Design

Our new window shades are an EXPERIENCE

October 14, 2020

We believe we should all love where we live.

We’re a couple of homebodies, working to uncover the home our home wants to be. And we’re so happy to have you here. 

Portfolio

Projects

Design

We're Chris + Julia

read more

What we're                   right now

Loving

browse the shop

Befores, afters, mood boards, plans, failures, wins. We’ve done a lot of projects, and they’re all here. 

We have a long-standing relationship with DIY, and love rolling our sleeves up and making it happen. 

Even when you don’t want to rip down a wall, you can make that space in your home better. Right now.

browse all

browse all

browse all

02

01

03

Popular Posts

1.

2.

3.

Top Categories

This post is sponsored by Blinds.com.

It’s a little mind boggling to most (including us!) that we’ve been without blinds since we moved in. We knew we were replacing windows so we didn’t want to invest in window coverings until the sizes were right and so we’ve been waking up with the sun (or before the sun) this whole time–even earlier than our toddler who has blackout curtains in her room. It’s not a bad way to live, really. But now I see the light, which is actually the dark. Last week we installed motorized blackout shades in our bedroom and as much fun as it was waking up to the sun and falling asleep to the moonlight, falling asleep in a cocoon of a bedroom with no light to wake us up this past weekend was INCREDIBLE!

For our bedroom, Chris and I went with the motorized Premium Blackout Roller Shades in “Charlotte Iron.” They disguise really nicely into the top of our french doors and come with a remote or you can tug the chain once to close them. Chris installed them midday, and when he rolled them closed — it looked like midnight in our bedroom! “We’re going to sleep so well!” we kept saying to each other.

I’m loving that I can roll the shades up in the morning and let the light in before even getting out of bed. It’s also very soothing to use the remote to block all of the light OUT at the end of the night. Motorized blinds feel like a luxury, and the remote feels like a true gift.

It’s dreamy and I definitely feel like that scene with Kate Winslet in The Holiday every night. Thank YOU, Blinds.com. Motorized blinds are definitely game changers. It’s worth mentioning that you don’t need to order black shades for the blackout effect. In fact, these come in 60 colors, including the very light (and pretty) “Rainer Snowfall.” We just went with black so they would blend in with the doors when open.

We also added blinds in Greta’s room at the same time. For hers, we went with woven shades! I’ve been preaching the gospel of woven wood shades since before we ever bought a house. I love adding this natural touch and additional texture to a window treatment. We added Premium Woven Wood Shades in “Kula Coconut” from Blinds.com to Greta’s room. I love the color because it’s so clean and warm, a natural compliment to her blush curtains.

There are two layers to her blinds that she can pull down together or separately. The privacy blackout shade is behind the woven shade so at night she can close both and if during the day, she just wants to cut some light, she can just pull the woven wood shade. These have a cordless lift, which is a safer choice for kids’ rooms. We shop Blinds.com because there are SO MANY woven wood options (240, to be exact), and I strongly recommend ordering the sample pack. Gone are the days where you have to choose between “dark, medium, or light” woven blinds. Blinds.com has the largest selection of exotic grasses, reeds, and woods, which truly allows us to design specifically for our rooms and pick up on all of the color and nuances that we were hoping for.

Now, we almost have a tape measure in every room, but everyone makes mistakes on measurements. Since these are truly custom blinds, Chris and I breathe easy that Blinds.com offers their SureFit™ Guarantee — If you made a mistake measuring your blind, they’ll remake it at no cost to you and even pay for the return shipping of your old blind. Whew!

It’s also worth mentioning that a real designer called and emailed us to consult about these blinds — and not because we’re Chris Loves Julia. Design services are offered to all Blinds.com customers, and it was reassuring to go back and forth, even over email, about the various color options, liner options, etc. My advice is to take advantage of the design services! These pros know blinds!

Now that the dust has settled in other areas, we’re excited to add window coverings to Faye’s room and the breakfast nook (which gets so much sun we have to choose our seats wisely during the day) next!

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

What do you think?

  1. Megan says:

    Did they give you a coupon code?!

  2. RHONDA STENERSEN says:

    Can you provide the source for the girl’s beds (headboard/footbaoard)? Thank you for the details on the blinds..EXACTLY what I’ve been researching. Love us our Idaho skies but with an open loft bedroom and huge windows, we are looking forwad to some “blackout” evenings & nights and “sleep in mornings!

  3. Kara says:

    I’m so excited about this and shockingly surprised by how affordable they are! We need to shades desperately so I’m so excited to try them out. As always, thanks for sharing!

  4. Lori says:

    We have motorized blackout shades in our basement that my husband tied into our Nest and Alexa. We just tell them to set the night scene and they close so we can watch movies. I love your patio door. Is there a source for it somewhere?

  5. Brooke says:

    Hey! They are all beautiful! But that’s no surprise with you guys! My dad sells blinds so I can get any I want. We are moving into a new house next week and I love these options. My question is how do the shades look from outside your house when pulled down? We live in Alabama so in summer months I leave the blinds/shades down in rooms we are not in to help with the utility bill. So while I’ve been wanting shades for so long I’ve been worried about what they look like from outside. Can you help?

