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Adding Texture & Warmth to Windows

December 21, 2017 By Rhoda 23 Comments

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Hello my friends!

It’s just a few days before Christmas and today I want to share with you some of the plans we have for the house and what else is going on home décor-wise in our new home. You may remember that 5 years ago when I moved in my previous fixer-upper house, I worked with a great company here in Atlanta called Payless Décor in adding bamboo Roman shades in my house.

When I think back on all the window treatments I’ve had in all my houses, it makes me chuckle a little.  We all remember the metal mini-blinds, right?  I had those in my first house in 1985 and I thought they were the coolest things ever!  That trend lasted for several years and then everyone started doing the white wooden blinds which are still popular today, although there are so many newer choices now.

I haven’t changed much at all in my love of Roman bamboo shades and that’s the choice once again for most of the windows in our new house.  I still love their warmth, their texture and their versatility in creating a relaxed casual look in a home, but also dressy enough for even more formal spaces.

BHG.com

Here are a few examples I found of some beautiful windows dressed in bamboo shades and you can see for yourself how textured and warm they look.  I think what I like about them the most is the fact that they can be used in so many settings.  From casual, to more formal settings, they add texture and an organic feel to the windows that you don’t get with plain white blinds.

Don’t they look great in this little bathroom with the board and batten walls and all that white tile?  With just a little bit of natural wood in that side table and shelf on the wall, the bamboo adds just the right touch of casual texture to the window.

Photo by Anthony James Construction
Here’s another great example of using these textural shades in a family room space.  These are flanked by drapes which are my personal choice too.  I love bamboo shades paired with beautiful drapery fabric.
Photo by Dayna Katlin Interiors 
 Here’s another pretty room with lots of French doors with only bamboo shades dressing them.  Such a pretty touch!
BHG.com
Here’s another elegant, yet casual room that has bamboo shades paired with neutral fabric on the windows.
Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles
And this looks to be a sunroom with a whole bank of windows dressed in bamboo shades, very inviting and warm.
Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles
To me, bamboo shades are just right in so many room situations and that’s why I’m choosing them again for this house.
 Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles 
I just adore this bathroom, don’t you?  What a beautiful space with those marble vanities, natural wood floor and white planked walls with all black fixtures and yes, those pretty Roman bamboo shades.
I haven’t lost my adoration for these shades in 5 years and I still think they are going strong, at least to me they are.  This house had all 2 1/2″ white wooden blinds throughout the whole house when we moved in, which are fine if you like those.  I just prefer something a little more interesting and textural now and bamboo does that for me.
We are doing bamboo shades on all our windows except the living room, dining room, and Mark’s man cave.  In those rooms, we are going to be using Plantation shutters, which are also a big love for both of us.
I’m very grateful to be partnering once again with Payless Décor on our new house and they have provided all the shades for our upstairs and downstairs windows.  I can’t wait to get them all installed!  I’ve just started installing a few of them over the Christmas holidays and they are looking so good!
We chose a pretty brown shade for the downstairs which really coordinates well with our Provencial stained floors. These are called Dali Natural in the Premium shades from Payless Decor.  I simply measured my windows and sent in the dimensions to Payless Decor and they were made and shipped out to my house.  Their prices are very competitive to other window treatment companies and they are right here in Atlanta. They are online only, which keeps their prices down.  They also have many other type window treatments, including several types of shades and blinds, like cellular, roller and pleated, as well as drapes.
Upstairs, I chose New Guinea color in the same Premium shades as downstairs.  These coordinate well with our upstairs hardwood floors and so I chose 2 different colors.  All of our shades are lined with white privacy liners so that that no one can see in, plus it keeps the sunlight out too.
In our master sitting area, I’ve got the shades installed and will be working on our master suite in the months to come.  I can’t wait to get all of this together. These spaces started almost from scratch and with our new bedroom furniture and master sitting area, it’s been fun to plan things out in here.
These bamboo Roman shades will be a welcome addition to the windows and I plan to add fabric drapes in here and the master bedroom. I don’t have all of this figured out yet, but the shades are a great start to beautiful windows in this room.  I’ll be sharing more with you as we move through the house and get the rest of the bamboo shades installed in all the upstairs and downstairs as well.
I can’t wait to share more as we move along and I get things figured out.  I have a new coverlet in the master bedroom as well as rug and I’ll be sharing more of those spaces soon.  Nothing is even close to being finished, but these shades are a great start!
Note:  This post is sponsored by Payless Decor.  I can totally recommend them since I had them in my previous house and now this one.  I’ve never had any problem with them working correctly and their products are very good quality.  

