Today is our 7th wedding anniversary! Seriously, where does the time go?
(Oh, remodeling a house together. That’s right.)
Anyhow, I’m not totally sure what the traditional 7-year gift is, but I think it might be blackout shades.
No? Crap. Sorry about that Kyle.
At any rate, we finally ordered and installed shades for the new basement bedroom (no more cardboard!).
When we replaced our windows on the main floor a few years ago, we did quite a bit of research on different shade options. To keep a light and airy vibe (and show off our sexy window jamb detail) we wanted simple roller shades in a translucent material that would allow filtered light in while still providing privacy. We scoped out both local and online companies and ultimately ended up with The Shade Store. They had the best selection for the best prices (although we’ve been proud owners of IKEA’s roller shades in the past, they don’t make ones larger enough for some of our windows).
So when it came time to outfit the basement bedroom, we knew we’d need something custom that had blackout capabilities (for sleeping guests and movie-watching). Fortunately, The Shade Store had several options so we ordered a handful of swatches before selecting the perfect blue-gray for the space.
The mounting hardware has also improved in the years since we ordered our main floor shades and now comes in a nice brushed silver option. Due to our window jamb depth and 2×4 walls, the mounting hardware does stick out a bit from the face of the finished drywall, but it’s not enough to be annoying. (Yes, because we installed them within the jamb there is a tiny bit of light seepage around some of the edges but again, not a deal breaker for us.)
The room feels more complete now, despite its lack of actual furnishings. Of course, now that we’re used to having the TV in our living room we’re unmotivated to move it downstairs. I think this is all part of Kyle’s ploy for a bigger TV and the eventual realization of his man cave.
Uh-huh. I think that’s the 8-year gift.
Note: The Shade Store provided us with a trade discount on our recent order. They didn’t pay us to say nice things about them, we’re just happy with the product and service we’ve received and wanted to share it with you guys.
Blackout shades are the first thing we bought in our recent move overseas. Who knew the sun rose so early in the middle east?
On another note, you should tell Kyle to consider a projector instead of a TV for his mancave. It looks like you have a great open wall to the right as you walk through the door and it’s already painted a brilliant white.
Just an idea.
You can totally NOT tell him about it too I suppose 🙂
Can you say more about how much light leakage there is, and how much better it would be if mounted outside the window?
This summer we went with the cardboard/aluminum but I’d like to do something a bit nicer before next year. However the sun is up many many hours past little people’s bedtimes so we need something that will convince them that yes it is nighttime.
Thanks!
Happy Anniversary!
We celebrated our 3rd last Thursday but
I didn’t buy shades…what a great idea though.
We have 2 huge picture windows in our house
that are in our great room. And I’ve been looking
for a solar energy type of shade, particularly
roller shade. What I have now suffices until
the cold comes. I want something energy
efficient until we figure out what to replace
the windows with and the style. They are
the old iron style panels (18 of them).
And measure about 92 inches or so.
I will check this site out.
Psst!
http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/4426770/list
Haha! For the record, I own very little black! (Brown, on the other hand…) 😉
Wow, those are big windows! If you want to reduce heat gain, there are certain shade fabrics that help with that. If you’re wanting to reduce air infiltration (draft) then you might want to look at caulking or some other means to keep cold air from coming in.
Hi Sara, the leakage is not through the fabric just from the gap between the edge of the shade and window jamb. (The fabric can’t go all the way to the edge b/c of the thickness of the mounting hardware.) If it was mounted outside the window then you would have more overlap and (in theory) get rid of this slight gap. You could also double up – do blackout shades mounted within the window framed and then curtains mounted on the wall. That gets to be a bit of a style choice, but I’ve seen it done well. I guess it depends on the kiddo whether or not it would be dark “enough”. I think we’ll have the same issue with Avery eventually in her room. We might swap out her shades with a blackout option or do some type of curtain over the existing ones.
Whoa, didn’t know you were in the middle east. Very cool.
Oh, he’s thought about a projector. =) I always assumed the space wasn’t big enough but I guess I haven’t exactly done the research.
hahahaha, too late, actually have considered it but the ceiling height is super low which is a bummer, maybe a drop down projector 😉 ?
Happy Anniversary! May you have many more happy years together 🙂
Thanks for the heads up on the shade store. Totally what I was looking for, for my front window.