Dressing Up Basic Roller Shades

Every since completing Isabella's Girl's Dream Bedroom last year, I've been wanting to return and hang roller shades on the windows, layered behind the drapery panels.


The day finally arrived to add them and it ended up being a very fast and simple project. I began by gathering the supplies: basic roller shades, decorative shade pulls, trim and fabric glue.


A mark was made at the center point near the bottom edge of the shade.


The pretty decorative pulls were screwed through the shades at this point and secured on the back side.


I considered using numerous trim styles but, with Isabella's help, I ended up selecting a simple ric rac in a pretty bright green. There is already an abundance of color and pattern in the bedroom and this selection is just enough to add color and interest to the shades while avoiding becoming too busy for the room.

A length of trim was cut just a bit longer than the width of the shade.


The trim was turned over and fabric glue brushed on with a fan brush.


Next the trim was positioned in place above the decorative pull with the sides being glued and attached next.


The trim was pressed firmly onto the shade to help the glue adhere...


...and a few quick measurements were taken to ensure the trim ran evenly along the shade edge.


The ends were cut, leaving approximately 1/2 inch of trim extending past the shade.


Fabric glue was applied to the backside of the trim...


...and turned under and pressed into place as the glue dried.


The same steps were repeated for the other two shades. Then a second row of ric rac was attached to each shade just above the first, following the same steps.





I also considered adding a thinner turquoise ric rac to the shades, but it looked too busy for this room. However, I can imagine having a lot of fun by adding multiple layers of trim to create shades that become a focal point of a room, paired with simple drapery panels.


If I had known how easy this project would be I wouldn't have waited so long, and before I knew it the dressed up shades were ready to be hung in the room. This also ended up being quite easy, except I need some better tools. My battery powered screw driver gave up, requiring charging, half way through the installation. An "old school" screw driver came to my rescue because I was too impatient to see them hung in place and take some photos, which of course I'll post tomorrow!