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Circle, Circle, Dot, Dot

Craft Projects •  November 8, 2015

A little less than a month before our sweet Mary Helen was born, Brandon and I were taping an episode of Today’s Homeowner that followed the installation of our new HVAC system. The episode aired across the country this past weekend.

We thought having a baby was the perfect time to improve the efficiency of our home. So we also covered several other small projects that will help with energy efficiency besides a new HVAC. Don’t want the baby to be too hot or too cold! One of those projects was sewing some Roman shades for the nursery.

gold polka dot roman shade with pink curtains in white window

Opening curtains/shades during the day in the winter allows the sun to help warm the room. But it’s just as beneficial to be able to close them at night to help trap the heat in and keep it from leaving your house. Obviously it’s not enough on it’s own, but working in tandem with an efficient HVAC system is a great and stylish energy solution!

It’s a fairly lengthy process, including some glue drying time, but it’s not a difficult project at all to make your own Roman shades.

I started by hemming a piece of fabric and a separate liner then sewing them together. Next I glued some dowel rods at 8 inch intervals to the inside back of the fabric.

wooden dowel rods drying on roman shade

The dowel rods give the finished shade the structure that really makes a Roman shade.

Once the glue dries, the shade is turned right side out and little plastic rings are sewn on the back of the shade to hold the drapery cords that will open and close the shade.

plastic drapery ring on roman shade

The drapery cord is then run through hooks on a 1×2 that’s stapled to the top of the shade, just like a set of mini blinds.

Header Staples to Roman Shade

Before I hung my shades, though, I added a little “Chelsea” to it with some gold polka dots. I used some old CDs to layout my polka dots before tracing them with pencil onto the front of my shades.

CDs laid on Roman shade for tracing

Using leftover paint from the gold ceiling in the nursery and some fabric medium, I painted the traced polka dots. (I used this same fabric-painting technique on my outdoor area rug.)

And when the paint had dried and they were hung in the nursery with care, I had fully functional Roman shades perfect for a little girl’s room.

Polka Dot DIY Roman Shades

For full details on how to create Roman shades for any room in your house, watch my video over on todayshomeowner.com. (Click here to head there now!)

And that’s all the projects that are fit to blog for this itty bitty baby’s nursery. See how it all got started with my first nursery-related post here.

Back to regularly scheduled home improvement funness next time! Thanks for Checking In! ~ Chelsea

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Even though there won’t be any parades this year Even though there won’t be any parades this year and @toomeysmardigras was heartbreakingly empty (when it should be bustling and busting at the seams), we will still carry on the Mardi Gras spirit and represent the birthplace of MG in America in this house! We stocked up on decorations, moonpies and apparel for the kiddos this weekend. Now bring on the king cake!👑🎂💜💛
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Something I never thought I’d do? Measure shoes Something I never thought I’d do? Measure shoes on TV.🤷🏼‍♀️Yet here we are...a quick behind the scenes of the shoe rack I built for an episode of @todayshomeowner is in my stories if you want to check it out! You can see the TV circus in action.🎪🤪
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Merry 5th Day of Christmas from my sweet and wild Merry 5th Day of Christmas from my sweet and wild Wolfpack!🎄🥰 I hope your Christmas Day was filled with your favorite people and things.
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Thanks, Josh, for helping me build a column today! Thanks, Josh, for helping me build a column today!😍We’re on day 3 in my dad’s hometown helping to #buildlafayettelanding, a community service project he dreamed up to build up the community after Hurricane Michael devastated the area in 2018.
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A lot more work to do before we wrap Thursday afternoon!🛠
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