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Filed Under: Decorating Ideas, House Renovation 23 Comments

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Comments

  1. Marie says

    December 21, 2017 at 6:23 am

    Nice look. I think the white privacy liners are a must, unless you are ordering white blinds.

    We ordered brown blinds when we moved into our home and didn’t know about white liners. While we loved the blinds, we couldn’t stand the way the home looked from the outside with brown blinds. White is much better for curb appeal.

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      December 21, 2017 at 9:00 am

      I agree, I do love the white liners showing from the backside.

  2. Gilda says

    December 21, 2017 at 7:37 am

    Here’s a question for you: I have black window frames and muntons and want to maintain a black apprearance from outside on some windows: should I get a black liner? Also: I love the burnt bamboo look but I can’t seem to locate it anywhere, YET I see it on so many design blogs’ photos…any ideas?

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      December 21, 2017 at 8:59 am

      HI, Gilda, I love those black window frames, those look so good. I would probably go with the black liner on the back, I think that’s an option. I think many of the blinds on Payless have that burnt look if you look through all the colors.

    • Gayle says

      December 21, 2017 at 9:44 am

      I think a black liner would make the windows look like black holes. I have these blinds and love them, in another house I have the honeycomb shades, for different reasons, I like the convenience but not the look

    • Rhoda says

      December 21, 2017 at 6:32 pm

      That’s a thought too, Gayle. I’ve never had black liners or black windows so it’s hard to picture the two.

  3. Sally says

    December 21, 2017 at 8:16 am

    Rhoda, the white liners will show up white from the outside? I have a huge window on the front of my house and am trying to figure out what is going to look best from the outside.. Thanks for your help! Very timely post as I am trying to figure out what to do with my windows!

    Also, I really need these to be functional and will actually need to put the blinds all of the way down at night. I am wondering how a huge swath of bamboo is going to look in my living room which already has wood paneling. Do you think it will be too much brown?

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      December 21, 2017 at 8:58 am

      HI, Sally, if you have so much wood, the wood blinds might be too much. They also have white-ish and gray blinds now too or a fabric blind might look best with your wood paneling. It’s a tough decision to figure these things out. And yes, the white liners do show from the outside when the blinds are all pulled down.

    • teresa says

      December 21, 2017 at 6:37 pm

      Oh I wish I could post pics because I’ve seen many wooden paneled rooms in Architectural Digest with bamboo blinds and drapes over the years. I think it really depends on the contrast of the bamboo with the wood and depending on the colour and grain, I might avoid a busy look in the blind. I find matchstick blinds particularly attractive in a library.

      Rhoda, I think they are a classic choice and have remained so for years. I’ve never tired of them as they can be dressed up or down, look good on their own or paired with drapes. Thanks for the wonderful eye-candy.

  4. Nancy Wix says

    December 21, 2017 at 10:41 am

    We had these blinds in our lake home and chose the white privacy version. We loved them! They were 7 years old when we sold our home and the blinds still looked brand new! The only negative was the cords deteriorated and had to be replaced at least twice during this time. Payless Decor provided great customer service when we needed new cord.

    Reply
  5. Kristy Burke says

    December 21, 2017 at 11:45 am

    Love the shades and loved using Payless Decor. So easy to install and great quality!

    Reply
  6. Virginia Georgia says

    December 21, 2017 at 8:35 pm

    So pretty! I love shades like these and enjoy them in my home. NO idea why I have thought of this but what has ever happened to your friend who was doing such GREAT work on a couple of flip homes in NW Atlanta? What about the long time friends who downsized to a house on the lake – can’t recall we ever saw their finished, fully decorated home and finally, what about the couple in what I think was her childhood home – they were working along. I think on all of these you were helping them; your great talents certainly shone! As I said, no idea why I thought of these. Merry Christmas to you and that lucky man!

