigid support, but I am a bit anxious that the blind would curl up along the two sides. Do you find that happening with your burlap?
An idea to take care of the gap above your roller you mentioned at the end of your video... cut a small strip of fabric , maybe 2", and adhere it to the top of the window itself.
Thanks Rachel! It was definitely super easy, just took a bit of time for me to get into my rhythm and figure out the best approach. I think I overcomplicated it in my head and that's why I waited so long to do it. :)
Dang it I wish I had seen this before embarking on my Roman shade odessy! I’ve only done one window but I’ve bought all the materials so I have to do the second window in e same room so it looks even but I think I might just get the roller shade for the living room instead and use the fabric I bought anyway. Thank you💕 for this great tutorial!
Great job! I bet those burlap shades provide the right amount of privacy for you! I also love that cute little 'pink-ish' & crystal-like light/lamp,(on your left) in the video! Did you make it yourselves?
Thank you +JoAnn Hutt :) They shades have been working out great, we're really happy with them. We didn't make the lamp, but we have quite a few of them. They are called Salt Lamps they supposedly have good benefits such as helping with sleep and calming allergy symptoms. I'm not completely sure if they actually do that, but they do give great ambient lighting :)
Thanks @ilgattopardoeladonna that's a good questions and one we were just considering the other day for our windshield shade. Though we haven't tried it I think it would work, the only thing to figure out is how to attach the burlap to the shade without seeing the glue when the sun shines in. I haven't thought about that enough to have an answer but I'd love to hear what you come up with if you give it a try :)
LOVE THIS! I'm totally doing this in our travel trailer and have a quick question. I purchased the sagless fabric and what did you do for the windows that were over 36" in width? Did you sew the burlap pieces together? Thanks for the awesome DIY video!
Hey @Lorraine Bryant thank you much for the kind words, and I believe Katie responded on the website but I'm going to paste her response here - Hi Lorraine! I actually purchased 15 yards (and still have some left over) but because of that, I was able to create wider shades when necessary. I did notice that the burlap was sewn together in a few spots to make it that long - so some of the shades do have a slight seam from the manufacturing process, but I barely notice it. Hopefully that helps, but let us know if you have any other questions, and how it all goes when you make them :)
Hey @Chelsea Swaringen We used this specific burlap - www.onlinefabricstore.net/36-inch-sagless-burlap-fabric-.htm - but if you wanted to look at other options this links to different varieties on amazon - amzn.to/2I6xd80 - that is an affiliate link so you know. Also if you want to learn more about how we created them you can check out our post - mountainmodernlife.com/burlap-roller-shades/ - which provides a detailed walkthrough. Anyway, I hope this helps but feel free to let me know if you have any questions :)
Does anyone know how to stop burlap from shedding? I'm making curtins for my livingroom and everytime I touch them burlap flakes/dust/flakes goes everywhere.
Hey @Jodi Barrick we've noticed that after a bit of time the dust particles that fall from burlap when you roll it up and down disappear. At least that has been our experience with our specific burlap.
Hey +Chuzz Bot I hadn't ever heard of PVA before, my wife has just always used Mod Podge for glue, sealing, and finishing with craft projects. From doing a little research I've found it is essentially pre-watered down PVA if that helps. Anyway hope that helps, best Eric
Hey, thanks for the reply! That info was very useful.BYW I was thinking of doing the same trick with the tv in my RV, everyone thought it was a dumb idea, but when I saw yours I was convinced :) Nice Job!
No worries at all +Chuzz Bot I'm not going to lie, having our tv go up and down is one of the best things in our rig, mainly because we free up a lot of space when we're not using it! I'd say go for it :) and if you do let me know if you have any questions, I'll do my best to help.
We've been working on that with our videos for sure @Kathy Tran and appreciate your input as we're trying to get better at delivering informative and entertaining videos :)