  6. Lori says:

    I had no idea that you could get 2 layer independently operating blinds! Game changer!

  7. Ashley Windsor says:

    Hi Julia! We ordered the woven wood blinds for our son’s room several months ago (without seeing a sample….risky!) and have been extremely happy with them! I can testify to how awesome they are! My question for you is can you walk through where to find the sample pack? I’ve been waiting since April to order some blinds for another room but it has said samples are not available due to Covid. Their customer line and online order status are having a delay as well. I’m specifically looking for the woven wood options and you mentioned a sample pack and I can see the samples in your pics, but can’t find that as an option as a regular customer. Any chance you could guide me in the right direction? Thank you!

    • Aminah says:

      Yes came here to ask this exact question. Can’t find a sample pack it only says on one info page that you can order up to 10 samples free but I don’t see the option where when I go on the different pages for the woven wood blinds. Any help would be appreciated I would love to order all new blinds for our new house! Thank you

  8. Debra K. says:

    The shades look great in both rooms — perfect choices (no surprise there!). On the charcoal shades, would it be possible to paint the white part, which appears to be metal, black so that it disappears, and if so, would you recommend a spray paint? Thanks!

    • Blinds.com says:

      Hi Debra! The white you’re seeing is the back of the shade fabric as it’s rolled up. Most neighborhoods require white to the street-side with window treatments, and we find that it looks more uniform as well. However, if you wanted to go with black to the back we may be able to make something custom for you!

  9. Barbara says:

    What’s your feeling about keeping the blinds consistent throughout the house, especially a smaller home?

  10. Carrie says:

    My first thought was of that scene in The Holiday! Quick question: does the remote allow you to “pause” the blinds in a certain place, or does it only function as fully up or fully down?

  11. Alaina says:

    These look amazing!! Did you do a valance in Greta’s room? Would you mind sharing which options you picked? I went through the checkout options, but there are so many choices to make (in a great way).

    • Blinds.com says:

      Julia chose the Blinds.com Premium Woven Wood Shades in Kula Coconut. Shade style is flat fold with a valance. They have a cordless movable liner in Soft White Blackout. Hope that helps!

  12. D says:

    Hi, I LOVE your blog and so appreciate your posts! I’m wondering how you’d hang curtains when there’s minimal space (approx. 1in) above the window and then there’s a slant on the ceiling. I saw your post on ceiling mounted curtains, but again the space above the window is on a pretty significant slant. Thanks!

    • Blinds.com says:

      Hi D! Blinds.com team chiming in here. For this specific application, we’d recommend curtains that slide along a ceiling-mounted track, OR you could just go with roller or roman shades mounted in the window. You’ll get the pattern/softness of curtains, but they will work with your ceiling limitations.

      Feel free to reach out to our designers and they can talk through some other options with you! Their help is free BTW.

  13. Kim says:

    I would love these for our metal kitchen door but don’t know how it would work to attach them to the door jamb when we would need to open the door. Are yours attached to the door or to the jamb?

    • Blinds.com says:

      For doors that open in, or are in high traffic areas, we do recommend mounting to the door itself. With most styles you can request “hold down brackets.” These anchor the bottom of the blinds or shades to the door so they don’t swing and bang when you open it.

  14. Betsy says:

    Love the shades! The black is such a smart move. But inquiring minds want to know which side of the bed the remote lives?? Ha! Ha! We “fight” over who gets to control the fan remote. I usually win!

  15. Katie says:

    I feel like you move art all the time (a piece used to be above your bed right!?). How do you do it without constantly having to patch and paint? I have pieces I want to move desperately but am too nervous about having to repair the wall. Help!

  16. Leslie Cook says:

    I love the way these are mounted but will that work on a standard height door?

  17. Daisy says:

    looks great! how does the motor work? does it need some kind of wiring?

  18. Debra says:

    Nice color/fabric choices for the two rooms! One question: on the charcoal blinds, would it be possible to paint the white hardware along the bottom of the shade so that it blends in with the shade materail? Asking for a friend!!

all the latest

We believe we should all love where we live.

We’re a couple of homebodies, working to uncover the home our home wants to be. And we’re so happy to have you here. 

HI! We're Chris + Julia

read more

Load More

Reader Faves

SHop all

What We're                     Right Now

What We're                 Right Now

Looking for our favorite things? A place to shop our home room by room, or just catch up on what Julia's wearing / loving right now? Browse the CLJ shop. 

Loving

looking for inspiration? 

A reader recently asked me if I’m starting to fully embrace traditional style and whether we still consider our house to be a “modern Colonial” and why. It was a really great question and so timely — I had really just been thinking about my approach to this home and how my style has changed […]

Can We Send You Our Love Letter?

Another way for us to stay in touch! Joining our weekly newsletter gives you access to exclusive content, never-before-seen photos, your questions answered, and our favorite DIYs. Sign up below!

Follow Along on Instagram

Welcome to our online community where we've posted home, DIY, style, renovations, and family since '09. Renovating our #cljmoderncottage in Idaho and headed for new adventures in Raleigh, NC. #cljfam #cljtransformations

@chrislovesjulia