Ok, I’m finally back with part 2!  Let’s dive right in, shall we?

After the tube tape is sewn, the next step is to attach a board to the top.  This doesn’t come with the kit.  You don’t need anything big or fancy here.  Just get a  1 x 2 board cut to the width of your shade at Home Depot.  I already had this scrap piece in my garage and it worked just fine.

Wrap the top of your shade up and around the top of the board and use a staple gun to attach it.

Time to string the shade.  Grab the roll of cording that comes with the kit and cut 3 pieces.  The directions will give an estimate of how long each piece needs to be.  It will just depend on the size of your shade.

Starting about 1 inch in from the side, pull the cord through the bottom pocket in the tube tape and secure with a double knot.

These pockets are pretty tiny, so using a needle will help you pull the cord through.  I used a yarn darner needle for this because the opening was big enough for the cording to fit through.  After you’ve secured the cord to the bottom, string it through the rest of the pockets working your way up to the top.  Then repeat this step in the middle and other side of the shade.

Drill 3 pilot holes (in line with your cords) into the board and screw the hooks in.  These hooks also come with the kit.

String each cord up through the eye hook and then through the next eye hook to the left until you have all three cords coming out the far hook.

Then secure the cords together with a  knot.

Now it’s time to insert the wooden dowels.  These don’t come with the kit, but they are very cheap.  You can get them at craft stores or any hardware store.  Have them cut slightly less that the width of your shade.  Can you see how awesome this tube tape is?!  It pretty much does all the hard work for you.

The directions on the kit say to sew your shade lining on at the point to cover the cords and the dowels, but I sewed it on at the very beginning.  I didn’t really care about how it looks from the back.

I didn’t take pictures of the next step.  You simply attach the L brackets that come with the kit to the board.  Then attach the board to your window.  Finally, attach the included cord cleat to wrap the cord around when shade is up.

This project was not hard, but it did take some time.  I finished over the course of 3 days, working on it when my kids were at school and napping.  I was nervous to make this by myself, but the kit made it pretty simple.  If you can sew a semi-straight line, you can make your own roman shade.

I love how mine turned out!

Ok, this one is kind of long so I split it into two parts.  It took some time to make, but it was fairly straight forward.  I just followed the directions that came with the roman shade kit.

I measured my window and cut the fabric 6 inches longer and 1 inch wider than the window dimensions.  I also added a lining fabric for the back.  Then I pinned and hemmed the sides in a half inch.  The key to easy hemming is pressing first.  I pinned, then pressed, pinned in place again, and sewed.

I did the same thing for the bottom.  I hemmed it up 2 inches.  I probably should have folded the hem over a second time for a cleaner edge, but I was feeling lazy.

The next step is to attach the tube tape.  Tube tape is the trick to making this a doable project for anyone.  It comes with the kit.  It has little pocket openings for the wooden dowels and for the cording.  I’ll show you these steps in full tomorrow.

You need to measure your shade and mark lines where the tube tape will be sewn.  The first line should be 4 inches up from the bottom and each line after should be spaced 6 inches apart.

I used a fabric marker and my ruler to draw a straight line.  This step took the longest.  There is a lot of measuring to make sure you get your lines perfectly straight.

Now it’s time to pin on the tube tape.  Just follow the lines and pin, making sure the pockets of the tube tape are facing up.

Time for more sewing.  Sew along the top edge of the tube tape, making sure not to sew over any of the tiny pockets.

Come back tomorrow for Part 2!

This past weekend was very productive in the kitchen.  We got the window trim up and the roman shade completed and hung.  The goal for this week is to finish everything else!

Installing window molding is such an easy diy project.  You can do this to any window in your home and it will instantly look better. Here is a look at our kitchen window before.

Normally, I would place the molding on all 4 sides of the window, but in the kitchen, I want there to be more subway tile showing underneath the window.  So I came up with another solution.  I bought an MDF board to sit as the base of the window sill.  We cut it down to fit snugly inside and cut a piece out so it wrapped around to the wall.

Then we cut measured and cut the trim molding at a 45 degree angle for the remaining 3 sides.

You can see how the bottom of the trim sits right on top of the MDF board.  There are a few little gaps (our windows weren’t built perfectly straight–gotta love that, right!), but a little wood filler and caulk will fill those in just fine.

We installed everything with a nail gun.  It was so fast and easy.

I still need to fill in the nail holes and the corners, but here is the almost finished window now.

The pictures don’t really do it justice.  It looks so much better!  The trim does go slightly higher than the cabinets, but if I would have gotten a smaller width, there would have been a small gap on both sides between the cabinets.  So this was the better option, I think.  Once the doors are back on, I don’t think it will be a big deal.

Come back tomorrow for a full tutorial on the roman shade.

Hi friends!  This is a sponsored post written by Adam Taylor on behalf of Bathrooms.com.  Thanks for supporting the sponsors that help me keep things running here at BWH.

