Faux Roman Blind

It all started with this picture.

Do you see the rolled up shade in this dining room (top right)?

Source: philipgorrivan.blogspot.com via Kat on Pinterest

Well that got me thinkin'. Which isn't always a good thing--(as far as Mitch is concerned anyway...poor guy. I come up with the ideas and he executes them.) I thought it'd be nice to have a Roman blind in my dining room. And I thought I could DIY it too (that gets Mitch off the hook). So I looked up how to DIY a Roman blind and found several tutorials here, here, and here but they all used mini-blinds as the base. And I tried that a while ago. Just too confusing for this non-sewer here. (Actually there's no sewing involved; just cutting and pasting basically but still too many steps for my "just get 'er done" brain.) So I came up with my own way (which ironically enough includes sewing!) and it's totally fake--looks like a Roman but doesn't act like one. Let me show ya. (I've since found this tutorial--she made a super cute Roman blind...check it out.)

First of all, let me show ya what I was going off of--the custom Roman blind that was made by a local seamstress for my kitchen window. I love it but didn't want to shell out money on another one for my dining room. Who has extra cash lyin' around these days??

So starting from the outside, I basically folded the fabric under and used a needle and thread to keep it there. I eyeballed it.

Went to the other side and did the same thing.

Then attacked the middle.

I would periodically hold it up and wherever it kinda flopped down and needed some support, I added some stitches. Cake. Much easier for me than cutting up a mini-blind and gluing fabric together. Mitch cut a board to size and I stapled the fabric to it and before ya knew it, I had my very own "Roman blind." It was fake, granted, but still looked like a Roman. In other words, this blind is in a permanent up position--kinda like a valance.

The fabric was from a pair of curtains I picked up at Goodwill for a couple bucks. I loved the linen-y texture to them and originally thought of putting them up as cafe curtains in our current bathroom but then thought they'd be perfect in the dining room. I didn't want a competing fabric since the dining room and kitchen are pretty much in one big area and I have that bright pop of yellow on the kitchen window (isn't that such a cheery fabric?) And since I have a patterned rug under the table, I didn't want anything too busy--so white it is! Plus I'm thinking of putting up white curtains on the sliding door, so I wanted something that meshed well with everything. (Can you tell I've thought this through a couple times?!) The cool thing about this panel was that it was pretty much the perfect size. No cutting required! It's relaxed up top (i.e. not pulled tight) so I didn't have to take in any of the fabric. Can't get much easier than that!

So all in all, I'm very pleased with how it all turned out. Now we just need to finish the drywall, paint and add something to this wall. A decorative mirror would be perfect. Or perhaps a baker's rack. But alas, that'll have to wait for another day;) I'm gonna enjoy my "Roman blind" for a few days:)