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Thursday, August 21, 2014

Hiding Rental Apartment Vertical Blinds...

Hi everyone! Our daughter Courtney and her fiancĂ© Courtland moved into their new apartment a few months ago. It's a great apartment, but with rentals there are certain things you can't change…one being vertical blinds.

We bought pre-made curtains and sheers at Ikea and used curtain rods I already had from my house, so the transformation only cost $30.00. The drapes were $25 and the sheers were $5.00

The pictures aren't great in some shots, because the sun was so bright coming through the window it made things dark in the photos, but you'll get the idea.

Here's the before…

The vertical blinds open and close from the right side. We could have just put up the curtain rod and hid the blinds behind the right panel, but Courtney also wanted the sheers up along with the fabric panels.

We could have done that, but that would have required a double rod system and mine was only a single rod. Her window is long and the double rod styles are pricey.

hiding vertical blinds

Here's the after…sorry this is a dark picture

hiding vertical blinds


Sheers on the vertical blind rod and the cotton panels on the black rod. The black rod is just above and in front of the vertical blind rod, so it hides it a little.

hiding vertical blinds

Come on in to see how easy this is to do…

So here are the vertical blinds. There is a string pull that moves all the blinds back and forth to the right side, so they can get out the door to the little deck they have.

hiding vertical blinds

This is how they were hung from the side view. I used this existing system to hang the sheers.

hiding vertical blinds

The first step was to remove each slat…not the rod system.

hiding vertical blinds

The slats just clip on.

hiding vertical blinds

So I just clipped them off. Insert your nail and push up.

hiding vertical blinds

It will release the clip on the blind...

hiding vertical blinds


hiding vertical blinds

Then it will slide right off.

hiding vertical blinds

Keep moving down and remove them all.

hiding vertical blinds

I stacked the slats up, zipped tied them all together in 3-4 spots along the length and stored them in the back of her closet on the floor to keep them flat.

hiding vertical blinds

This is how I mounted the curtain rod over the vertical blind rod.

You have to have brackets that slide in and out and adjust how far out they come from the wall. If you don't have brackets that do this, you can buy them separately in stores. I saw them in Bed, Bath and Beyond.

hiding vertical blinds

Now that the vertical slats are gone, I just slid the sheers onto the clips. I folded the hem over a little for a gathered affect.

hiding vertical blinds

Start on the ends, then find the middle and work your way down spacing out each section of fabric on the clips.

hiding vertical blinds

The sheers are on the vertical blind rod, so the sheers move like the blinds did. The cotton fabric panels just slide on the black curtain rod.

hiding vertical blinds

The sheers diffuse the sun light during the day.

hiding vertical blinds

Looks so much better in person. This was the only shot I had at the time, so if I can get a better one on my next visit, I will share it here again.

hiding vertical blinds

This shot is at night, so the kids just pull the cotton panel closed over the sheers for privacy.

hiding vertical blinds


I hope this helps anyone who has a window system that they can't remove due to rental rules.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

~Karen~

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21 comments:

  1. That solution is absolutely ingenious! Your daughters must think they have the most clever mother in the entire world. Give yourself a pat on the back and a huge hug!

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  2. That really is a brilliant idea!!! I lived with those vertical blinds for years and years and could not remove them, if only I had known this!!!! I will remember it for the future though in case it ever happens again. A great solution. xx

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  3. Easy way to hang some pretty drapes and not get in trouble with the owner about removing the vertical blinds! You are amazing.

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  4. This is a great idea. I have those in my current apartment now, and if I weren't moving out in less than two months I'd totally do this!!

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  5. That is absolutely genius! Perfect for people renting and on a budget.

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  6. Thanks for this wonderful post! At 52, my husband and I moved into an apartment due to a job change. We have done wonders in the apartment with furniture and rugs, but those vertical blinds were still an eyesore! This will be my next project!

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  7. My daughter and I have the same problem. We want some color to our windows and insulation from the hot sunshine. Our landlord wants each window with blinds closed to look the same from the window.. I was glad to see your post and you did a nice job!

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  8. I did nearly exactly the same thing a few years ago when I hated the vertical blinds but my significant other wanted to keep them. Nothing like coming up with a good solution that makes everyone happy!

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  9. Brilliant idea and it looks so much better too!!!! Have a happy week!!!
    Love
    AMarie xxx

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  10. Great Idea. I never thought of hooking the sheers up on the vertical clips. Way to go.

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  11. Hey, if you can please visit my blog, I would really aprecuate it if you followed me also, I love your blog.

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  12. Love it! I am a homeowner and I like the functionality of the blinds for our west facing living room window. I am going to keep the hardware up and but sheers up. Thanks for your idea!

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  13. Awesome idea. I didn't know how to attach the shears to the clips to I used safety pins. I rolled over the shears about an inch and put in a safety pin and then I attached the safety pin to the clips. It looks great. Thank you

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  14. This is perfect! I just moved into my first apartment yesterday and I was looking for a way to drape a curtain over my vertical blinds to block the bright patio light at night without spending any more. Clipping the curtain to the slats tomorrow morning is the way to go!

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  15. I love your idea and can wait to upgrade my patio window tomorrow. Brilliant thinking :-) !

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  16. I love your brilliant idea and will be upgrading my patio window tomorrow :-).

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  17. Thanks so much for the brilliant idea! I've been looking for a way to hide our ugly vertical blinds in our rental, and this is absolutely going to be happening soon!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment...I just love hearing from you!