Seriously? What is the problem?
We have had a few parties and gotten some off handed comments about the big picture window in the bathroom. An elderly couple lives off our back fence and I doubt they are looking. But just the same, I guess people get uncomfortable.
I really love the look of uncovered windows in a mid-century modern home. But, Albert had a point about the guest thing. I called 3 Day Blinds. They had a guy out to our house before you could say "peeping tom." I told him exactly what I wanted which was blinds you didn't notice when they were pulled up -- fade into the woodwork. He knew just the thing.
And within "3 days" two tall skinny packages showed up on our doorstep. Get it? Three days.
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| Welcome to our outdoor closet. Issues of a small house. |
By the the following Saturday, we had this little number installed. When you pull it all the way up, you hardly notice it.
But it can come all the way down for total view obstruction. Should we happen to be hosting a view or two.
And, because the blind guy was here ( window blind sales guy, not sightless guy -- sillies), we had to pile on. Alex didn't like his "no blinds" look. He mainly hated the sun streaming into his windows on the weekends as his bed head and one window both face East.
BEFORE BLINDS
AFTER
He wanted black out blinds.
And then there is the the guest bedroom that has never had a window covering in sixteen years. And is going to have sixteen-year-olds staying in it, in a week. Coincidentally.
Albert insisted that if we were doing all this, we should do our bedroom window which faces East.
Blinds for all. What a waste of money, but at least it is done. There are some things that I don't enjoy spending money on. HVAC. Tires. Clothes for Albert. Pointless.
Signing off: Bitter. Party of one.
Things I Like to Buy Which Make Me Happy (e.g. not a waste):
I prefer no window treatments too, so I sympathize, but I had to bite the bullet and cover the sliding glass door in my bedroom. I put frosted glass everywhere else, but I still think I'm going to have to cover my living room sidelites, since they get a tremendous amount of afternoon sun, which is brutal later in the Texas summer.
ReplyDeleteI think your new blinds are very unobtrusive and are exactly the right look for a mid-century home if you're going to put up window treatments, so don't be too bitter. I may have to look into the same style for my sidelites in the next month or so.
I really resisted the blinds. BUT, when you push them all the way to the top, you really don't notice because the white blinds blend into the white paint. We have "light" in our front door that we added a dark wood blind too (same problem as you), I am going to swap it out for these white black outs because they raise and lower so easily. Don't have strings...
DeleteDeciding on window treatments is such a pain. And custom ones are so expensive. My MCM house was actually filled with custom pinch pleat drapery...on traverse rods...in every room! It's interesting to see the different opinions about window treatments in MCM homes. I think yours look really great and they go well with your decor--nice and minimal.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually kind of in love with beautiful fabric (I get it from my quilter mother who is a fabric hoarder) so I"m torn between leaving windows open and having drapes. I think we are going to try romans in our kitchen once when we save up for them. A nice compromise between a clean look and my love of fabric.
Window treatments cost unbelievable amounts of money for sure! Fabric is beautiful but we live in an extremely damp environment. I have had issues before... but I do love fabric.
DeleteI'm also for the minimal look, but you've captured it with the blind solution. I'm in agreement with Alex that blackout blinds do help with the sleeping in thing. When I've traveled and the hotel room has a blackout feature, I find I sleep longer than at home with my bright bedroom.
ReplyDeleteYes, blackout in hotels is a must! The kid really wants to sleep in on weekends and I don't blame him. High schoolers work so hard.
Delete3 days....get it? LOL. You did good!~ Love the choice for the bathroom.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain. I do drapes, but they don't do the trick for the sun.
Glad you enjoy my dumb humor. Drapes are so pretty!!! And very mid-century!
DeleteI went with blindster.com for my studio. Obviously you have to DIY install, but price and service was really good (important because I have three 8' wide windows). And they have a silver aluminum header...
ReplyDeletehttp://mitchellsigman.squarespace.com/midcenturymalaise/2013/1/31/blinded-by-the-blinds.html
Thanks for the link! Love your blinds! They look very good.
DeleteA necessary evil, but yours' work...did similar ones. Only my windows have needed cleaning for a while, but not my house anymore and I'm more by myself than your neighborhood! You're quite the interior designer, too...oh yes, taking notes.
ReplyDeleteThanks David! A necessary evil for sure. I did NOT want to do this. But I had to be a grownup.
DeleteI live in the middle of 18 wooded acres, so blinds are optional, however I put them up because they save on my energy bill. Still, I pull them up so I can look out the window when I'm soaking in the bathtub. Guilty pleasures.
ReplyDeleteRebecca the blinds look wonderful. I somehow missed this post so I'm so happy you mentioned it. I swear it feels so good to know midcentury owners who struggle with the same issues. I've finally figured out " what I can live with" and it seems you scored too! I hate covering all our windows but it really does make a difference. Love the blinds that raise instead of lower. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your window coverings post a lot and it struck a chord with me obviously. MCM homeowners STRUGGLE with this issue for sure. We hate to cover up.
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