When there are many windows to cover in a home, the most economical way to ensure privacy is to go with cheap blinds for your window coverings. It may be a lofty notion to look for designer drapes, custom plantation shutters or curtains made from expensive blackout fabric, but in the end, the budget always dictates the choice. One bargain alternative that many people rarely consider is rice paper shades.
For some, the idea of putting paper at a window is unfathomable. Who would want to explain to guests or neighbors why there is paper on the windows instead of chic bamboo, venetian blinds or recognizable names like Hunter or Douglas coverings protecting you from ultraviolet rays? You want to spend money on cheap blinds without “looking” as if you have bought cheap blinds. The truth is, paper is not close, even, to Bali discount blinds or cheap Roman blinds. It does, however, have its merits.
The Redi shade is one of the most popular choices for cheap blinds. These cordless shades are easy to install and can be quickly trimmed to fit the size of your window or overlapped to cover sliding glass doors. They are attractive enough on their own, since they come in different tints and paper textures other than simple white. When you want to add even more flair, though, you can use some adhesive and attach a colorful print or solid fabric to the Redi-shade before installing it. Redi shades even come in a darkening variety that keeps out light.
Paper shades that are a bit more durable are often made of rice paper. You get the same effect as you do with Japanese shoji screens. The paper used to make these kinds of window treatments is made even more gorgeous when the light hits it. In a kitchen or bathroom that is really exposed to sunlight, in becomes easy to see all the intricate fibers that went into making the rice paper. Thinner rice paper is made from rice grass. Thicker versions are made from the fibers of mulberry trees. For even more décor flexibility, the rice paper shade is often created with delicately painted watercolor pastoral scenes, calligraphy, gentle posed figures or some other scene from nature. Rice paper shades are durable even if you only intend them for a temporary solution. White typically holds up best and does not show wear-and-tear so easily, but these coverings can last up to eight years.
If paper is not really your style, you still have other affordable options for finding cheap blinds. Your goal is to find blinds for less. Custom mini blinds or cheap vertical blinds are still an economical path. Some retail outlets now offer to cut head rails and blinds to fit your windows if you can take the exact measure of the inside of the window frame to them. Cheap plantation shutters, also known as cheap faux blinds, have also been cost cutters. These are not made of the traditional timber, but are made of other materials altered to look like wood. The same is true of cheap bamboo blinds.
One of the best reasons to go with cheap blinds is to cut yourself some slack on cost but still have the same kind of light control and privacy as you would with something that costs more. Although cheap blinds are not fancy and woven from expensive threads, they certainly beat placing an old towel against the window to keep passersby from peeking in. Besides, who wants to spend all the money in the budget on the windows when there is the magic of the whole interior of the house to design?
J. T. Cooper, Cheap Blinds, Cheap Blinds