Many people would love to increase the value of their home. If you’re serious about
doing this then it definitely helps to invest some money in the building, as this can
make a significant difference to what your home is worth. Read on to find out about
some of the best ways to increase the value of your home through investing money in
it.

Get a loft conversion
One of the best investments you can make in your home is a loft conversion. In some
areas of the country, it can add as much as 20% to the value of the building. Loft
conversions can be used for many purposes, such as an extra bedroom or a study
depending on your needs. This means it could be a really practical addition to your
house that benefits you and your family as well as the value of the property.

Renovate the bathroom
Bathrooms are another area of the house where it definitely pays to invest. If you are
looking at bathroom suites, it can be a good idea to go for something fairly neutral
in terms of color, as this makes them more appealing to potential buyers. You can
also get some fantastic bathroom furniture, such as cabinets and cupboards, which
add valuable extra storage space and are very attractive to many people who might be interested in buying your home in the future.

Consider planning permission
Even if you aren’t planning to extend your property while you are living there, it can be a good idea to investigate the possibility of getting planning permission for doing so anyway. For instance, many people who buy houses are interested in the potential to extend them in order to add extra living and bedrooms. If your house is sold with planning permission then this can make it more valuable to the people who are interested in buying it. Having planning permission for an extension means that a lot of the hassle is removed from the process in the future, as well as showing off the potential of your house.

Upgrade plumbing and electrics
Another good investment to make in your house is an upgrade to your plumbing and electrical systems. Modern, high quality plumbing and electrics are not only attractive to buyers and therefore beneficial for the value of your house, but they also make your house much safer and more efficient. This means upgrading your systems can be something worth doing even if you’re not interested in selling the house.

Get a garage
Finally, if your property doesn’t already have a garage, it can be a good idea to build one if possible. Garages are especially attractive to people looking to buy houses in crowded urban areas. If you have a double garage, it can add as much as 15% to the value of the property and so this is definitely an investment worth considering even if you don’t plan to use it yourself.

Overall, while investments by nature cost you money up front, if you are careful about what you spend and where you spend it, any investments you make in your home should more than pay off in the long run.

Sorry about not posting yesterday.  I have some sick kiddos and things were super crazy here.  Anyway, I’m happy to report that I’ve ordered my kitchen back splash tile and it will be here on Monday.  Yeah!!  I’m going with classic white subway tile–but with dark grout.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this look and have been dreaming of having it in my home for years.  The best part is that this tile is SO cheap!  Here are a few inspiration images from my file.

I was planning to do the install by myself (I’m feeling very confident) because my husband doesn’t love these projects like I do.  But he actually said he wants to help me (instead of me roping him into it).  He’s such a trooper and happily puts up with all the “surprise” projects I bring home.

Today I’m finishing up the roman shade, so I’ll hopefully have an update on that tomorrow.

I had big plans to rent a paint sprayer from Sherwin Williams to spray my kitchen cabinet doors.  But they don’t allow you to use oil based paint because it’s too hard to clean.  So after doing a little researching, I finally purchased my own little paint sprayer that is compatible with oil based paint.

It was so inexpensive, but all the reviews were great.  You hook it up to an air compressor which gives you a high volume, low pressure paint application.  It’s supposed to reduce over spray as well.  I am so excited to bust this baby out in the next couple days.

I finally started my roman shade yesterday and got about half way done.  I’m hoping to finish it up today and get it installed.  So far so good!  Things are rolling right along.

I had a very successful weekend with my kitchen.  I made some good progress and although things still look a mess, I’m really close to being done.  I primed and painted all the cabinets (not the doors), so that is a huge task that I checked off my list.  Here is the current state of my kitchen.

The counters are in, the cabinets are painted, and the doors are primed.  Here is the rest of my kitchen to-do list:

• Seal the counters
• Spray the doors
• Install the back splash
• Attach window molding
• Make the roman shade

The window molding is going up today, so I’ll have an update on that project tomorrow.

Due to lots of wet weather, my kitchen reno has come to a halt.  I need to paint the cabinet doors, but that must be done outside.  I’ve got a handy new paint sprayer that I’m super excited to use.  But aside from that, I’m drowning in pillows.  It’s all wonderful, but I’m so busy sewing.  I didn’t even get to start my roman shade yesterday.  Hopefully I can get caught up on my orders and crank out the shade over the weekend.  I’m still crossing my fingers for a semi-sunny day.

…well, I’m attempting to make my first roman shade.  I’m a little nervous, but mostly excited.  I picked up this roman shade kit from JoAnns (using a a 40% off coupon, of course).

I’m using this lovely robin egg blue fabric.  The color is amazing!

The roman shade will replace the blinds that we currently have in the kitchen.  I’m working on framing out the window and then I’ll mount the shade on the inside.

I’ll share a full tutorial on the shade once I’m done.  Wish me luck!