I had been planning to put up sheer roller shades for a long time, even before I began redoing my bedroom (photos next week). We used to like our room darkening Roman blinds because they let us sleep in deliciously late. We haven’t been able to sleep in since we had our little alarm clock though, and the room began to feel oppressively dark in the wee morning hours.
I knew I had twittered about picking up the shades (ENJE), so I looked for the tweet to see how long ago that was. February 16. Oof.
The shades didn’t come in the exact size that I needed, but Anna reassured me that they are easy to work with. So over the weekend I set about trimming off 2.5″ and installing them, and it was easy.
All you have to do is measure the amount to be trimmed, mark it and then cut. Using good, sharp scissors will help (you do reserve a pair of scissors just for fabric, right?). The metal top and bottom can be cut with a hacksaw or jigsaw with a metal blade, but the fabric needs to be cut away first or it will become ragged. I used an x-acto knife for that part.
After you’ve cut everything down to the proper size, you just pop the ends back on and hang the shade according to the simple directions.
Done!
Benita of Chez Larsson just took on the same project recently, and here Anna of Door Sixteen gives her take on the ENJE shades. I’m so pleased with the way they look, and they were so inexpensive… especially compared to custom roller shades.
Morgan from The Brick House hack those rollers, too. Tempting. Very, very tempting.
Blargh. Stupid typos.
Why not just head to Home Depot and have them cut for you? Sounds like you took the hard way.
Beth does Hope Depot actually do this for you and if they do, is there a charge?
awesome!! you made it look so easy!
Thanks for the great tip about cutting rollers down to size! I think your post compliments a recent designsponge post about making custom rollershades with fabric! http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/06/sewing-101-roller-blinds.html
after seeing these on the brick house and door sixteen, i also bought them for our dining room and our den. i had to custom cut 2 of the shade, but like you said, it was no big deal. they look great and you cannot beat the price!
they do look great!!!!!
I so want roller shades like these! Too bad the nearest Ikea is 6 hours from where I live. :(
Tres lovely! I like waking up to the sun as well.
Lovely shades!! :)
they look great.
This is not about your window covering project…disappointment, i know.
I could swear that i saw your “sister” at my dermatologist’s office this afternoon. Do you have a office manager as a sister in Fort Wayne, In? (if you do, you need to ask her to tell the receptionist to be nicer to new patience. Ha! I digress.)
I read your blog 2-3 times a week and love hearing about your projects and your family. I’m all about DIY and your creativity inspires me.
yuck! look at all of those mispellings! Please don’t tell my HS English teacher.
Nope, I don’t have any relatives in Fort Wayne. :)
I hate waking up with the sun, so I got the darker version :)
Not sure if you saw or if it applies to you – but there’s a recall on Ikea blinds
http://consumerist.com/2010/06/ikea-recalls-336-million-blinds-over-strangulation-risk.html
The chain needs to be attached to the wall for child safety. That’s a problem with all window treatments that have loops, not just IKEA’s version.
We have these shades in our living room. My husband taped around the fabric with masking tape (so they wouldn’t get torn up) and cut them down to size with an electric miter saw.
And regarding the strangulation recall, I plan on attaching small silver hooks up near the top of the windows to hook up the pull cord so it isn’t dangling within baby reach.
You got a nice crisp cut with the tape in place? That’s good to know.
It looks pretty good. My husband isn’t nearly as much of a perfection as I am, so it would have looked much better if I had done it myself. Sadly, I’m afraid to use big power tools! But it looks good! If I wasn’t happy with it, I would have made him take a trip to Ikea for another 3 shades and teach me how to use the saw!
Ditto Vika’s comment. Bummer!
http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/10/news/companies/IKEA_recall_blinds/index.htm?section=money_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_topstories+%28Top+Stories%29
Yes, the chain loop can be a strangulation hazard (it warns you of it in the shade’s packaging too). The loop must be secured to the wall instead of allowed to hang freely.
I have these and love them. They give the room such a nice light. Not too bright, not too dark.
Love your blog and the shades. I’ll bet a rotary cutter would make short work of the shade trimming.
Love it! And I love your drapes hanging in the background too. Did you make them? The print is darling!
Yes, I sewed those myself. :)
Love the bright white against the dark grey walls. I also love seeing people take on IKEA products. I was a visual merchandiser there for a few years and spent all day creating displays hoping others would see how wonderful and unique the products can look.
You are so lucky – I guess with the whole “recall” they discontinued them here in Canada. I tried to get them a month or so ago and no-can-do.
Looks great!
I love this tutorial! Thanks for sharing! I have the same problem here at home and now I have a great solution for it :)
~ Kristen
Oh I love these I put them up in every apartment I have. I love the diffused light it gives with still providing privacy. Beautiful:)
Hi Nicole,
This post has given me hope in my quest for non-standard sized window coverings (which is a nightmare so far).
One question: did you trim both the width and the length with no problems, or just the length?
Thanks,
Aimee
I only trimmed the width, but the length would be easy to adjust as well.
Thanks so much for sharing this. I need this very thing on every window at the shore but I didn’t want to blow a ton on custom. Now I just need to get a hacksaw and I’m good.
Hi Nicole,
just wanted to mention something, this morning on the radio I head that there was an insident of toddler almost strangling on the roller blind cords. Up here in Canada Ikea has issued a recall of all their blinds.
That’s too bad, I was just on my way to pick up some!
N
Yes, I already addressed this in a couple of earlier comments. The strangulation risk is present in all closed loop blinds and shades (not just those from IKEA). The chain needs to be attached to the wall so that there is no slack for a child to fit their head through.
oh, I know that its an issue with all blinds, I was just not expecting Ikea to do a recall. I completely agree that we as parents, must do our own due diligence. It is actually sad that a nice product is off the market. I now wish I did not procrastinate and got them while they were still available.
Very nice job on the shades and great pictures. Ikea is one of my favorite haunts too. Great stuff and easy to change or adapt. Thanks for sharing your fearless ways. Sometimes all it takes is to know someone else did it, then it is okay.
Has anyone tried shortening the actual cord? Any ss fastners to re-connect them? We have the shades installed but the cord is too long for the space; e.g. overlaps a counter.
Thanks.
Nice job!
I have the opposite pb…
How could we double the size, assembling 2 ENJE roller shade together?
This is just to avoid a double chain loop for a 2x 2,60 m window.
Thanks