Blinds vs shades

[kelpie]

Okay ladies, I'm thinking of taking down the rest of the day/night shades in my rig to replace with regular curtains and/or regular mini blinds. Has anybody else done this? do you think it will affect the resale value? Eddie ate the shades behind the couch and today I had my son hang a regular mini blind there. I also bought some solid brown curtains on clearance, cut them to the right length and hemmed them with iron on tape, then hung them on a tension rod under the valance. They are just on the sides, not full curtains across. I think they look great but they don't "match" the rest. Not a big matchy matchy person in my stick house but maybe it matters more in a small space? Anyways, the bedroom has these hideous brown, taupe, gray valance and curtains that I have been wanted to change since I bought the rig. Took pillow sham from comforter set to fabric store and bought coordinating fabrics last year. Couldn't figure out how to get the dumb things off but got one off today to prep wall for repair( another Eddie thing, don't ask) I also bought some fabric with idea of replacing curtains. Current ones are those fake-out kind with velcro that are just on each side to cover the edge of the day/night shade. I'm thinking of doing something similar with my fabric only make real curtains and use tension rods. i don't know what to do about the shades though. suggestions?

[Bethers]

You wouldn't want my opinion, lol, as I had mini blinds - BUT - my answer - it's YOUR home - do what will make YOU more comfortable inside it. If you like mini-blinds - go for it - just make sure you make them were they don't move - as they can be noisy traveling. Someone (Karen, maybe) put in some neat shades -

[avalen]

personally, I love the mini blinds. Currently I have those accordion style solid shades,
and they are either open or shut, no inbetween. The mini blinds give me the inbetween
I like for a little light and a little snooping I also like fabric curtains, but
not the store bought kind, I like the custom made kind. But like Beth said, its yours
and you should do what makes you happy. The valances are indeed a booger to get
off and I took some of mine off because they seem to take up space that could be
better served with a shelf.

[mitch5252]

Eddie ate the shades behind the couch...

Eddie's a dog, right?


..

[Shirlv]

I replaced the large broken day/nightshade in living area with a vinyl mini blind and love it. The vinyl blinds are more quiet while on the road. I read on rvnet that vinyl blinds will not become bent like metal. There is a window over my bed and I pile pillows up against windows to read so metal blinds would be a probem. I have asked for a gift card from Lowe's for Christmas and plan to replace the three in the bedroom. Thanks for the idea of a tension rod for curtains.

[kelpie]

Yes, eddie is my dog and he has separation issues.

[soisew]

Personally I'd stay with curtains, maybe a double layer of lace/sheer type with a heavy duty one to block cold and heat. Mini blinds are fine if you like them. I've gotten really tired of the difficulty to clean them. A roll down shade is great though, can be wiped clean easily. I'd not worry about resale value. If you wish to really sink some quality dollars into your rig -- MCD blinds are top notch with a light filtering/sun blocking shade and a light blocking shade. They will add value to your rig if that's what you want to do. But for several hundred dollars per window...a lot of dollars just for window treatments.

[rvgrammy1953]

I hate my mini-blinds!!!!! I had planned to do the tension rods and curtains this last summer, but life got in the way.... So, I washed them again, but as soon as I have the chance, they are gone!!!

[snowball]

we took the blinds out of our back window (they had broke) and took down the valance and hung a curtain one day will do them all not sure what blind if any I will put up but what ever you do remember you live there and put up what you will enjoy
sheila

[ali1257]

We currently have metal blinds in the bedroom...we would like to replace with wooden ones when we get the money and the overwhelming urge...right now they work for us...we have wood blinds all the other places.

[Pooker]

Over the years, I guess I've had just about every type of window covering I could think of. Guess it's just a matter of personal preference. My comments:

Day/night pleated shades: Fine when new, frustrating after a few years. Not that easy to clean especially the newer ones that have cheaper material and aren't as dense. Repairing and restringing is a bugger.

Mini blinds: Tend to rattle, especially on rough roads. Good to be able to adjust for light and privacy, tho. Hate cleaning them.

Woven blinds: Think I hated these the most. If you put them down, you can't see out. Put them up and no privacy. Dirt and grunge seep into the fabric and if there was ever a smoker in the rig - forget it.

Curtains/drapes: Probably the most personal, especially if you make the curtains yourself. Also, if you use washable material with a lining and just hang them on a tension pole under your valance they are easy to keep clean. However, almost another all or nothing choice - closed you can't see out, open, even just partially, others can see in.

Old fashioned window shades: The only one I haven't tried, but I thought of it because they are simple and cheap, but might be hard to find window size. Same problem about all or nothing. Did I forget any others?

Never worry about what the next owner would want!!! Make your rig YOURS. I used to try to keep our rigs nice for resale - no holes in walls, saving the bed cover that matched the drapes and storing the huge matching pillows that you can't sleep on (and what's with that idea, anyway?) until we traded in one of the rigs and they didn't even look at what was inside. Didn't affect the price at all.

Evie

[Rufflesgurl]

I have heard mini blinds make lots of noise while traveling. I have the day/night and like them but the MH is 3 yrs old and they still work great.

Maybe Eddie needs Cesar Milan - THE DOG WHISPERER!! LOL He does miracles with dogs.

Linda

[OutandAbout]

Kellie, don't worry about resale value, do what YOU want. I doubt changing the window treatments will do anything negative for resale value. Just think of the colors and materials used by the manufacturers, that should kill any sale let alone the resale value. It's mind boggling where they come up with the "interior decoration". Linda

[JanetA]

Ditto what Linda said. Makes me wonder who does the pickin' for the interiors! ! ! men,, probably! ! !! yuckkkkkkkkk

[retiredhappy]

I removed my valances and side pieces (they were made of silk - great fabric for sun and RVing) and took out the day/night shades. I replaced them with regular cellular cordless shades. I used the blackout ones in the bedroom. I love them. They're light and form a self-valance when left slightly pulled down. I HATED the day/night ones. First, they were blue and the damn cords kept either breaking or the screw holding the cord pulled out of the wall leaving a big hole.