Merry Christmas, House

After two grueling Summers sweltering in my house, I decided at the beginning of December to replace the metal Venetians which just generate even more heat.  I love the plantation look of wider slat blinds, plus I wanted wood.  Then I discovered that Levolor does a faux wood that is actually better than real: it doesn't warp or fade, and repels the scorching heat of the sun.

Because I have eleven huge windows in the main room, I had to wait for a good sale, which luckily came with the Christmas deals.  After measuring each window space, I went to Lowe's and placed my order, expecting it to take weeks.  Less than ten days later, here comes the FedEx guy with the boxes.  I stacked them up in the garage and pondered how to hang them.

Then I remembered Jeremy (of the Ten Dollar Bill post from last year) who told me he would be glad to help out with any handyman chores I couldn't do myself, though his actual business is windows and gutters.  Still, I figure blinds and windows go hand-in-hand.

So I call him, and though he's really busy until after Christmas, we make arrangements for today.  I'm so excited!  Finally, I can get rid of the old crappy blinds and replace them with brand-new, two-inch plantation blinds.

The first blind.  Jeremy (on the right) and his very nice helper, Mark...

The left blind is the new, wider one; middle window is bare; if you look close, you can see the tiny slats in the old blind that hasn't been taken down yet...

Between us, we did all eleven windows in just over an hour.  I opened each box, sorted the parts and pieces, while Jeremy took down the old blinds, removed the hardware and replaced it with new, then Mark came after to install the blind.  Both guys were impressed that every single blind fit exactly as it should, especially as each window is slightly different.  Honestly, like a woman can't measure properly?  Still, it was cool that not only were my measurements correct, but Levolor manufactured them perfectly.

The difference is amazing.  It changed the entire look and feel of the room.  I love the wider slats, the wood effect, and the pull cord rather than that stupid wand thing for opening and closing.

My Christmas present to the house.  And believe me, we're both very happy about it...