Me, My House & I with Brigitte Gall

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As the 1980's pop group The Fixx once sang, “One thing leads to another…” Perhaps this is the theme song of Brigitte’s life – or maybe this was the song she was dancing to in her living room when her neighbour spied her. Things like that can happen when you don’t have any window coverings! Her quest for privacy naturally leads her to tearing out her dining room carpet and installing hardwood flooring. It’s that special brand of Gall logic where one thing truly does lead to another.

		DO cover your windows with something, unless you live in the middle of nowhere. Even then, cover your windows with a shade, blinds, or curtains to avoid being creeped out at night.
		DON’T use newspaper to cover your windows. Not only will it make your house look like a store that has gone out of business, you'll be displaying old news in a matter of days.
		DO consider what your windows will look like from the outside of the house. Keep in mind that you want the outside to appear just as nice as the inside. So…
		DON’T use a blind in one window and a shade in the window next to it. Go for a cohesive look upstairs and downstairs.

Leading the Blind

Brigitte installed wood blinds in the dining room to match her lovely new floor:

Your blinds should come with mounting brackets and screws. Choose the placement for your mounting brackets (inside or outside the frame) and pre-drill the holes for the screws.
Attach the brackets to the wall with the screws and slide the blinds into place.
Attach the arm which turns the blind. This should be pretty easy.
Attach the plastic valence clips to the top of the blind and click the valence into place.

Now you see me. Now you don’t!

Brigitte also used frosted peel-and-stick plastic to cover the windows in the bathroom. She's saying this will be just a temporary fix until she figures out what she wants to do with the bathroom décor. Bets anyone? The betting starts at $50.00 that she’ll actually do something with her bathroom windows this year.

Before you apply the plastic, make sure the window is clean. You probably won’t have to clean the window for a while after this, so don’t grouse about it.
Use your utility knife to cut the plastic to fit your window. Cut it a bit larger than the glass to accommodate for any shrinkage of the plastic over time.
Stick the plastic to the glass. Smooth it out so you don’t get bubbles.
If you do get a large bubble, use a pin to pop it. Just make a small hole in the bubble with the pin and that should do the trick.
Now no one can see you naked!! Woo hoo! Unless you enjoy that kind of thing. In which case: Boo! Hiss!

Previous Project | Putting Up Window Blinds

Next Project