These No-Sew Roman Shades Instantly Transformed My Living Room
Window treatments are like rugs — they’re expensive, impactful, difficult to choose, and require precise measuring that my “girl math” tendencies refuse to acknowledge. For all of those reasons, I waited five years to dress the two narrow, quirky windows that flank my living room fireplace. And, for five years, I winced every time I walked by their builder-grade plastic blinds.
I knew the windows shouldn’t wear linen curtains, like the rest on the first floor, because I wanted to make a statement — preferably in the form of a bold pattern that tied together the room’s vibrant colorway. That’s when it hit me: You can’t go wrong with a classic cabana stripe.
And so, I set out in search of my vision — a pair of navy blue and white cabana-striped roman shades — and they quickly proved difficult to find. The closest options were either way out of my price range or the wrong size, so the DIY route quickly became my only option. Then came the next roadblock: I don’t sew, and I don’t care to learn. Unable to let go of the dream, I knew there had to be a no-sew approach out there — and, after many (many) hours spent on a YouTube deep dive, I found a Better Homes and Gardens video that details how to make a chic-looking roman shade with nothing but fabric, Mod Podge, clothes pins, and, ironically, ugly plastic blinds. That’s right; the eyesores I loathed became the unsung hero of this story. And even better, they didn’t (fully) end up in a landfill.
Following the tutorial, I removed excess panels from the blinds, leaving six to seven behind that would act as the structure of the shades. I then adhered the fabric to the blinds’ edges using the Mod Podge and let it all dry overnight. The most difficult parts of the entire craft were cutting the fabric to size (which really wasn’t hard at all) and keeping my curious cats out of the supplies sprawled across the floor. It was also a little time-consuming to individually snap and remove the unneeded blinds, and I had to be careful not to snip the wrong cord when separating the panels to keep the opening mechanism intact.
For the sticky part, I tried two different types of glue — the recommended Mod Podge and quick-drying clear fabric glue — and preferred the latter because it held the fabric in place instead of relying on clothespins to do the heavy lifting. That said, the glue tube was small and I went through two for one shade, so it wasn’t a super economical swap. All in all, the process was perfectly doable for someone who doesn’t really enjoy crafting.
The next morning, I felt so accomplished as I giddily hung up my creations and was pleased to discover that they looked (and functioned!) just as well as anything I could have found online. Even better, because I already had the other supplies on hand, all I paid for was the fabric (which was on sale!). Admittedly, they’re not perfect — the folds aren’t as evenly spaced as they could be, and the backs of the shades could also probably be polished by a liner. But I still enjoy them so much more than I did in their first life, and the pattern I chose works perfectly with the rest of the decor in the space.
Now I know: In my garage sits the rest of the litter — a box of rejected plastic blinds just brimming with untapped potential.
Further Reading
We Tested (and Rated!) Every Sofa at West Elm — Here Are the Best for Every Type of Need
See How a Stager Used Paint to Transform a 1950s Living Room
We Asked 8 Pro Travelers What They Never Pack in Their Carry-On, and Here’s What They Said