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      December 21, 2017 at 9:35 pm

      HI Virginia, thank you and Merry Christmas to you! So, my friend Buck is still around and busy. I don’t talk to him that often, but we are friends on Facebook so I’m not sure he’s working on any other house projects. Very talented guy! My friend, Ruby, is the one in the lake house. I did show their house all decorated and they really haven’t done much else in there since then, so it was pretty much decorated and finished. I just don’t get to see those friends that much, they travel a lot. Andrea and David are getting back to working on their 60’s ranch house after Christmas. Just had dinner with them last weekend and they want to continue on in the house and I’ll be helping more along the way with their decisions going forward. They had to slow down due to several issues they had, but ready to get started again.

  7. Nancy says

    December 22, 2017 at 3:47 am

    How do you take care of them? Do you use your vacuum or a dust cloth?

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      December 22, 2017 at 9:11 am

      Hey, Nancy, you can easily use a brush attachment from the vacuum cleaner on them or a soft dusting wand.

  8. Andrea Corley says

    December 24, 2017 at 11:05 am

    Thanks Rhoda for sharing this is just what I been looking for! They will do great in bathroom!

    Merry Christmas

    Reply
  9. Judy says

    December 26, 2017 at 8:39 pm

    Drapery return — I am not trying to be critical! Just a hint, with pleated drapes the area between the last pleat and the edge is supposed to return to the wall. Usually you have the last pleat just beyond the bracket and all other pleats inside the bracket. You may have something on the bracket to attach a drapery hook to the pleat. With wood brackets, you can always screw in a little eye — or you can put a cup hook in the wall. Pros have a little thing (can’t remember the name at the moment) that goes into the wall or it can go through the edge of the drape and into the wall. If you want to email me, I can send you a picture.

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      December 26, 2017 at 8:48 pm

      Hi, Judy, thanks I do know what you mean and I don’t usually add that return on the end. I do have the last pleat on the outside of the bracket but it’s not returned to the wall. I don’t mind it in my casual spaces like this. I guess it shows when you look at windows from the side, but not straight on.

  10. Karen Guest says

    January 24, 2019 at 2:09 pm

    Hi Rhoda, I’m trying to choose bamboo shades for my recently remodeled home. I got an outrageous quote from a local store so I’m eager to check out Payless Decor! I’m wondering what works works on a sliding glass door? A vertical sliding bamboo shade or two horizontal shades with vertical pulleys? Also, I have an open floor plan and two large windows would have inset shades but for the slider they would have to be above the door frame and so not line up with the shades on the windows. Would that still work? Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      January 24, 2019 at 2:41 pm

      HI, Karen, I’m not an expert on sliding glass door coverings. I’ve left mine bare except for panels on either side in my old house. I’d look around for some inspiration pics and see if you can find something similar to what you have. Payless might have some pics on their site too, but I really do love their products.

  11. Audrey Krupinski says

    October 9, 2022 at 11:27 am

    Are you able to confirm whether or not the bamboo blinds from the BHG.com photo above was from Payless? This would look perfect in my space and desperate trying to find these.

    BHG.com
    Here’s another elegant, yet casual room that has bamboo shades paired with neutral fabric on the windows.

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      October 9, 2022 at 3:24 pm

      HI, Audrey, no I do not know where the BHG blinds are from, I used them as an example. The Payless blinds are really nice though.

  12. Audrey Krupinski says

    October 9, 2022 at 3:48 pm

    Thanks – will definitely check out Payless blinds!

    Reply

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Thanks for stopping by! I'm Rhoda, from Atlanta, GA and I love decorating and DIY projects. Decorating a home doesn't have to cost a fortune and I've spent years thrifting at antiques markets and yard sales, finding those treasures that make a home unique. I'm here to inspire and encourage other women to find their own inner creativity. Won't you join me?

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