Back off, Peeping Toms

Long ago, in June, I needed those IKEA ENJE roller shades that all the cool kids have (like this one and this one). They’re clean lined, white, and allow nice light– all while sporting flashy metal hardware with style. Impressive, no? Also, I thought I was desperate for some privacy.

Well, turns out I wasn’t. As evidenced by said roller shades sitting like this in the corner of the living room for two months.

Don't worry, the outrageous cord sitch is ON THE LIST.

Oh Enje, how you mocked me. Well, I finally got around to cutting them to size. Some basic math, a little sawing, and cutting a strip of fabric: this was far much more challenging than I expected, to be honest. When you get up close, the cut edge looks like a palsied meth addict took care of it. That would be me. But it’s done and I have the pictures to prove it!

Sorry for the craptacular photo. I pledge to get better at using my camera. Oh, that’s my new desk lamp from Ebay. Cord yet to be wrangled.

And the kitchen. Like our sweet view? Note the new pottery: sugar bowl next to the coffee container from last week’s romp in Regina, Saskatchewan to visit these friends; vases from a recent visit to College Park, Maryland to see this friend. International Value Village Customer status right here, it’s natural to be jealous.

No picture of the living room, showing the ugly A/C unit was just too depressing.

And I even cut one for the bathroom even though I can’t hang it until I finish with the other changes in there. Coming up soon! It’s a big deal, that place is rough.

About Daniel Kanter

Hi, I'm Daniel, and I love houses! I'm a serial renovator, DIY-er, and dog-cuddler based in Kingston, New York. Follow along as I bring my 1865 Greek Revival back to life and tackle my 30s to varying degrees of success. Welcome!

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12 Comments

  1. 8.30.10

    I think it looks fab. You should see were mine are a little toasty from being cut with a miter saw with a steel blade…it’s like someone tried to smoke them.

  2. 8.30.10
    Cait said:

    Woohoo window treatments! I was just thinking about getting one of these shades for our last window with mini blinds (ok, ok, I confess, the last one I’ve shown on the blog).

  3. 8.30.10
    What? said:

    Daniel, really a great site!

    For the A/C, take a look at this: http://www.unplggd.com/unplggd/diy-project/10-ways-to-hide-an-ac-or-heater-125352

    Greetings from Italy!

  4. 8.30.10
    Sarah said:

    You did good, kid.

  5. 8.30.10
    Laura F. said:

    They look great — I’ve always wondered if those blinds were worth test driving. You’ve convinced me.

  6. 8.31.10
    Danyelle said:

    I really want to get these blinds too but I have a really huge window that I have to cover. It will take two 47 * 98 and $70 for window treatment–I just don’t know.

  7. 8.31.10
    Shannon said:

    Hi, I got linked to your fantastic bed revamp from IkeaHack and had to check out the rest of your blog. I work at a blind store.. my recommendation for future roller blind cutdowns? Unroll the blind completely, then roll it back up with a thin paper on top (we have this brown roll that’s about the weight of tracing paper, but you could probably use tissue or newspaper too). Make sure you roll it up straight so you don’t have uneven edges. Then wrap the end in masking tape and use a table saw to cut it down. If the bottom rail is metal, cut that end first. I don’t know much about physics but the BIG BOSSES at head office tell us the paper and tape helps slow the saw so it doesn’t rip your fabric to smithereens! Solar screens are particularly asshole-ish so you may still need a pair of scissors to trip loose threads… but it’s definitely better than cutting them down unwrapped.

    • 9.1.10

      Thank you for this!! Everyone, take note. Expert in the hizz-ouse!

  8. 9.1.10
    Townerson said:

    I’ve had my Enje blinds (after seeing them on D16) leaning in their packaging in a corner of my office/dressing room for about a year. I need a YouTube video of this process to guide me through the process, even with the valuable advice above and reading both Anna’s and Morgan’s how-tos. I’m terrified to cut them. Especially now that they’re DISCONTINUED!!! Hence, I’ve probably been peeped daily between Shower Time and Fully Dressed Time by my (hopefully happy) neighbours. :(

    • 9.18.10

      Hi, weeks later…

      Seriously, it’s really easy. If you have a pair of GOOD, REALLY SHARP fabric shears that have never been used to cut anything but fabric, you’ll have no problem. Just unroll completely, draw a super-light pencil line, and cut slowly with your shears moving along the surface of the floor/table.

      (I don’t think they’re discontinued, thought—there was a “recall”, but that was just to give people a spare part in case it had gone missing. IKEA still has them in stock and on their website.)

  9. 9.8.10
    abby said:

    ah ha so the metal pieces are cutable? ’cause i’ve been weighing these but they just thatmuch too big. so i can cut them with just a saw and somebody else’s muscles?

    • 9.8.10

      Yes! Basically, you just pop off the end pieces on the top and the bottom. The top is a metal pipe that you just cut to size (taking into account the space the brackets take up when hung + the width of the end pieces you just took off). The fabric slides really easily out of the bottom metal bar, making it pretty easy to cut. Then just cut the fabric as straight as you can and pop those few pieces back into place and you’re in business.